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Nneka Ogwumike’s Secret to Making Basketball History: “I Just Let Go”

PALMETTO, FLORIDA – AUGUST 28: Nneka Ogwumike #30 of the Los Angeles Sparks dribbles the ball during the first half against the Connecticut Sun at Feld Entertainment Center on August 28, 2020 in Palmetto, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)

Nneka Ogwumike’s 2016 WNBA season was one of the greatest individual performances in basketball history. Not only did she earn league MVP and hit the game winning shot in Game 5 to clinch the WNBA Championship for her Los Angeles Sparks, but she set an all-time record for true shooting percentage — a record that still stands for both the WNBA and the NBA. In an interview with Kelley O’Hara on the JWS podcast, Nneka reveals the secret to her 2016 success: “I just let go.”

 The oldest of four girls, Nneka grew up with Nigerian-American parents who highly valued education and versatility. The Ogwuimke sisters were encouraged to pursue a variety of extracurriculars to supplement their schooling, and at 11-years-old Nneka decided to give basketball a try. Luckily her embarrassment at showing up to her first practice in jean shorts didn’t prevent the determined youngster from displaying her non-stop hustle. While coaches quickly recognized her on-court potential, it wasn’t until later in her high school career that she realized just how many doors basketball could open, including a full-ride to Stanford University. As a young woman who dreamed of becoming a doctor, an invitation to one of the top academic institutions in the nation was an easy yes.

Nneka thrived at Stanford, embracing her identity as both a self-proclaimed “nerd” and an athlete. By the end of her freshman year she was starting every game, and by the end of her sophomore year she was recognized as one of the best college players in the U.S.

But strangely, even well into her senior year, as she led her team to a fourth consecutive Final Four, Nneka had no plans to go pro. Her plan had always been medical school, and a career in medicine made sense to her: challenging, rewarding, and lucrative. She couldn’t picture what a professional basketball career looked like, at least for a woman. All she’d heard about the WNBA was that they barely made a living. But after learning more about off-season, overseas opportunities and with much encouragement from her younger sister and Stanford teammate Chiney, Nneka entered the 2012 WNBA draft.

How long did she wait to hear her name? Not long at all. The once-reluctant draftee went number one overall to the Los Angeles Sparks.

Nneka quickly established herself in the league by earning 2012 Rookie of the Year honors. And after just a few more seasons of getting her footing against the big dogs, Nneka went off.

Nneka can point to the exact moment in her record-breaking 2016 season when she realized something special was brewing. In a mid-season game against Dallas, she went 12 for 12, scoring 32 points without missing a single shot (all while grabbing 10 rebounds and dishing three assists).

When asked what changes she’d made in her training leading up to the 2016 season, Nneka tells O’Hara it was all mental. “I just let go,” she says, “That’s what I remember most about that year. Like, let me go out here and just have some fun.”

Her unencumbered mental state was on full display in the WNBA Finals. In what was arguably the most exciting Finals ever, the Sparks went toe-to-toe with a Minnesota Lynx squad in the midst of a dynasty, having won three of the last five titles, including the year before.

With her league MVP status painting the customary X on her back and leading to constant double teams, Nneka knew she had to go back to the basics.

“I was like alright, let’s take this back to 14-year-old Nneka,” she tells O’Hara, “I’m gonna be the garbage woman… If I can’t make a move I’m gonna get rebounds and I’m going to finish.”

With three seconds left in the winner-take-all Game 5, inside a packed Minnesota stadium, Nneka did exactly that. She grabbed an offensive rebound, got blocked on the putback but maintained possession, and nailed a second attempt while fading away to win the championship by one point.

The way she describes those final seconds to O’Hara encapsulates her entire approach to 2016: “That’s the quietest my mind has ever been.”

It’s one of many times the now WNBA Players Association President (aka “Madame President”) has tapped into a wisdom well beyond her years. This particular lesson: Once you’ve put in all the hard work, sometimes the best thing to do is quiet your mind, let go, and have some fun.

