{"id":124595,"date":"2024-05-20T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-05-20T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swishappeal.com\/wnba\/2024\/5\/20\/24159232\/wnba-overseas-europe-erica-wheeler-poland-napheesa-collier-kayla-mcbride-fenerbahce-nalyssa-smith"},"modified":"2024-05-20T13:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-05-20T12:00:00","slug":"wnba-players-on-the-benefits-of-playing-overseas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gamefootballmobileanimeiphone.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/20\/wnba-players-on-the-benefits-of-playing-overseas\/","title":{"rendered":"WNBA players on the benefits of playing overseas"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Outside of the WNBA, Erica Wheeler has developed her game by playing in Poland. | Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler\/NBAE via Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Napheesa Collier, NaLyssa Smith, Erica Wheeler and others share how playing overseas in Europe, often cast as a necessary venture due to the limitations of the WNBA, has benefited their basketball careers. <\/p>\n

Imagine being just 21 or 22 years old and getting the job of your dreams. Apart from preparing for it every day, you\u2019ve been dreaming about it, praying for it, manifesting it and finally… it happened. You are a WNBA<\/a> player. <\/p>\n

There are expectations, commercial flights, fatigue, more expectations, social media mockery and then, after a hectic five months, you\u2019re at home, wondering what to do with your time until you get another go at it. There are seven months until the next season starts. A good time to pick up a new hobby or read those books you\u2019ve always wanted to, right? Or maybe instead of putting down the rock, you move to Europe for the next couple of months so you can keep balling? <\/p>\n

In much of women\u2019s basketball discourse, playing in Europe is still described as a by-product of the inadequacies of the WNBA. Players must go overseas due to low salaries and a lack of roster spots in the W. Is that actually the case? Or, does playing in Europe offer players too-often overlooked benefits?<\/p>\n

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Without the possibility of moving to Europe and learning from experienced coaches and teammates, a bonafide international star like Yvonne Anderson would not play in the Olympics for Serbia\u2014first in 2021 and for a second time this coming summer\u2014or earn recognition as one of the best point guards outside of the W. Prior to the EuroLeague Women Final Four in April, Anderson spoke to Swish Appeal<\/em> about playing for the back-to-back EuroLeague Women champions, Fenerbah\u00e7e Alag\u00f6z Holding. She said:<\/p>\n

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Playing at Fener is a special experience. It is an amazing club that, because of the serious investment, has continuously been at the top of European basketball. They\u2019ve chosen to invest in players and coaches, and the results continue to show that this will lead to a winning club, year after year. They\u2019ve been at the highest level of most of the sports that they participate in honestly, and that shows how much they care about putting forth an excellent product. <\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Her teammates in Turkey included Napheesa Collier and Kayla McBride of the Minnesota Lynx. McBride was named the EuroLeague Final Four MVP and their play, along with that Anderson and former WNBA All-Star Emma Meesseman, elevated Fenerbah\u00e7e to new heights this year, which is really something for such a decorated club. On how playing in Europe could help the Lynx this season, Collier shared with Swish Appeal<\/em>:<\/p>\n

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I think as far as us, building that chemistry even more was very good. In my opinion the game is very different when it comes to the W and overseas, but in the sense of getting better, when you can get more reps, you can try new things… but overall I think the game is quite different, so I don\u2019t know how translatable that part is.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n \"Galatasaray
\n Photo by Esra Bilgin\/Anadolu via Getty Images<\/cite>
NaLyssa Smith averaged 22 points and 10.4 rebounds per game for Galatasaray in EuroCup Women competition. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

NaLyssa Smith of the Indiana Fever played in the same city, but for Galatasaray, Fenerbah\u00e7e\u2019s biggest rival. She doesn\u2019t get into the details of her experience because she was there to work. She simply said:<\/p>\n

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Turkey was a great experience for me… Going to a foreign country and just being accepted by your teammates and your coaches and stuff like that, it makes it a lot easier.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Her Fever teammate, Victaria Saxton, played for Castors Braine in Belgium, appearing in some EuroCup games. She noted:<\/p>\n

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When I first got there I was lost, but my teammates did a really great job at making me feel like home. I got to see different cities around Belgium… try different foods. I tried chocolate and their Belgian waffles… there we go, those are the ones.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

She smiles and nods her head at the memory of the unique taste of those sweet treats. Here in Poland, we don\u2019t have those, but our apple pies and yeast cakes are nothing to sneeze at either. However, it was not those sugary masterpieces or our world-famous pierogi that keep Fever vet Erica Wheeler coming back to Poland. She told Swish Appeal<\/em>:<\/p>\n

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Polkowice is a second home to me. I love Poland and the people love me. We also win championships there so I\u2019m never trying to run away from that. And the head coach, he probably will be one of my lifetime friends… when I can have a coach that allows me to be myself and allows me to control certain things in certain moments and be a leader without always having his guidance, I\u2019m my best self and I thrive off when a coach trusts me. And he really does trust me a lot, that\u2019s why I keep going back.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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A post shared by EuroLeague Women (@euroleaguewomen)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n