Category: Sports

 This story appears in WSLAM 2. Get your copy here.

When asked to describe Alysha Clark, former coaches and teammates use the word “tough.” Her finishes are tough and her defense is tough. She’s carried that grit throughout her career as a basketball player and it remains one of the driving forces that forged her WNBA career ahead.

Current New York Liberty coach Sandy Brondello, who drafted Clark back in 2010 when she was head coach of the San Antonio Silver Stars, reveals that what makes Clark so special is her ability to find her niche and vastly transform her game. “She was the best scorer from college, played as a post player and how she kind of didn’t play as a post [in the WNBA] but came in and found her niche,” Brondello tells WSLAM. “She found a niche in Seattle and just grew her game, became a better outside shooter, but also defensively.”

But upon signing a new two-year deal in Washington with the Mystics in 2021, Clark, the person who’s always played with so much toughness, was suddenly afraid. Afraid that she’d fail in a new environment after spending nine seasons in Seattle and winning two championships with the Storm. Once again she had to find her niche. Where would she belong, not only on this Mystics roster, but in the city, the District of Change? And how would a serious lisfranc injury to her right foot impact who and what she desired to be in the next phase of her career?

When Clark signed with the Mystics during the W’s free agency period in early February 2021, the team sold her on an offer she couldn’t refuse. Washington could offer her an opportunity to become an even more complete and versatile player along with a dynamic city that would give her countless opportunities to grow off the court. She had the chance to discover if cooking could become a professional path for her after her playing career. She also had a chance to participate in philanthropic- and social justice-related activities such as interacting with and mentoring the young people in the DC community.

For the Mystics, after coming off an underwhelming and challenging Wubble season following their 2019 championship, signing Clark signaled that Washington was confident in their position to be competing for a championship right now.

“It was kind of a no-brainer to go after her,” Eric Thibault, the Mystics Associate Head Coach says. “We just thought she was a great fit for our group. She gave us another elite perimeter defender and was kind of a seamless fit offensively, and had been on a team that played similarly to us. So we didn’t think there would be much adjustment time for her working in.”

Around two months later, Clark injured her foot while playing in Lyon, France and learned she’d need surgery, sidelining her for the entire 2021 WNBA season. Clark, a self-proclaimed creature of habit, had to adjust to even more: not just a new team and a new city but now her first serious injury playing professional basketball.

An intrinsic quality of Clark is her willingness to give to others. She’s the friend, the sister, the aunt and the player who always checks in on those around her. Her friend and former Storm teammate Sami Whitcomb expressed that Clark has checked in with her multiple times so far during this W season. Clearly Clark shows up, but leading up to surgery, she wasn’t used to having to be the person who asks for help. She thought she was a burden to her closest friends and family, assuming that her best friend who’s a stay-at-home mom with a toddler wouldn’t be able to keep her company following her surgery. It was a struggle for Clark to give the people who mean the most to her the opportunity to be there for her.

But following surgery, when she had to begin recovery and rehabilitation and introduce herself to the Mystics team she couldn’t play with in 2021, she was at a crossroads. And she was without the game she loved that would be the vehicle she needed to get to know the new players around her.

“I essentially lost my support system,” she tells WSLAM.  “For so long for so many seasons, I’ve been around these other women, this other organization and I knew, like, we knew one another and so it’s in a way like coming here, I didn’t have that anymore. So it’s all new. I had to relearn that to regain that trust with new people. And so yeah, it gave me a chance to be able to feel supported through a tough time.”

Meanwhile, the Mystics were dealing with the most tumultuous season head coach and general manager Mike Thibault had ever been a part of during his entire coaching career. Elena Delle Donne was limited to three games all season and the team never recorded a clean injury report. Players were in and out with illness and injury as the team struggled to attain consistency. How would Clark manage the emotions of her own recovery along with the impulses she had to pour into her team? The giver was inclined to give.

