July 25, 2024
Locked On Women’s Basketball: The Shakira Austin birthday episode
By The Next
Reacting to the latest player added to Unrivaled, going deep on Shakira Austin's career and trajectory
![NEW YOUTUBE THUMBNAIL - 6923 Graphic with photo of Shakira Austin and Ariel Atkins celebrating during a Washington Mystics game. Text below reads "How Shakira Made it to the W". Locked on Women's Basketball logo at top right. Headshot of host Gigi Speer at lower right.](https://i0.wp.com/www.thenexthoops.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/NEW-YOUTUBE-THUMBNAIL-6923.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&ssl=1)
On today’s episode of Locked On Women’s Basketball, host Gigi Speer brings you news from around women’s basketball and does a deep dive on the career of Washington Mystics center Shakira Austin, in honor of her birthday.
Continue reading with a subscription to The Next
Get unlimited access to women’s basketball coverage and help support our hardworking staff of writers, editors, and photographers by subscribing today.
Already a member?
Login
First, Speer covered the latest player set to join Unrivaled (the off-season 3-on-3 league started by Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart): Angel Reese.
“How huge is this news? Because with Angel Reese, you also get an entire generation,” Speer said. “… I’m so excited to watch this because this is going to give fans something to look forward to when it’s not the [WNBA] season and I’m not gonna lie, I do love Athletes Unlimited (AU). I love AU hoops. I actually think it’s a great league. But the broadcasts sometimes aren’t as exciting as they could be. So I’m wondering if with the 3-on-3 league, the Unrivaled League, six teams, 30 players, and all the founding players receive equity in the league.”
Get 24/7 soccer coverage with The Equalizer
The Next is partnering with The Equalizer to bring more women’s sports stories to your inbox. Subscribers to The Next receive 50% off their subscription to The Equalizer for 24/7 coverage of women’s soccer.
“So there’s built in not only a system of fair payment, it’s fair ownership, but then basketball wise, you imagine, six teams 30 players … that’s about five players per team, and just think of the 10 that they’ve named already, in addition to Stewie, and Collier … and now I’m just left to wonder how great Angel Reese as an addition to this league is going to be,” she continued.
Then, Speer talks through Shakira Austin’s journey to the WNBA, using past interviews and her own time speaking with Austin to piece together a story from Austin’s high school playing days all the way through WNBA Draft night and beyond.
“She’s actually the oldest of seven kids and she said once, ‘I’ve been a mom since I was 13.’ Her uncle had played [basketball] at Oregon and overseas. But there’s something about being the oldest child,” Speer explained. “… She then goes on to not only grow to be 6’5, but to be really, really talented because of hard work. … She’s training with her trainer Mike McMiller, and she really expanded her game when this started. She said, ‘I hated him for it.’ He had [Austin] going against his daughter, Kiyomi McMiller and elevated her game.”
Add Locked On Women’s Basketball to your daily routine
Here at The Next, in addition to the 24/7/365 written content our staff provides, we also host the daily Locked On Women’s Basketball podcast. Join us Monday through Saturday each week as we discuss all things WNBA, collegiate basketball, basketball history and much more. Listen wherever you find podcasts or watch on YouTube.
Make sure to subscribe to the Locked On Women’s Basketball podcast to keep learning about the WNBA, women’s college basketball, basketball history and much more!