“I mean, if we’re gonna play, why not be as competitive as you can and go as hard as you can? Because if you’re not going hard, to me, it’s not fun. It’s not how the game’s supposed to be played,” she says.

That’s been the mantra the 6-2 wing has played under for her entire hoops career. Pull up the tape and you’ll see.

On the offensive end, Knox gets buckets from all levels, scoring in the post and occasionally letting one fly from deep. Defensively, she locks down opponents on the interior, blocking shots like A’ja Wilson—the player she molds her game after.

But most notable on the tape is Knox’s hustle. She makes timely cuts, sets brick-wall screens and comes down with every 50/50 ball. “Even if other things, like points, aren’t showing, I was taught that other things matter, like rebounding, 50/50 balls, playing defense—and those can really determine the game at the end of the day,” she says. “Just trying to focus on what I’m good at, and I’m pretty athletic, so I think that helps a lot and brings a lot to my game.”

Knox always had athletic talent, originally aspiring to play in the NFL. Once she moved on from that dream, she switched to basketball. With the help of her father, she started seriously working at the game. After hooping in Nevada, Knox transferred to Etiwanda High School in California to better prepare for college and gain higher levels of exposure.

She dealt with nagging back injuries, which sidelined her for her sophomore season, leading to a lengthy rehabilitation process. Throughout that journey, she received vital support from her family and used her goal of playing college hoops to motivate herself to recover. Even from the bench, Knox still improved her game in different areas.

“I think it helped me as well in an IQ way, just learning the floor from a different angle, from a different perspective, and just kind of seeing things that I wouldn’t see if I was playing,” she says.

When she returned to the court, the accolades began piling up.

Playing alongside guard Puff Morris, Knox averaged 17.2 points and 11.9 rebounds per game in her junior season, leading the Eagles to a CIF Open Division state championship. During her senior season, Knox averaged another double-double and was stuffing around four shots a game. She was named a McDonald’s All-American and played in the Nike Hoop Summit.

As if scouts weren’t already turning their heads after the showcases, her final playoff push cemented her status as a top player in the nation.

Knox closed out her high school career in a league of her own, winning her second CIF Open Division state championship in a row.

It’s easy to see why Knox received over 40 DI offers during her recruitment. Powerhouse programs like USC, Texas and Tennessee offered her, but she eventually committed to LSU in November. “I felt like their program in general, their style of play, matches really well with how I want to be able to play and develop along the years,” Knox says. “The culture had a lot to do with my decision as well, just the family welcoming, comfortable culture, just knowing that I’ll be taken care of.”

But more importantly, coach Kim Mulkey’s development program factored into her decision.  The four-time champion’s pipeline goes far. Brittney Griner. NaLyssa Smith. Angel Reese. The talent speaks for itself. Now, Knox is in a prime position to become Mulkey’s next great wing.

Alongside fellow five-star recruits ZaKiyah Johnson and Divine Bourrage, Knox headlines LSU’s No. 2 ranked recruiting class (according to 247sports) for the 2025-26 season.

Her goal for the upcoming season is simple, and one that will have Tiger Nation excited for what’s to come. Knox said she wants to bring home hardware and hang another championship banner in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. “My goal is to eventually become a starter during my freshman year,” she says. “I want to be on the first All-Conference team for the SEC and just [win] as many freshman accolades as I can, just so people know who I am and that I can prove myself.”

Portraits by Sam Muller.

The post Grace Knox, the No. 7-Ranked Player in the Class of 2025, is Poised to Make a Whole Lot of Noise at LSU appeared first on SLAM.

It’s a fitting representation of the game and the opening line of the new book Courtside Candy.

Everybody remembers their first time watching basketball. The satisfaction of swishing a jumper or using creativity to get to the rack. In a new book, former SLAM Editor-in-Chief Ben Osborne explores the impact of the game beyond these core moments.

In collaboration with German independent publishing house gestalten, Courtside Candy explores how the game has transcended beyond the court—how it’s created new fashion, art and a subculture that brings all hoop fans together.

“The photos are spectacular. It’s basically a coffee table book that anyone who appreciates basketball culture will love,” Osborne says.

There are five sections in the book. An introduction about basketball’s impact beyond the court and a personal tribute to Stephon Marbury, a player whom Osborne believes embodies the book’s message. Displays of basketball fashion trends, the game’s global reach, artistic interpretations and the variety of courts found worldwide fill the pages.

Nearly 40 artists, photographers and fashion designers are featured, with each page draped in a myriad of colorful images and short essays that tell the unique backstories of each work.

“I’m not sure a book has been presented in this manner that kind of tries to touch all the different things that basketball has influenced,” Osborne says. “I think it’s really like a love letter to the game.”

Courtside Candy is out July 1.

Photos courtesy of Wenpeng Lu, Walter Looss Jr., Maddy Talias, An Rong Xu and Jorge Espinoza.

The post Former SLAM Editor-in-Chief Ben Osborne Showcases the Game’s Global Impact in New Photo Book Courtside Candy  appeared first on SLAM.

Next thing he knew, Jazz forward Taylor Hendricks was being stretchered off the court to the back of American Airlines Center in Dallas. The injury, which he now describes as a “freak accident,” had occurred during a regular-season matchup between the Jazz and the Mavericks as Hendricks, who was running down the court, seemingly slipped. After athletic trainers rushed over to pop his dislocated ankle back in place, Hendricks thought to himself, OK, I’m probably good. I’ll probably be out for a few weeks. I’m probably straight. But later, X-rays would reveal that his season was over before it had ever really started. Three games in, he was ruled out indefinitely with a fractured fibula and a dislocated ankle on his right leg.

“I was like, bro, there’s no way this is happening to me,” Hendricks tells us in late April, six months after the injury went down in October. “You know, you would see it online happen to other players, like crazy injuries, but for it to actually happen to you, it’s crazy.”

Hendricks, whose family was watching the game live on television, remembers his phone immediately blowing up with calls from his mom, Danielle, and his siblings. “They were really distraught,” he remembers. “I was just trying to keep a calm voice, pretty much tell them everything is straight, I’m good…[But] inside my mind, I’m thinking about 100 different things.”

The reality of everything that had happened didn’t really hit him until he got back to Salt Lake City and was laying in his bed with his foot elevated. “That’s probably when it really hit me,” he says. “Like, Wow, I’m really hurt. I can’t do nothing. My season’s over.”

But instead of letting the disappointment consume him, Taylor faced the injury head-on. The journey would go on to shape his character—not just as a hooper, but as a person determined to bounce back.