At first she tried to offer whatever words of wisdom she could to the Mystics. Her leadership and communication skills were also reasons the front office was so attracted to sign her in the offseason. While at first she wanted to think about another situation aside from her own, the issues her team had began to overwhelm and she had to take a step back. She had to make a choice and was selective about how and who she’d provide her counsel to. Clark put her foot on the brake and allowed her teammates to approach her when they wanted or needed something. Younger guards Ariel Atkins and Shatori Walker-Kimbrough would come over to her apartment to watch film and pick Clark’s brain on defensive strategies and player tendencies.

But following the season, one where the Mystics didn’t make the playoffs for the first time since 2016, Clark was now mostly alone in DC. During the rest of her 2021 calendar year, she began to deal with a wave of depression, working through depressive episodes that slowed her down when she had no one to give her attention to. It didn’t help that her rehab wasn’t linear. She began to shame herself for not accomplishing the initial goals she set. She feared that she was failing in all aspects of her life.

“A lot of time, whether it’s like a to-do list or whatever, it’s like, Oh, if I don’t do the to-do list I failed for the day,” she says. “And it eats away at me. Or if I need to clean up my apartment and get everything done, it weighs on me. And so I had to really learn how to be like, It’s OK that you didn’t get to your bedroom today. You can do it tomorrow. It’s OK that you didn’t feel good enough to be able to do your calf raises today. It’s OK.”

Once she got past the heart of her depression at the top of the new year, it was full speed ahead toward training camp. She, Eric Thibault and her physical therapist coordinated on how Clark would approach her developmental skill work such as ballhandling and adding some shiftiness to her game in conjunction with making sure they weren’t pushing her foot in the wrong direction. The key was executing the plan they put together cautiously. If something didn’t feel strong or comfortable, Thibault didn’t want to push it.

“So I’m sure she would have liked to have been back to full strength a little bit earlier,” Thibault says. “But the most important thing was having her be fully healthy, not having any major setbacks. I think we did a pretty good job integrating all of the different parts of her rehab.”

While she continued rehabbing and growing her game, she began to delve into the interests that brought her to DC. A personal imperative in signing with the Mystics was to make sure she established her portfolio off the court. As a reserved person, she’s had to put herself out there and take her ideas and put them into actual action.

Since February, she’s been working on figuring out a way to educate young people on the books that have been banned across the country. She wants young people to have a space to have dialogues that inform them on the mistakes that have been made in the US, so they can be encouraged to have empathy for those who are different. She also earned her first contract with adidas.

“I’m really, really proud of myself for not letting fear have the reins anymore,” she says.

And fear is loosening up on the reins on the court, too. She began the season a bit hesitant while trying to find her way after not playing in a live pro game in over a year. And then shortly after she played a major role in stopping Atlanta Dream rookie sensation Rhyne Howard, Clark got Covid. She had finally got into a rhythm and was hit with yet another bump in the road.

But on June 8 against the Chicago Sky, she felt like herself again after passing through health and safety protocols. She showed off some new ball handling skills in her 18-point, 7-9 shooting performance in her team’s 84-82 win. She’s beginning to find her way in Washington, and her teammates whom she didn’t know that well when this journey began are really happy that she chose DC.

“Yeah, I’m just really thankful that she decided to come here,” Atkins said about Clark following the win. “AC is a good human, too, and those are the type of people we want in our locker room. She makes those cupcakes on our birthdays.”

How did she find her new niche? By being herself.

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WSLAM 2 is available now. Get your copy here.

Photos via Getty Images.

According to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, the Minnesota Timberwolves No. 45 pick Josh Minott has agreed to a four-year, $6.8 million rookie deal.

Minott is a rangy, athletic forward who has considerable room to grow as a jump shooter but nonetheless emerged as a very efficient contributor in limited action for Memphis as a true freshman.

See more

Minnesota Timberwolves No. 45 pick Josh Minott has agreed to a four-year, $6.8 million rookie deal, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 16, 2022

The Miami Heat announced today that they have signed forward Darius Days and guard Marcus Garrett to two-way contracts. Per club policy, the terms of the deals were not disclosed. In addition, Miami has waived Mychal Mulder and Javonte Smart.