US Tennis Stars Advance as Wimbledon Field Narrows

Italy's Jasmine Paolini celebrates her first-round win over Latvia's Anastasija Sevastova at the 2025 Wimbledon Championships
World No. 4 Jasmine Paolini fell in the second round of the 2025 Wimbledon Championships on Wednesday. (Daniel Kopatsch/Getty Images)

The 2025 Wimbledon Championships wrapped its second round on Thursday, with the grass court Grand Slam seeing just 15 of the tournament's 32 seeded players advance to the Friday and Saturday's third round.

A full half of the WTA's Top 10 players did not survive the week, with 2024 Wimbledon finalist and world No. 5 Jasmine Paolini joining four first-round star exits by falling to unseeded Kamilla Rakhimova in a three-set, second-round battle on Wednesday.

At the same time, unseeded fan favorites like Japan's No. 53 Naomi Osaka and England's own No. 40 Emma Raducanu secured third-round spots at the London Slam, joining top surviving contenders like No. 4 Iga Świątek and defending Wimbledon champion No. 16 Barbora Krejčíková.

Notably, a full five US players managed to move ahead, tied for the largest national contingent still standing at the tournament.

Led by 2025 Australian Open champion No. 8 Madison Keys, the US group also includes No. 10 Emma Navarro and No. 12 Amanda Anisimova, as well as unseeded players No. 54 Danielle Collins and No. 55 Hailey Baptiste.

With matches against Świątek and No. 7 Mirra Andreeva, respectively, Collins and Baptiste have a tough third round ahead — though Navarro's battle against the 2024 champ Krejčíková arguably headlines Saturday's slate.

US tennis star Emma Navarro eyes a return during a 2025 Wimbledon match.
US star Emma Navarro will face 2024 champ Barbora Krejčíková in Wimbledon's Round of 32. (Rob Newell/CameraSport via Getty Images)

How to watch Wimbledon this weekend

While world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka is still holding strong in the dwindling field, this year's Wimbledon play is proving that the London Slam is anyone's to take, as the grass court humbles even the sport's top stars.

Expect the twists and turns to continue as tennis's best battle for spots in Sunday's Round of 16.

Round-of-32 Wimbledon play kicks off at 6 AM ET on Friday, with live continuous coverage of the tournament airing on ESPN.

Finland Opens Women’s Euro 2025 with Upset Upset Win Over Iceland

Finland's Katariina Kosola and Emma Koivisto celebrate a goal during their opening 2025 Euro match.
Finland earned a surprise 1-0 win over Iceland in their 2025 Euro opener on Wednesday. (Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)

The 2025 European Championship is officially underway, as Euro action kicked off with a group-stage upset on Wednesday.

Though the 2025 UEFA tournament's opener was a sweltering affair amid a European heat wave, world No. 26 Finland prevailed, earning a 1-0 upset win over No. 14 Iceland in Group A.

Finnish winger Katariina Kosola played hero, curling in the winning goal in the match's 70th minute — just 12 minutes after Iceland midfielder Hildur Antonsdóttir picked up the competition's first red card.

"The result is important for our confidence," Kosola said after Finland's first major tournament win since the 2009 Euro. "It was the kind of goal I have been practicing a lot."

"It's terrible to lose and we feel frustrated," said Iceland head coach Thorsteinn Halldórsson. "It is an even group and we knew Finland were good, but our first half wasn't good enough."

Elsewhere, No. 16 Norway closed out Wednesday's slate on top of Group A, taking three points by defeating host No. 23 Switzerland in day's second match.

Led by captain and 2018 Ballon d'Or winner Ada Hegerberg — who pulled the match even with a second-half strike — Norway battled to a 2-1 comeback win, despite the Swiss side outshooting and out-possessing the Norwegians.

Spain jersey hang in lockers ahead of the team's 2025 Euro opening match against Portugal.
Reigning World Cup champions Spain will open their 2025 Euro account against Portugal. (Aitor Alcalde - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)

How to watch this week's 2025 Euro action

Group B steals the 2025 Euro spotlight on Thursday.

While No. 13 Italy snagged a 1-0 opening win over No. 20 Belgium to kick off the day, 2023 World Cup champions and tournament favorite No. 2 Spain will face No. 22 Portugal at 3 PM ET.

Friday's Group C slate will pit No. 12 Denmark against No. 6 Sweden at 12 PM ET, before No. 3 Germany contends with No. 27 Poland at 3 PM ET.