Hendricks knew he didn’t want to let the injury define him, but in those early months, he also realized that he had a ways to go before even thinking about returning to the court. After undergoing surgery, Hendricks focused on getting stronger and “building up the bricks,” as he puts it. Learning how to rely on others for help, though, was one of the biggest learning curves for him throughout the process.

“I’m the type of person that likes to do things, if I can, by myself. I try not to ask for help unless I really, really need it,” Hendricks says. “So to be in a position like that where you can’t really do anything or you can’t do a lot of things yourself, it was really frustrating.”

With the help of his support system, which includes Danielle, who even moved to SLC to support him post-op, teammates like Collin Sexton and the Utah coaching staff, Hendricks has gone from taking things day by day to almost a full recovery going into the summer. From starting to walk without crutches to without a boot and scooter entirely. Throughout the process, he’s even picked up new approaches to taking care of his body, including icing and wearing barefoot shoes, which help with his strength and mobility. “I really felt myself getting better every week, so that was kind of the motivation, the driving point,” Taylor says.

If the healing process sounds quick, it’s because it was. Taylor’s twin brother, Tyler, also shared what it was like watching Taylor go through this process from the outside. “His healing process was pretty quick honestly. I felt like he healed pretty well. He took it very well, and he did all the right things to get better,” Tyler said. “He wasn’t forcing it to get better. He was just taking his time and doing all the stuff he had to do. So we’re happy to see him out there.”

Now on the other side of his setback, Taylor is focused, driven and ready to elevate his game using everything he’s learned during the recovery process.

“The way this season went, I’m going to keep that in mind,” he says. “Anytime it gets hard, just think about where you were a year ago. You weren’t able to play, you weren’t even able to walk. So I feel like things like that will definitely help me push through. Be grateful and have gratitude for where I am—or where I will be.”

Photos courtesy of Taylor Hendricks.

The post After Season-Ending Injury Utah’s Taylor Hendricks Details His Journey to Recovery appeared first on SLAM.

On an overcast day in mid-April, Cloud was welcomed to the New York Liberty with a seafoam carpet roll out. “WELCOME TO BROOKLYN” signage filled nearly every LED screen in and around the arena, from the marquee outside to the video board in the team’s locker room, where her Rebel Edition threads were already set up. Coaches, front office staff, the PR department and the social media team huddled around the organization’s star offseason pick-up, capturing every second of her first day. You couldn’t get Cloud to stop smiling if you tried. And after an offseason filled with uncertainty, there’s a genuine joy behind her grin. She’s back on Cloud 9.

“I just kind of thought that I was coming in and just getting my locker. I’ve never had a big kind of reveal like that. So when I came and everyone was kind of outside, it was a shock for me, especially with the way that I was traded. It has been hard to kind of trust in the next process, but I truly am in the place that I’m meant to be,” Cloud told us when she sat down for her SLAM 256 cover shoot in early May. “So I’m just really thankful to be here, be part of this organization and to be in a position to even compete for championships again. That’s really all I want at this point in my career. I feel like I have a lot left to give the game, and this is the best place for me to try and go win a championship with this group of people, with this coaching staff, with this front office. I’m really excited.”

To fully understand how we got to the corner of Flatbush Ave. and Atlantic Ave., we’ve got to take it back to the winter of 2024, when the future wasn’t so certain. With free agency looming at the end of her eighth season with the Washington Mystics, Cloud says she was never offered an extension from the team she helped lead to six playoff appearances and the 2019 WNBA championship. The lack of commitment bruised her ego. So she leaned into the challenges that arose with a new organization and a new city, locking in with the Phoenix Mercury on a two-year deal. “This was, like, my big kind of leap to see if I can spread my wings and fly and be who I was for DC, be that in Phoenix. And so I did that,” Cloud says. 

The crop top papi poured in 11.5 points, 6.9 dimes and 1.4 steals a night, notching her third All-Defensive team selection and leading the Mercury to the first round of the 2024 WNBA playoffs before they were knocked out in two games by a Finals-bound Lynx squad. 

The past few seasons have been, as Cloud puts it, “a whirlwind,” but the 2022 assist champ was feeling good about riding out the rest of her career in the desert. That was until she started scrolling through her social media feed while at Unrivaled in early February and found out she’d been traded, without warning, to a Connecticut Sun organization in rebuild mode. 

“I very much said my piece after those calls, because for me as a player, you asked me to do a few things: to show up, to change a culture, to bring you back to the playoffs. And I did all three things while also having one of my best statistical years,” Cloud says. “So on paper, it doesn’t really make sense, but from the business aspect, I understand. So that’s all for me as a player, telling my truth of the story is just that, the business side of things fans don’t always see, the media don’t always see, but there is still a healthy way of doing business.

“So not only am I being traded in the middle of an offseason, which was not communicated to me, unexpected, didn’t necessarily make sense, but [I’m] having to do it in front of my co-workers and go in the next day with people that I actually was traded for,” she continues. “So emotionally, that was really hard. But the beauty of this game is, it has always been my oasis. So when things got really chaotic and tough for me emotionally, mentally, spiritually, within that trade, I just really dove back into basketball. And like it always has, it kind of saved me, kept my head above water.”

The gym is where Cloud says she can be both vulnerable and comfortable with herself. The frustration and confusion of the past few months were channeled into every drill, every jumper, every lift. She found comfort in conversations with her therapist, the community in the Phantom BC’s locker room and a newly established backcourt connection with Unrivaled teammate Sabrina Ionescu. 

The drive and hunger to compete for a championship were still as strong as when she was a rookie, but Cloud and the Sun knew their timelines to that goal didn’t align, so she asked the front office to do right by her. “I need y’all to help me at this point in my career to just put me in a place that I deserve to be in,” she explains. A week before she was set to leave Miami, Cloud got a call from New York Liberty general manager Jonathan Kolb. She wasn’t just heading to a contender, she was teaming up with the reigning champs.

“I truly feel saved in a lot of ways,” Cloud says. “I know that sounds dramatic, but where my feet are today is truly a blessing. I’m so grateful to be where I am. I’m really grateful to put this Liberty jersey on and excited. Excited to play for this organization. Excited to play for this community. Excited to be in a city that is just like what I’m used to. Nitty gritty. We get everything out the mud. We appreciate hard workers. We don’t put up with no bulls**t. I like to think that I’m the New York menace. I’m going to change my name to that. I used to say, ***hole. I think New York menace is better.”

