June 26, 2024
Locked On Women’s Basketball: Getting to know Aerial Powers on and off the court
By The Next
Atlanta guard is so much more than just a basketball player
Atlanta Dream guard Aerial Powers has enjoyed a distinguished WNBA career already, including a championship with the 2019 Washington Mystics. But she is so much more than just a basketball player, as she and host Howard Megdal discuss in this wide-ranging interview. Everything from her history with gaming to her work off the court to take in and savor all she’s experiencing are present in this discussion. And of course: AP had a great exchange with Caitlin Clark she recounts.
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Howard begins the conversation by asking Aerial — who is from Detroit and went to Michigan State — how she’d feel about the WNBA returning to Detroit as part of future expansion. The Detroit Pistons are in talks with the WNBA about a potential revitalization of the Shock.
“When I saw the talks about maybe getting the Detroit Shock back … I was like, ‘we need it,'” Powers said on the podcast. “You know, I grew up on that, I saw girls and those ladies helped me to be where I am today. Not only that — Detroit fans, we’re gonna support … I just feel like if Detroit had a team, the support will be through the roof. So I really hope that it happens. Just because I’m from there, of course. And that’s what all started my journey. And the reason why I’m playing in the WNBA all together to talk together.”
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Later, Powers talks about the growth of her off-the-court passion — video games.
“I just have loved video games since I was a young girl,” Powers explains. “I can never sleep after games — ball is life — I can never sleep doesn’t matter if we win or if we lose. We lose, I definitely get a couple more hours of not sleeping. But all in all, I started playing and basically just telling my community, hey, if you want to hang out with me come to this site, which was my Twitch site … And then I realized they got to see this different side of me, right? … And then I started doing tournaments and everything, and it just really took over and I love it. I mean, streaming is a part of my life, it will always be it will be something I do I even after WNBA.”
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