Closing out the first group-stage matches will be arguably the toughest draw of the 2025 Euro pool.

Saturday's Group D slate features major tournament debutants No. 30 Wales against the No. 11 Netherlands at 12 PM ET, with No. 10 France taking on defending champions No. 5 England to cap the day at 3 PM ET.

Live coverage of 2025 Euro matches will air across Fox Sports platforms.

USWNT Caps Summer Friendlies with 3-0 Canada Shutout

Yazmeen Ryan, Michelle Cooper, Claire Hutton, Mandy McGlynn, and Izzy Rodriguez and the rest of the USWNT huddle after their July 2025 friendly win over Canada.
The USWNT finished the summer international window with 11 goals, conceding none, across three matches. (Brad Smith/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images)

The world No. 1 USWNT ruled the pitch on Wednesday night, shutting out North American rivals No. 8 Canada 3-0 to finish the international window on a high note.

Catching the Canada backline sleeping, US midfielder Sam Coffey opened the scoring at the 17-minute mark before 19-year-old Claire Hutton claimed her first-ever USWNT goal by heading in a Rose Lavelle corner kick in the game's 36th minute.

Houston Dash forward Yazmeen Ryan then padded the US tally in the waning minutes of the match, finding the back of the net just eight minutes after subbing onto the field.

Despite fielding a young roster, the US overpowered a veteran-heavy Canada side in almost every category, topping their Northern neighbors in shots, shots on target, possession, and — most notably — set pieces.

Canada ultimately couldn't match the game's mental pace or physical battle, as the USWNT scored all three goals off dead ball situations — a free kick, a corner kick, and a throw-in.

"It's not about the opponent," US head coach Emma Hayes said after the match. "It's about what we do, and I felt that was extremely dominant."

With Wednesday's contributions, the USWNT finishes the summer window with 11 goals scored across the three friendlies — and zero goals conceded.

The US now enters an extended break before reconvening for another as-yet-unannounced friendly series in October — but players will be expected to perform in the meantime.

"I said to the players in the end in the huddle, if you want to compete to win the biggest things, it's not what you do here that matters," said Hayes. "It's what you do when you go back to your club."

Seattle Storm Looks to Climb the WNBA Standings in Weekend Gauntlet

Seattle Storm star Nneka Ogwumike high-fives teammates as she's introduced before a 2025 WNBA game.
The No. 5 Seattle Storm will face No. 4 Atlanta and No. 3 New York this weekend. (Soobum Im/NBAE via Getty Images)

The 2025 WNBA regular season returns on Thursday night, with teams at the top of the league standings looking to prove their mettle against close competition across the long holiday weekend.

The No. 5 Seattle Storm have arguably the toughest weekend assignments, taking on the No. 4 Atlanta Dream on Friday before tackling the No. 3 New York Liberty on Sunday.

Four middle-of-the-pack teams will look to close in on a double-digit season win tally while the league's frontrunners strive to maintain their advantage in this weekend's slate:

  • No. 7 Las Vegas Aces vs. No. 8 Indiana Fever, Thursday at 7 PM ET (Prime): Though still without star Caitlin Clark, the Fever hope to harness their 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup victory momentum against an Aces side tied with Indiana with an 8-8 season record.
  • No. 5 Seattle Storm vs. No. 4 Atlanta Dream, Thursday at 7:30 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): Seattle will look to make strides against a strong Atlanta side while putting last Sunday's stinging 84-57 loss to up-and-comer Golden State in their rearview.
  • No. 6 Golden State Valkyries vs. No. 1 Minnesota Lynx, Saturday at 8 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): The rising Valkyries must face a Lynx side hunting redemption, as the league-leaders look to bounce back from their stifling Tuesday Commissioner's Cup upset loss.
  • No. 5 Seattle Storm vs. No. 3 New York Liberty, Sunday at 1 PM ET (CBS): With injured Liberty center Jonquel Jones still sidelined, the Seattle Storm will have a chance to steal a weekend game against the reigning champs, as New York struggles to re-find their footing.

With the 2025 WNBA All-Star break looming, early top performers must keep standards high if they want to hold the line when the season crosses the midway point.

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