A new oasis resides in Brooklyn. One where Cloud can facilitate freely, put the clamps on ballhandlers with confidence and drop buckets at will. She’s already locked in with head coach Sandy Brondello on how to be an extension of her vision on the court. And the overwhelming depth the Liberty have entering this season hasn’t been lost on her either. Cloud’s taking ownership in making sure that everybody eats. Sab. Stewie. Jonquel. Leonie. Marine. Nyara. Izzy. Kennedy. Everyone’s getting touches. 

“And then defensively, I’m our dog. There’s going to be a bunch of dogs on defense, but I like to think that I’m the head of the snake of that. So the pressure that I apply will get us going,” Cloud
says. “We get to play with pace and in transition. And that’s where basketball really gets to become fun—when you get to play positionless. And that’s why I’m so excited to be here.”

The main point guard duties will fall to Cloud 9, allowing Ionescu to find even more success off the ball. We’ve already seen the guard-on-guard screening actions play out perfectly in training camp with Cloud whipping over-the-shoulder passes to Ionescu at the three-point line after drawing her defender away. It’s all just a continuation of the chemistry they developed together this offseason. 

“I’m pretty sure Sab probably didn’t like me when we got to Unrivaled,” Cloud says with a laugh. “Mainly because I’m the one who defends her as the opposing player. And for me, Sab is one of the best guards in our league. So when I played against New York, like, I got to get into her s**t. I got to bully her and push her off her places. So, yeah, in turn, I don’t really think she messed with me that much.”

With lockers right next to each other, the bond we’ve come to see across the Liberty’s social channels formed quickly. “I just remember being around her and just being like, Wow, you’re low-key funny. Like, Sab says lowkey s**t all the time that’s hilarious,” Cloud says. “And it just kind of fit. Like, the vibes were immaculate. We really did get along.”

Instead of using training camp to adapt to each other’s play styles, they built on the foundation that was laid in Miami. Cloud knows how Ionescu moves, where her spots are and how to “set her up, get easier shots for her and really just make her life just a tad bit easier.” The preseason has been proof enough with Cloud already building out cerebral connections across the roster, allowing everyone to tap into a new feeling: an oasis of creativity.

These first few weeks in Brooklyn have been a refreshing yet familiar shift. She’s enjoying the pace of Brooklyn, walking to practice every day, interacting with fans and those who “notice my dogs before me, which is low-key cool,” she says. She’s back on the East Coast and more importantly, back to competing for championships. 

“Overall though, I want to be exactly who I said I am. That was the goal with moving from DC to Phoenix. That’s the same goal here in New York,” Cloud says. “I’m going to prove I’m exactly who I said I am. There is not a selfish bone in my body. I will do whatever this team needs on any given night. If that’s scoring, if that’s not scoring, if that’s defending, if not, whatever it is. I’m just going to be that piece, that role player, whatever, every single night. But yeah, I’m going to get into the people’s s**t, too. I’m gonna be the menace.” 

Portraits by Alex Subers.

The post Back on Cloud 9: New York Liberty Star Natasha Cloud Covers SLAM 256 appeared first on SLAM.

Kelsey Plum has never been one to hold back. Not when she was 10 years old and told her mom that she wanted to play in the WNBA. Not in Washington, where she broke numerous records. Not in San Antonio, where, as the franchise’s first-ever No. 1 pick in 2017, she made it clear in her introductory press conference that critics were “good” because they “make skin tough.” And not in Vegas, where the team relocated in 2018 and where Plum would go on to show just how tough she really was by bouncing back from an Achilles injury to win Sixth Woman of the Year and then back-to-back championships. 

The KP that is talking to us now is in Los Angeles. Having been acquired by the Sparks via a three-team trade in early February, her words are a message to the fans regarding what they can expect from her new squad this year. But really, they echo a truth about her entire career, too. Plum has always been about putting in the work. 

“Kelsey’s just elevated our whole organization because of the hard work she does on and off the floor,” says Cameron Brink, who is sitting with Plum, Dearica Hamby and Rickea Jackson inside a gym at El Camino College, where the Sparks are hosting their preseason content day. “She’s been a huge inspiration for me in that sense. We both have the same trainer—I’ve said that before—but she’s the hardest worker I know, and it inspires me to just put in that much more effort every day. So obviously she’s amazing on the floor. She’s one of the best players in our league, but she’s really taking our organization to the next level.”

Long before they were teammates, Cam got a glimpse of just how competitive KP truly was during a workout they had together. Brink was only in high school at the time. “I was very intimidated. She kicked my ass in every drill, everything,” she says.

The way Plum remembers it, Brink dished it right back, too. “You probably don’t remember, but you blocked the s**t out of me in that workout,” Plum says to her.

“Did I?” Brink says, stunned at the memory, as if she isn’t a 6-4 shot blocking machine. Neither of them could have known all those years ago that one day they’d join forces.

The same goes for Plum and Hamby, who played together in San Antonio at the beginning of their careers and now, years later, are teammates yet again. They go way back, too. “I first met D in the hotel lobby. What was that? The Final Four?” Plum asks her. “You had just had Amaya [in 2017], [she] was cute in the baby stroller. I’ll never forget that. You just said, Hi, you’re going to be my new teammate.” 

“She’s been one of my best friends since she came into the league, and I’m just grateful to have her back,” says Hamby. As for when Plum met Jackson, neither of them had talked to each other until the Aces played the Sparks last season. “I just remember looking at her shoes and being like, OK, she’s got swag,” says Plum. 

It’s crazy how things can change in the course of an offseason, but here they are, together, all wearing the purple and gold. The timing couldn’t be any more perfect for the Sparks, who went 8-32 last year, haven’t made it to the playoffs since 2020 and have had three coaching changes since then. But with new head coach Lynne Roberts, a new floor general in Plum to help set the tone and a roster full of ultimate bucket-getters, which also includes Odyssey Sims and Azurá Stevens, to name a few, the team is ready to get back to what it once was: a winning franchise. 

If this were a movie, then Jackson has the perfect title. 

“Baddies and Buckets,” she says. 

Say less. 

Even though they only played one preseason game against the Golden State Valkyries on May 6, that down-to-the-wire matchup provided a glimpse at what the Sparks can do offensively. Plum was shifty with the ball in her hands and facilitated the offense by dishing off plenty of dimes—5, to be exact—to her new teammates, which included one to Hamby right from the jump. Hamby, a three-time All-Star and 2022 champ who had 4 points, 6 assists and 6 rebounds, plays with power and poise on both ends of the floor.