Days, who played all four collegiate seasons at LSU from 2018-22, recently appeared in three Summer League games with the San Antonio Spurs averaging 13.7 points and 10.0 rebounds in 21.8 minutes of action while shooting 55.6 percent from the field, 37.5 percent from three-point range and a perfect 5-of-5 from the line. He led the team in rebounds and scored in double-figures in each of the three games.

Garrett, who originally signed a two-way contract with the Heat on September 2, 2021, before being waived on January 16, appeared in 12 games with the Heat last season before undergoing season-ending wrist surgery. He recently appeared in three Summer League games (two starts) with the Heat and averaged 7.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 1.00 steals.

Mulder, who was signed to a two-way contract by the Heat on March 24, appeared in two games with Miami last season averaging 7.0 points, 1.5 rebounds, 1.0 assists, and 22.1 minutes.

Smart, who was signed to a two-way contract by the Heat on February 15, appeared in four games with Miami last season averaging 5.0 points and 1.3 rebounds in 10.0 minutes of action.

The Atlanta Hawks today announced the team has signed Tyrese Martin, the No. 51 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, to a multi-year contract. Per team policy, the terms of the agreement were not disclosed. 

Through four NBA 2K23 Summer League contests for the Hawks, Martin is averaging 12.0 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.8 assists in 24.2 minutes (.475 FG%). He poured in a game-high 21 points on 9-14 shooting from the floor in Atlanta’s 95-88 win over Miami on July 12.

Atlanta acquired Martin’s draft rights, along with cash considerations, from the Golden State Warriors in exchange for the draft rights to Ryan Rollins, the No. 44 pick, on June 23.

Martin saw action in 29 games (all starts) for UConn during the 2021-22 campaign, tallying 13.6 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 32.1 minutes (.449 FG%, .430 3FG%, .689 FT%). 

In four seasons with star LeBron James, the Los Angeles Lakers have only made the playoffs twice. LA hasn’t won a title in over two years since winning it all in the Bubble back in 2020.

The Lakers owner Jeanie Buss shared her thoughts for the upcoming season during a Q and A session and she fully expects the team to be “competitive.”

Buss also said she never intended to shade LeBron James when she sent out a tweet detailing how much she misses the Lakers legend, Kobe Bryant.

Award-winning journalist, TV host and author Skip Bayless and three-time Super Bowl Champion and Pro Football Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe react to Jeanie Buss’ comments:

The Chicago Bulls star Zach LaVine is giving Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies all the props in the world for thinking he’d “cook” prime Bulls legend Michael Jordan in 1-on-1 … but tells TMZ Sports if his money was on the line, he’s rolling with the GOAT all day!!!

“I wish I had Ja’s confidence,” LaVine said at LAX. “I think it’s all just love and fun at the end of the day. We’re talking about stuff that you’ll never know because you never get to play him.”

Amid trade rumors, Russell Westbrook parted ways with his agent Thad Foucher who represented him for 14 years. According to the agent, the reason why they ended their cooperation is ‘irreconcilable differences.’

While Foucher did not reveal what these differences are, he did say that in his opinion the best option for the former NBA MVP is to remain with the Lakers and embrace his role under new head coach Darvin Ham.

It cannot be ruled out that Russ wants to move to another team and that is where his opinion differs from that of his former agent. Westbrook has been included in trade rumors for a large part of last season and was aware of them.

Via Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN:

“Now, with a possibility of a fourth trade in four years, the marketplace is telling the Lakers they must add additional value with Russell in any trade scenario. And even then, such a trade may require Russell to immediately move on from the new team via buyout.

“My belief is that this type of transaction only serves to diminish Russell’s value and his best option is to stay with the Lakers, embrace the starting role and support that Darvin Ham publicly offered. Russell is a first-ballot Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame player and will prove that again before he is retired.

“Unfortunately, irreconcilable differences exist as to his best pathway forward and we are no longer working together. I wish Russell and his family the very best.”