Chiney Ogwumike talks ‘delicate dance’ covering WNBA as former player: ‘Relationships matter more than breaking the news’
· Yahoo Sports
Since beginning her ESPN career while still actively playing in the WNBA, Chiney Ogwumike has quickly risen to be one of the network’s top women’s basketball analysts.
Yet, having played in the league as recently as 2023, with a sister leading the players’ union and still among the league’s best players, Ogwumike occupies a unique position as a commentator. Sometimes, it leads to memorable on-air moments, like when she broke the news that her sister, Nneka, re-signed with the Seattle Storm while on air. In more sensitive cases, such as when Nneka was leading collective bargaining agreement negotiations this spring, Ogwumike has to walk a tightrope.
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In an appearance this week on Bird’s Eye View with fellow WNBA star-turned-commentator Sue Bird, Ogwumike opened up about the “delicate dance” of maintaining relationships with players and colleagues in the sport while providing the audience with fair and honest analysis.
“I focused on being a professional as much as I can, meaning, and I’ve found in this industry, relationships matter more than breaking the news,” Ogwumike said.
“I’d rather maintain relationships with people that I trust, that I can learn from, that I can get information from, that I can make more informed points of views, and that might be [more of] the long-term rather than trying to react quickly or having some information that will be like a gotcha type of thing from what I know, from people that I know. So I protect my relationships. And at times, my bosses have even said, ‘Is there more? Can you get more tea?’ And I’m like, I’d rather prioritize knowing these ladies and being with their journey than anything else. And that’s the choice that we will constantly be making.”
Ogwumike explained that if she is called on at ESPN to do a quick hit on big news, she may check in with her sister to get her facts straight. But they don’t always go deep into the details, making it easier for Ogwumike to differentiate between private and public.
Bird agreed with the approach.
“It’s the long game that we tend to play, just because of integrity,” Owgumike said.
The two also discussed the comfort they feel as commentators when they must be critical, given the extensive relationships they have within the sport.
Ogwumike cited the example of the Final Four dust-up between Geno Auriemma and Dawn Staley, expressing that she tries to be “critical without being cruel” while on air:
“You want to remember that we’ve built up enough equity as people with lived experiences … from playing at a young age, playing and competing in high school, getting to college, getting to the pros, we’ve built up enough equity with people if you are professional and you are genuine and you’re here for the right reasons, where you can be critical without being cruel.”
Bird, who is in her first season as a studio analyst for NBC, explained that she has nerves about calling out those she is close with, but believes she has the “relationship equity” to work through it:
“My take is even if I said something that the person didn’t like, there’s going to be enough relationship equity built there anyways where you’re going to be able to kind of get over it or come to an agreement on it or have a conversation around it, but it can be tricky.”
As a larger philosophy, Ogwumike said she tries to stay prepared and “analytical” so that her criticism lands more soundly.
“What is sustainable is the analytical mindset, the thoughtfulness. To me, as much as I see hot takes out there … sustained knowledge, I think, is what keeps the credibility up,” she said. “It’s a delicate dance we dance.”
Ogwumike and Bird are two of the most plugged-in analysts working in the WNBA world, but the phenomenon is common around the league. Candace Parker began working as a men’s basketball commentator while still playing in the WNBA, while Duke and Team USA head coach Kara Lawson is working alongside Parker this season at Prime Video.
Bird is a minority owner in the Seattle Storm and the managing director of the women’s national team at USA Basketball. In a preseason conference call put on by NBC, she said her “North Star” is bringing a “unique perspective” given all the hats she wears.
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