“I think D is one of the most underrated players in our league. Plays both ends of the court,” says Plum. “I kind of said this earlier in the press conference, [but] the 4 position is the most difficult in our league because you’re matching up with the best of the best in the world. So what she [has done] on a night in and night out basis throughout her career is, to me, one of the most impressive things. She plays both ends. She plays incredibly hard, she moves well without the ball, almost better than anyone I’ve seen, and she’s very instinctive and plays to that strength. And she’s going to have a great year.”

As a two-time Sixth Woman of the Year, Hamby is ready to add All-WNBA honors to her stacked résumé this season. “I think the next step for me would be to be All-WNBA,” she says. “I think I’ve kind of had every role possible throughout my career, but definitely want to be an All-Star again.”

Then there’s Jackson, who was so silky smooth from beyond the arc, going 2-4 and leading the team in scoring with 13 points. She carries herself with the confidence of a seasoned vet despite being drafted just last year by the Sparks as the No. 4 pick. “I just want us to win, whatever that looks like,” she says, when asked about her goals this season. “Whatever my role is, I’m just ready to contribute and continue to sharpen out the tools in my toolbox.”

“She’s being humble,” KP adds. “She’s an All-Star waiting to happen, but that’s OK. I respect that.” Later, Plum also describes Jackson as “one of the most talented players I’ve ever played with.”

“I’ve played with some talented players, but her ability to create her own shot—and because of her length at her position—she’s really a size big but in a guard body and she can shoot the three, which is incredible,” Plum adds. “I think the sky’s the limit for her. She can go as far as she wants to go in her career.” 

The only player we haven’t seen yet is Cam, who is still rehabilitating from an ACL injury suffered last season. “I think it’s just doing everything I can to be back on the floor with these three amazing women, that’ll be a success for me,” Brink says of her goals this year after averaging 7.5 points and 5.3 boards last season. 

It’s that positivity and resilience that will guide her throughout the process, but when she does return, everyone will be tuning in to see her do what she does best. “I think Cam is a Defensive Player of the Year waiting to happen,” Plum says. “Cam has everything she already needs in her toolbox. She really just needs to be empowered and continue to build that confidence. But the skills are there. God gave her some incredible talents. I have never played with someone who has been able to affect people’s shots and really deter entire plays. And I [would] know, I played against her. I would try to go in there and there’s not a lot of room to go in there. I would foul her.” 

Despite the absence of Brink, the Sparks have their sights set on the upcoming season. They’ll meet the Valkyries again in their first regular-season game and have a packed schedule that also includes the jersey retirement of Candace Parker, who helped bring the City of Angels a WNBA title in 2016. It’s been nearly a decade since then, but expectations are high.

“I think that a lot of people can have statistics, but do you affect winning?” KP says of her mentality. “I think that’s why I chose to come here. The individual stuff ends up happening when collectively you work together and you win games, so that’s my mentality.” 

Portraits by Atiba Jefferson.

The post Kelsey Plum, Dearica Hamby, Cameron Brink and Rickea Jackson on how LA is finding their SPARK this Season appeared first on SLAM.

1. Be in the WNBA.

“I was always somebody that was driven by goals and that has always remained the same throughout my life,” the Des Moines native told ESPN in March of 2024. Just two months after that interview, a record-breaking 2.4 million broadcast viewers tuned in to watch as Clark was selected No. 1 overall in the WNBA draft by the Indiana Fever. Dressed in head-to-toe Prada, Clark sat at a table alongside her two brothers, Blake and Colin, and their parents, Brent and Anne, inside the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Right before Clark heard her name called on stage by Commissioner Cathy Engelbert, the 6-0 guard looked down. The moment she’d envisioned for herself as a kid had arrived, except now the whole world was in on it.

Clark, the reigning WNBA Rookie of the Year, didn’t just make it to the League. She’s lifted the game to completely new heights. In her first season, the now 23-year-old became the first rookie in League history to record a triple-double. She also set a new record for assists in a game (19), set a rookie record for threes made (122) and received the most All-Star votes in WNBA history (over 700,000). In 2024, Fever games in Washington, Atlanta and Vegas were moved to NBA and NHL venues to accommodate the unprecedented demand to see Clark in action. Ahead of this season, six teams have already announced venue upgrades, including the Dallas Wings, Chicago Sky and Connecticut Sun, that will allow for audience sizes two to three times larger than normal.

“I think what people love the most is the emotion I play with. I think it’s easy to connect with. I think they can feel that I’m real on the court,” Clark said, when asked to describe the effect she’s had on the game at an event celebrating her selection as TIME’s 2024 Athlete of the Year, an award that only one other basketball player—LeBron James—has ever received. Anyone who has watched Clark on the court can attest to the thrill of seeing her effortlessly launch her signature long-range logo threes. From distances where players typically heave desperate attempts to beat the buzzer, Clark regularly pulls up to shoot with intention and ease. In the milliseconds after her wrist flicks, Clark becomes one with the crowd, watching as the ball spins through the air toward its inevitable destination and erupting alongside them if the moment so calls.

In early May, Clark and the Fever traveled to Iowa to play a sold-out preseason game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, where her transcendent rise began during her final two collegiate seasons. It was Clark’s first time back since her jersey was retired in February. Permanently marked on the court by a sticker that reads “22 Clark” is the spot where she infamously broke Kelsey Plum’s all-time NCAAW scoring record with a shot several feet behind the three-point line. “I told my teammates, It’s going to be louder than any arena you’ve played in. That’s just the type of energy [these fans] bring every single night,” she told Holly Rowe, as they revisited some of the sites of her most memorable buckets before the game.

Perhaps one of the reasons the connection Clark has with her fans is so strong is because she remembers so clearly being in their shoes. “When I step off the court, I try to be very authentic and genuine and make as much time for people as I can. I never want to big time anybody because I was just that young girl screaming for an autograph,” Clark said. As the all-time NCAA scoring leader knows firsthand, and any fan can attest to, the smallest interactions have the ability to create long-lasting ripple effects.

On the prophetic page her mom saved from her childhood, another dream Clark wrote down was “to meet Maya Moore,” which came true the night she attended her first WNBA game as a kid. Clark’s father drove her from their home in Des Moines to Minnesota and purchased tickets last minute. The box office rep asked if they would like to watch the players warm up before the game. Clark said she remembers sitting courtside and taking a picture with some of the players. After the game, she stayed to watch a post-game question-and-answer segment that featured her idol Maya Moore. Because she didn’t have a sharpie or a phone, Clark simply ran up to Moore and gave her a hug. “There’s no documentation of that moment, but in my brain, it was probably one of the most pivotal moments of my entire basketball career,” she said in a pregame presser last season, on the night Moore’s jersey was retired by the Lynx. “As a young girl loving sports, that meant the world to me.”

