Skylar Diggins-Smith feels like she belongs in Seattle — and it’s showing on the court

“I definitely think that I feel [more comfortable] on the floor, and just having that time [over break] to work on things — I haven’t painted my masterpiece, you know, but I definitely feel more settled in,” Diggins-Smith told The Next after shootaround on Friday.

Though the defense and assists have been consistently high quality from Diggins-Smith all season — she ranks fourth in the WNBA with 6.5 assists per game — her scoring has been up and down. Part of this, according to Diggins-Smith, is her getting back in game shape after her maternity leave last season. But it’s also just her trying to win alongside other talented scorers such as Jewell Loyd, Nneka Ogwumike and Ezi Magbegor.

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In the six games since the break, however, the Notre Dame alum’s field goal attempts, makes and field goal percentage, as well as free throw attempts and makes, have increased. She is averaging 18.8 points per game on 44.8% shooting, compared to 13.1 points per game on 39.3% shooting before the break. Diggins-Smith has found her times to be aggressive looking for her shot while continuing to assist at the same level. 

“That’s something that she’s really focused on, finding her balance of being aggressive, being a playmaker, and I think she’s getting comfortable,” Storm head coach Noelle Quinn told reporters after defeating the Atlanta Dream on Wednesday. “When you have an elite point guard who is capable of doing a lot of things — A, scoring, B, facilitating and C, playing defense — I think that really helps our team. It jumpstarts us in a lot of ways. …

“[The team is] getting that rhythm and understanding [of] our system, flow of game and all those things, and it’s good to see her in a pocket of comfort. And aggressive Sky is necessary for us as well.”

This change didn’t happen overnight, however. The former No. 3 overall draft pick put in a lot of work over the month-long break.

“Obviously, we were missing a core group of ours [the Storm’s Olympians], but I thought we really got in a lot of intentional work, starting with individual work, breakdowns, everybody,” Diggins-Smith told The Next shortly before Seattle’s first game after the break. “Personally, just some more skill stuff. Just really didn’t have a lot of that time in training camp. …

“I thought it was really important how intentional we were going to be with this time. And I feel like we were really able to be productive.”

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Balancing fire and poise

Despite her improved personal performances, and even some improved team performances, Seattle has won just two of six games since the break. Diggins-Smith hates to lose, but she has also put a lot of work into her mental health, which informs how she handles disappointment and frustration.

“I’m a feeler, I’m a thinker, sometimes an overthinker. I allow myself to be in the moment, though. It’s no secret I wear my emotions on my sleeves, and I don’t really try to shy away from that, to be honest. I allow myself to feel how I feel in the moment,” Diggins-Smith said. “I know that people may see it as dramatic or anal or over the top, and I can admit sometimes I am those things, but it definitely stems from a place of passion, investment, competitive nature, all those things. 

“And then the nature of this league, you have another game you have to prepare for the very next day, and so just trying not to, I guess, learn the same lessons twice, you know? And just how I approach my mindset as a leader, trying to show more poise in that situation. So it is a balance of feeling it — I don’t want to feel that way. I’m not a loser. I don’t like losing. But I think [about] what can you gain from that and bring into the next game as a professional, and how do you lock into that mindset to prepare better for next time?”

The visible passion that Diggins-Smith plays with is one of many reasons Ogwumike loves playing with her.

“She always likes to say that she wants to be the thermostat, not the thermometer. The thermometer tells you how hot or cold it is in the room, but the thermostat sets the temperature. So I always take that into mind when I think about how she plays on the court,” Ogwumike told The Next. “I think she has a lot to consider and to manage while also bringing out the best in herself, and most of that is bringing out the best in other people.

“But I think that her being someone that sets the tone every single time she steps on the court is exactly what you want in a teammate like her and a leader like her and a point guard like her.”

Compared to her teammates, particularly other starters like Loyd, Ogwumike and Magbegor, Diggins-Smith feels she is “a little more anal, self-proclaimed.” Her teammates can get hyped but are generally cool, calm and collected. 

“We’re all different personalities … but I think that’s the thing about it: You have to have a diversity of personalities, and how we intertwine and make things work is why we were able to be successful this year in my opinion so far,” Diggins-Smith said.

As a result, “I’m not afraid if we’re down to help bring the temperature up. I just think that’s who I am. I’ve always played with a lot of fire, and being 5’9, 145 [pounds], you’re not in this league for 10-plus years if you don’t.”

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Growing connections with Quinn, Ogwumike

Two big reasons Diggins-Smith signed with Seattle were Quinn and Ogwumike — wanting to play under the former WNBA player and with the former WNBA MVP who she considers the closest thing she has to a friend in this league.

Before transitioning to coaching, Quinn was a terrific point guard. She was selected No. 4 overall in the 2007 WNBA Draft out of UCLA and played through 2018, when she won a championship with the Storm.

“She’s a basketball savant. … How she sees the game, she studies basketball … she’s special. I think she’s [the WNBA] Coach of the Year to me, in my mind, but I think it’s the relationship part,” Diggins-Smith said. “It means a lot to her, connecting with her players. You hear the term ‘player-coach’ being used a lot, and to me, that just means not being close-minded off of ideas, being able to take input from your players and incorporate that. … And [she’s] always in there watching film.”

Diggins-Smith admitted she sometimes feels a punch in the gut after making a mistake, knowing she’ll hear about it from her coach. “But she coaches me, and that’s what I always I love,” Diggins-Smith said. “I love being coached. Good players love to be coached. And [I’m] just always looking for feedback from her on how I can get better, how I can improve and how our team can be successful.”

Diggins-Smith and Quinn’s shared passion for basketball puts them on the same starting page even though their temperaments are different.

“I’m naturally very high strung, and she’s more cool, calm and collected,” Diggins-Smith said. “So I think we complement each other in that sense, for one way or another, if she needs to turn up or I need to turn down. … She always just talks a lot of life into me. She’s a very positive person, so I think our temperament complements each other.

“And then just our want to win, and our how to — how we’re going to do things — we kind of see eye-to-eye on a lot of things.”

“We’re aligned in a lot of ways,” Quinn said before Seattle’s win over the Washington Mystics on Aug. 20. “It’s been a pleasure getting to know her, and the biggest thing that I always say is she’s the ultimate competitor. She wants to win. She wants to be great for us, for her teammates, and she works extremely hard.

“Her No. 1 role is to be an extension of me, and a lot of times it’s not always fun. She gets the brunt of a lot of things, but she’s taking it all in stride. She’s working extremely hard and we’re blessed to have her here.”

Related reading: Motivated Diggins-Smith appreciates her journey as she reflects on her career

Ogwumike described getting to play with Diggins-Smith as like getting to play with your sister — something Ogwumike knows better than anyone.

“There’s a lot of things [that make Diggins-Smith great to play with], but I think that the one thing that I love most about her is how she really just takes matters into her own hands in a way that that makes her like the manifester of things,” Ogwumike said. “… Everybody can work hard, everyone can be in the gym, but she brings her vision to life through her discipline and it’s very contagious, and I want to be around someone that’s like that all the time. 

“And I also love people that are just unapologetically themselves. They occupy the spaces that they know that they deserve to be in, and it’s something that I’m getting better at as I get older. And having a friend like her that is an example of that helps me find my own power.”

The Next’s Jenn Hatfield contributed reporting for this story.