During Clark’s senior season at Iowa, Moore surprised the rising star on College GameDay. When the four-time WNBA champion and two-time Olympic Gold medalist emerged into view, Clark’s calm and confident demeanor immediately dropped as she let out a squeal and covered her mouth with both her hands.

“I feel like I’m fangirling so hard,” she said with a smile after embracing her idol. “I still feel like when I was this tall and freaking out and I ran across the court and gave you a hug.” When asked how it felt that the best player in the women’s game was inspired by her, Moore said it was a full circle moment because she too remembers being a 10-year-old girl running up to Cynthia Cooper, one of the legends of the game.

According to Clark, her biggest skill is the ability to block out the noise, an imperative one for any athlete to perform at the highest level, let alone one who gets as much attention as she does. However, as much as she’d like it to, the conversation around Clark and her place in the game hasn’t always remained focused on basketball. As a white cis-heteronormative woman in a league of predominantly Black women, Clark has found her name in the center of hot button debates, such as the off-court privileges her identity affords her, and at times weaponized in racist and anti-LGBTQ narratives. When Clark was initially asked last season if she was bothered by this, she mentioned her focus was solely on basketball before expanding further: “I think it’s disappointing, it’s not acceptable…everyone should be treated with the same amount of respect.”

Clark acknowledged the role race plays and her privilege in last year’s Time Magazine cover feature. On stage at the TIME event, Clark said that the only opinions she really cares about are of the people she loves: her teammates, coaches, the people inside their locker room, the people she sees every single day. “I feel like I’m just scratching the surface of what I can accomplish,” she said. In the current unstable and polarized climate of the country and world, maybe the greatest luxury Clark has is this—the privilege of realizing her childhood dreams and continuing to pursue them.

It’s clear that the WNBA and women’s sports are having their long-awaited moment, at a time when the excitement of the game is needed more than ever. Heading into her second season, Clark has her sights set on championship glory and etching her name among the greats, as she inspires the next generation of hoopers alongside the more than 140 women who comprise the League.

Clark said that a lot of people have asked her where she thinks the growing popularity of women’s sports is headed, a question that she doesn’t have an answer for. “If you would’ve told people this is where the WNBA is going to be five years ago, people probably wouldn’t have believed you,” she said. “They never thought they’d buy tickets. They never thought we’d play on ABC or ESPN. They never thought there would be sold-out arenas.” The smartest thing, Clark advised, is to get in now because the price is only going up.

The biggest thing Clark said she’s learned about herself throughout her journey thus far is that dreams can come true. While she admits that her dreams were not at the magnitude of success she’s currently experiencing, Clark said. “I was always somebody who dreamed and wanted to achieve things.” Her parents encouraged her to go after the things she wanted, whether it was to keep up against her older brother and his friends or to follow her goal of making it to the WNBA. “They probably knew at times I would fail and they let me fail, but I think that taught me a lot of lessons about myself and life in general.”

While the increased value and attention the Indiana Fever superstar has brought to the sport has been clear, it may be that her greatest impact will be immeasurable by numbers. Perhaps her lasting legacy won’t be apparent for another decade or two when the next face of basketball shares their encounter with Clark, whose rise will be discussed as one that accelerated the momentum that was already building and brewing long before she ever stepped into the League. It’s hard to project where all this growth is headed but as the world has seen, in the hands of players like Clark, who possess a pure love, joy and competitive fire for the game, the only way for it to go is up.

Portraits by Alex Subers

The post What Noise? Caitlin Clark STAYS DIALED IN | SLAM 256 Cover Story appeared first on SLAM.

With 7:17 left in the first quarter, Young, one of the best scorers in the W, drove right at the 6-0 guard and former UConn star. “[DiJonai] was there to get the jump ball so I could catch my breath for a second, but that was no joke. The slide to contain, stay in front on a closeout, just get checked. Yeah, that was real,” says Bueckers, who had 10 points, 4 rebounds and 1 assist, with a smile. It’s May, and Bueckers is here with us at the University of Texas Arlington gym, where she and her new Wings teammates, Arike Ogunbowale and DiJonai Carrington, are posing for their first SLAM cover together.

Individually, they each have a swagger that’s undeniable. Arike, who was drafted by the Wings in 2019 at No. 5, is their captain and the second-longest tenured player on the team with a game so flashy and clutch it’s earned her All-Star and All-WNBA honors. Then there’s DiJonai, who was last year’s Most Improved Player and is bold and confident in everything she does, from guarding the best player on the floor to scoring over everybody and then hitting ’em with the seatbelt celly. As for the rook, Bueckers exudes an aura so captivating, she’s become beloved—from gracing our cover in high school to winning a national championship at UConn just two months ago to reinvigorating the Wings as the No. 1 pick. There are even hundreds of TikTok edits and fan pages obsessed with her every (dance) move. But like the braid she once wore in college, she’s leaving the hype in the past and embracing her new role as a rookie.

“It’s crazy, I went from being the oldest and I guess the vet on the UConn team to being the youngest here, or one of the youngest,” she says. “I’m [continuing] to stay humble, stay hungry and working to be the best teammate, best leader I can be, [and] working to find my voice. Obviously, I don’t have as much experience, but I still feel like I have a lot of knowledge and wisdom for the game and a lot of love for it.”

It’s here in Dallas that she’ll learn how to compete in the pros. And it’s together as a unit that she, Arike, DiJonai and their squad of standouts will look to show the entire League that the Wings can hold their own, too.

“New” is the theme this year for the Wings, who are now led by first-year head coach and former defensive coordinator Chris Koclanes, who, per the Dallas Hoops Journal, is emphasizing “playing fast…playing smart. Every action has to have purpose.” New is also the word Arike uses when asked about the team so far ahead of the season. “It’s just new, there’s a lot of new, [which is] something that I’ve wanted to happen and something that’s needed to happen for the city,” she says. “I think the front office did a great job bringing in the players they brought in, drafting the players they drafted, the trades that they made happen in free agency. So now I feel like this team is really ready and willing to compete, and we’ll have fun while doing it.”

Last season, the Wings were 9-31 and didn’t make the playoffs. But this year, they’ve got their sights on changing that. For Arike, who averaged 22.2 ppg and has experienced all the ups and downs over the years, including losing in the semis to the Aces in 2023 and three head coaching changes since she first arrived, her goal is to make everyone around her better. “Last year, Year 6, it was tough in the win column,” she says. “[My goal now is] just being better than last year, getting my teammates involved, going higher in every statistical category. But definitely more wins is the main thing for me.”

Her teammates will look for her to guide them. “She’s been a leader for the team, she’s captain of the team and she’s your voice,” Bueckers says. “She’s a bucket, of course. Everybody knows that. Just being around her, she’s super selfless, super welcoming.”

While it’s only been a few weeks since training camp started in late April, it’s obvious that the key to the Wings’ success this season will be their ability to develop chemistry quickly in a short amount of time. It’s all happening before our very eyes—from Carrington helping fix Bueckers’ hair mid-photo shoot to attending the SZA and Kendrick concert as a team (the Wings even got them a suite, says Arike). “We’re still finding our chemistry,” Arike says. “I think it helps that we like each other off the court. We’ve been to a couple dinners together, we’ve been to a concert together, we’ve hung out these last couple of weeks more than I think I have in the past couple of years, which is good. To build that type of chemistry and relationship off the court, it’s gonna transfer to on the court.”

In the Wings’ most recent exhibition game against the Toyota Antelopes at home, fans got a glimpse of just how flashy, energetic and most importantly, connected, their team can be on the floor—from Bueckers dishing a crisp, overhead dime to Ogunbowale that was so on target, you’d think they’d played together for years, to Ogunbowale’s buzzer-beater and Carrington’s ability to finish at the rim. The three of them, along with Myisha Hines-Allen, all finished the game in double digits. 

“We’re all uptempo,” says DiJonai. “We like to play fast and just get out and have fun. It’s never too serious, which I like.”

For the 5-11 guard, the move from Connecticut, where she averaged a career-high 12.7 points and 5.0 rebounds last season, to Dallas serves as an opportunity to be in an entirely new environment that’s unlike anywhere she’s ever been before. “There are no similarities, actually, between here and Connecticut or here and Waco,” she says. Carrington also brings a level of competitiveness, energy and leadership to the team, as well as a fun-loving attitude, which is especially apparent in the way her teammates talk about her.

“Nai/DC/DJ, she doesn’t like DC or DJ [as nicknames], she only likes Nai…she’s great,” says Paige. “She’s like a baby vet because she’s still young. She’s just a fun time to be around. I’m always trolling her, making fun of her, annoying her. That’s been fun. She just has a heart and a passion for the game that you can tell.”

When asked about her first impressions of Arike and PB, Carrington dishes it right back. “Paige is God punishing me for how I bothered my vets when I was a rookie,” Carrington says, lovingly. “Rike, she’s cool. She’s a vibe. I already knew that, though.”

And just like that, the building blocks of a team are already in motion. As for what the Wings will accomplish this season, we’ll all have to wait and see, but as for what we can all expect: a lot of buckets, elite dimes and plenty of LeagueFits-worthy tunnel fits. It’s never been a more exciting time to be a Dallas sports fan.

“I’m sure big money NIL Paige will come correct and DiJonai as well, I know she’ll be fitted,” says Arike.

“I don’t know what they got going on, but I’m coming trim, Game 1,” says DiJonai, hinting at the looks she has planned. “I can’t tell y’all yet. Just know it’s gon’ be tea. I can’t spill it.”

“I do think we’ll have the best dressed team in the League,” adds Bueckers. “I’ll say that.”

Portraits by Atiba Jefferson.

The post With Paige Bueckers, DiJonai Carrington and Arike Ogunbowale, the Dallas Wings are Ready to FLY this season appeared first on SLAM.

DT was the franchise’s first-ever No. 1 pick in ’04, and from the moment she arrived until she retired 20 years later, she was the franchise’s centerpiece, the iron at the core of their offense. Taurasi played a style of basketball tougher than the element itself: the spin moves, the fadeaway pull-up jumpers, the crisp dimes, all that attitudeand fire. Everyone’s got a DT story, a moment they’ll never forget: the trash talk, the kiss, that selfie she took after getting ejected (“Got tossed, lol.”), the door. Early on, the Mercury played a fast-paced, run-and-gun offense under then-head coach Paul Westhead, known as the “The System,” that allowed DT to evolve into a scoring machine. By ’06, she averaged a career-high 25.3 ppg; by ’07, she was a champion. Just two years later in ’09, the Merc’s legendary trio of DT, her now-wife Penny Taylor and Cappie Pondexter won another one.

In 2013, the Mercury drafted a 6-9 anomaly from Baylor named Brittney Griner as the No. 1 pick. BG opened up the team’s spacing, dunked on their competition and helped bring another title back to the Valley of the Sun in 2014. The rest is…

History. No one could have imagined that last season would be the very last time we’d ever see those two in the purple and orange. This past February, the franchise as we know it changed forever: Griner signed with the Atlanta Dream in free agency. Right around the same time, the Mercury made a four-team trade to acquire Alyssa Thomas from Connecticut and Satou Sabally from Dallas, as well as center Kalani Brown and guard Sevgi Uzun (from the Wings). As for Taurasi, it was a matter of if she was going to retire or return for Year 21. On February 25, she announced in TIME that she was retiring from the game. The end of an era.

Now, for the first time in a very, very long time, the Mercury are starting over. Under the helm of head coach Nate Tibbetts, the Mercury have a vision for how their squad, led by the new Big 3, will compete this season. Everyone’s calling it positionless basketball.

The term isn’t one Tibbetts came up with directly, but it is one he’s embracing. “I don’t know who has termed it ‘positionless,’” he said, via Desert Wave Media. “I love the term. We’re just trying to figure it out and play with space.”

For the past decade, the Mercury relied heavily on DT’s scoring ability and BG’s defensive dominance, but Tibbetts has reimagined the Mercury’s system entirely. They’ll still play fast and aggressive defensively, but he’s emphasizing way more versatility. “Us going in and getting [Thomas] and [Sabally] is just going to give us more size. Maybe just not at the center position, but just positionally,” Tibbetts continued. “Like [Mercury general manager Nick U’Ren] said, let’s make this our own path. We’ve got different ideas.”

By utilizing each player’s individual skill set and not limiting them to the confines of their traditional positions, Tibbetts is going to let his stars unleash their creativity while creating opportunities for others. For a player like Sabally, who earned the nickname “Unicorn” because of how dynamic and unique her game is (in Dallas, she averaged 17.9 points, 6.4 rebounds and a career-high 5.0 assists last season in just 15 games due to injury), it’ll allow her to play with the freedom she hasn’t had before. “Positionless basketball is what we’ve all been doing as individual players,” Sabally said to the media on May 8, while sitting alongside Copper, Thomas and Tibbetts. “Now we’re put into a system that will really enhance that and will let us be free.”

As she spoke, Thomas, who is one of the best facilitators in the League and a six-time All-Defensive superstar, nodded her head in agreement. During her time in Connecticut, AT broke the WNBA single-season record for assists (316) and double-doubles (28) in 2023 and remains the franchise’s leader in almost every major category, including games played, rebounds and assists. “[Thomas is] a basketball wizard,” Tibbetts told the media, via TheNext. “I’ve been super happy with how she’s been willing to speak up and use her voice in situations. You can say a lot of things about [Thomas], but the number one thing is, she’s a winner. Her teams win, and they win at a high level. That’s what we want, to win at the highest level here, too.”

With 11 years of veteran experience, Thomas can now tap into all the different layers of her game, from running the point to also playing center and forward. “AT starting the break, imagine a 4 trying to pick her up full court? That’s tough,” said Copper.

As for Kah, who averaged a career-high 21.1 points per game while earning her fourth All-Star appearance last year, she’ll be expected to drop buckets, play aggressive defense and bring that same intensity, grit and Philly-bred attitude she’s always played with (who could forget the in-your-face staredown she gave Sophie Cunningham in Game 2 of the Finals in 2021?). But her impact this season, specifically, will go way beyond just the Xs and Os. Kah is undeniably one of the team’s leaders, and having played with greats like Candace Parker, whom she won a title with in Chicago, as well as Griner and Taurasi last year, this is now her time to lead a squad of her own.

“Playing with great players is a great thing,” Copper said earlier this month, via AZcentral. “You learn different leadership styles. Just going back to my 2020-21 season [in Chicago], winning the championship, that team was full of leaders, but leaders in their own way. And I think you’re able to be your best, most authentic and genuine self when you do it your own way.”

While it’s only been a few weeks since training camp started in late April, it’s Copper who will “set the tone” every single day, according to Tibbetts. “[Copper] is special,” Tibbetts said, via TheNext. “She means a lot to me and what we’re trying to do, and her growth over the course of the year, like, a year ago, she and I, we had just met for the first time, and our conversations, our relationship, our trust, is at the ultimate level…My whole challenge to her this year is lead. And it’s not just with what you say, it’s what you do…And every day she has set the tone.”

Her presence is already being felt by her teammates, too. “We’ve already had a conversation… she was like, I’m gonna demand a lot from you,” says Sabally. “We looked each other in the eyes and we were like, Yeah, good. I want that. I know her drive as a player. That’s where I want to be.”

As for what happens next, all eyes will be on Phoenix to see how exactly they rise to the occasion this season, which officially starts May 16. Still, it’s obvious that the Mercury are not looking to rewrite the past, but pen their own chapter. No one can replicate what Taurasi and Griner brought to the organization, but with a new roster, a new training facility, a new philosophy and a ton of new additions—including sharpshooter Sami Whitcomb from Seattle, overseas standouts Monique Akoa-Makani, Anna Makurat and Shyla Heal, and new signees like Alexis Prince and Kitija Laksa, to name a few—the opportunities are endless. “I anticipate I’ll get some of the most open looks I’ve had probably in my career, because people will leave me to guard them,” Whitcomb says of the Big 3. Adds Kalani Brown: “Nate has given me a green light, and he wants me to evolve. So I’m very happy about that. It’s very uncomfortable at first, but I think once I get it down, it’s gonna be better.”

Without the present, there’s no future, and right now, the Mercury are locked in on just that. Exactly how it’ll all come together, only time will tell.

“In the end, it’s still basketball,” says Satou. “The ball has to fall in the hoop, and we’re pretty good at that.”

Portraits by Erik Isakson.

The post The Phoenix Mercury—and their New Big 3—are ready to RISE to the Occasion This Season appeared first on SLAM.

In high school, Arroyo pushed his family, which had connections through part ownership of the BSN team that used to exist in their hometown of Fajardo, to let him go play in America. Arroyo played one season at Brookwood HS in Thomasville, GA, where he averaged nearly 30 ppg and earned what had eluded him during his time in PR—US college scholarship offers. 

After the one year in Georgia, Arroyo began his semi-professional basketball career at the age of 17, playing with the aforementioned Fajardo team. After graduating from high school back in PR, he spent four years playing almost year-round—during the school year he was a star point guard at DI Florida International in Miami, and during the summer he was playing against grown men in the BSN. In 1998, Arroyo joined the Cangrejeros de Santurce, a team that dominated the storied BSN (recognize: the league has been around since 1929 and produced other NBA players such as Butch Lee, José Ortiz and JJ Barea) during his tenure. With Arroyo as their electrifying lead guard, the Cangrejeros won four straight BSN titles from 1998-2001 and added another championship in 2003. This is when SLAM and I first crossed paths with CA. I happened to attend Game 7 of the 2000 BSN Finals. I’d never heard of Arroyo when I walked into the Roberto Clemente Coliseum that night; by halftime, I knew I’d never forget him. SLAM took my word on how nice he was and let me write an “In Your Face” story on the then-FIU senior. He and I stayed in touch, reconnecting for a full feature in SLAM 84 when he was the starting PG on the Jazz and right through his decade-long career in the League and beyond.

CA’s best season in the L came in ’03–04 with the Jazz, when he started all 71 games he appeared in and averaged a career-high 12.6 points and 5.0 assists per game. He followed up that regular season with an Olympic performance for the ages. In the opening game for both the US and Puerto Rico in the 2004 Athens Games, the global superpower and its small island commonwealth faced off and PR did the impossible, blowing out big brother, 92-73. Arroyo led the way with 24 points, 7 assists, 4 steals and one epic jersey pop. While he never again matched those ’04 heights in the NBA, he played key roles on a number of NBA teams, including the ’05 championship runner-up Pistons and the first LeBron/Bosh/Wade Heat team in ’10-11. He also played for big-time Euro teams such as Maccabi Tel Aviv and Galatasaray and returned to Santurce in 2015.

While dabbling in music (his 2020 track “Baila Reggaeton” with Zion & Lennox is one of several certified hits he’s sung on) and acting (Sgt. Major Perez in The Greatest Beer Run Ever) Arroyo kept his eyes on the basketball leadership prize by becoming general manager of the Puerto Rico Men’s National Team in 2021. “I think I’ve proven myself the last few years with the national team, making so many roster moves and succeeding,” says Arroyo today. “What we did last year with the Olympics, to be able to go back for the first time in 20 years, with me as the GM, and the last first time I was a player.”

The peripatetic Arroyo, who has accomplished so much at the age of 45, is now onto his latest challenge, which is why he’s back in SLAM’s pages. Last November, Arroyo and his partner, majority owner Eric Duars, took over the most storied franchise in the BSN: the 16-time champion Vaqueros de Bayamón (Bayamón Cowboys). “We’d been in conversations about buying the team for about a year,” recalls Arroyo over Zoom after a recent Vaqueros practice. “The previous owner was Yadier Molina—the catcher from the Cardinals! He approached me about finding the right person to take over the team and he wanted someone who was loyal to the sport and the franchise and was business savvy at the same time. So he wanted me to help him find that right person. I had a great relationship with Eric Duars, a good friend of mine for many years, entrepreneur, business savvy, loves the game. But he’s mainly in the music business, he represents a bunch of artists in the industry. We felt like he was the right guy. And the first thing Eric told me was, I’m not doing this without you. At the time I was traveling a lot with the national team, recruiting new guys, had so many qualifiers, the Olympics coming up, and I was extremely busy. I met with the President of the Federation and told him, Look, I might have this opportunity, and he was like, Go ahead and do it. As soon as I got his blessing, I managed to find the time. And it’s been great, man. It’s also been a lot of work. Changing everything. But we’re here now and the season has started and it’s like [exhales] now we can breathe.”

Arroyo quickly extended the contract of long-time Vaquero mainstay Javier Mojica and hired his former teammate on the national team Christian Dalmau to be head coach. But Arroyo was just getting started. Knowing that league rules allowed him to bring in three “refuerzos,” (reinforcements, ie, players with no claims to Puerto Rican residency) he tapped his breadth of connections and aimed high. Behold the Vaqueros’ big three: Danilo Gallinari, JaVale McGee and Chris Duarte. 

Gallinari is, of course, the smooth shooting, 14-year NBA vet out of Italy who was a Knick lottery pick in ’08, a high-teen ppg scorer for much of the 2010s and who was playing playoff minutes for the Bucks as recently as the 2024 playoffs. Yes, the Italian National Team stalwart is now balling in Bayamón. “After we played here in the Olympic qualifying tournament last summer, Carlos and I stayed in touch,” Gallo explains. “We were talking about life in general. He found out I was moving to Miami and I ended up living right near him, almost like neighbors. We hung out a couple times there, and then I was waiting for an NBA call…which didn’t come. He went through a similar phase in his career. So we were just exchanging thoughts about my situation. He brought up this opportunity to me to be part of the Vaqueros…that’s when slowly things started to get real. And now we’re here.”

Through seven games of the 44-game regular season, “here” is 17.7 ppg for the 6-1, first-place Vaqueros, who have their eyes on a title and their rabid fan base buzzing.

“The fans here are very passionate, very intense,” says the 37-year-old McGee, who has played 909 regular-season games in his NBA career (including 46 just last season with the Kings) and won three championships. “I was just staying in shape, waiting for that NBA call. Carlos hit me up and presented me with this opportunity to come to Bayamón and play in front of this great crowd and great people. I just decided to take the deal and come out and have a blast. It feels good to be out there, back on the court, playing some competitive basketball, playing free.”

McGee is getting “free” to the tune of 18.3 points (on 56 percent shooting) and 9.6 rebounds per game, showcasing an offensively effective side of his game the role-centric NBA didn’t encourage the rim-running and protecting McGee to execute.

The last of the three big imports Arroyo signed, Duarte, is perhaps the most unique. Gallinari and McGee may be particularly well accomplished, but they fit the mold of many ex-NBAers who have laced up their kicks in the BSN in that they are at the tail end of their careers. In many ways, Duarte’s should just be starting. A native of the Dominican Republic who transferred to the University of Oregon halfway through his college career and was a 2021 lottery pick by the Pacers, the 6-5 guard was second-team All-Rookie in 2022 and was getting minutes with the Bulls this season. League rosters are a confusing puzzle only a team’s GM will ever fully understand, and when the Bulls let him go in February, Duarte didn’t love the offers he was getting. And he loved the new man in charge of a team he knows well thanks to having a wife from Bayamón. “Every Latino should know who Carlos Arroyo is. He was a great player. So for sure I knew who he was,” explains Duarte, who scored 32 points in a recent dub. “When I got to the League, we exchanged words, sometimes we met up a little bit and talked. That’s how our relationship started. Then when I got waived, he hit me up and offered me a job here. At the moment I was thinking about something else, but our relationship was intact and I told him, If anything changes, I’ll get back to you. And that’s exactly what happened. I’m a four-year vet, I’ve done a lot in the NBA, I feel like I deserve a little bit more than [the two-way offers] I was getting. So I’m glad I’m here to stay active, work on my game, play, see what happens in the summer.”

Gushes Arroyo, “I’m extremely honored to be here and be the one making the decisions as far as the roster, building everything from scratch. New coaching staff, new trainers, new everything. We’ve done a great job that we can feel proud of. Now it’s time for the guys to do it on the court. As you know, names don’t win championships. But they’re building something. The thing I love about JaVale, Gallinari and Duarte…they don’t come over here acting like they don’t need to prove themselves. No I’m an NBA champion or I’m a huge international star. They’re engaging with their teammates, practicing hard, being great leaders. That gives me a sense of peace.”

Arroyo’s journey from star player to influential manager is a testament to his passion for basketball and dedication to Puerto Rico. Whether leading on the court or behind the scenes, Arroyo remains an inspiring figure who embodies excellence and resilience. As he works tirelessly to restore the Vaqueros championship legacy and further elevate Puerto Rico’s national program, his impact on the game will endure on la isla for generations.

But Carlos being Carlos, he’d take another shot at the NBA, too. “I would love too, man,” he says. “I know the NBA, their eyes are not on FIBA, especially national teams, because it’s just different. You don’t deal with budgets, salary caps and all that stuff. But this, this is a real test for me, being an owner, just structuring everything, what a president should do, what a GM should do. I’m doing all that stuff as well. I’m still learning, but I think I’m very savvy when it comes to putting pieces together and making sure they will work. I’m praying everything works out and we can come up with a championship our first year here. Yeah, of course. I would love to [work a big position in an NBA front office].”

Given all Arroyo’s done in life so far, who would doubt him?

The post Carlos Arroyo Has Assembled a Superteam on the Vaqueros de Bayamón led by Danilo Gallinari, JaVale McGee and Chris Duarte appeared first on SLAM.