This week on The IX Sports Podcast Basketball Edition, hosts Jackie Powell and Howard Megdal break down the announcement that Nneka Ogwumike is retiring and that Azzi Fudd is out for the rest of her rookie season.
Megdal said that although many of Ogwumike’s achievements off the court will be discussed in the lead-up to her retirement, her on-the-court accomplishments should not be overlooked.
“There is a catch-all stat that I use. It’s not perfect, but it’s very helpful, called win shares. There is exactly one player in the history of the WNBA who has accumulated more win shares than Nneka Ogwumike is 78.51, and that is Tamika Catchings at 93.66. She has done this by excelling in every element of the game. She posted in 2016 the most efficient shooting year in NBA or WNBA history, and she then went on for another 10 years of peak performance. Nneka Ogwumike, is, on the court as well, an all-time great,” he said.
Notably, Ogwumike is the current president of the Women’s National Basketball Player’s Association (WNBPA), the union representing WNBA players. She has said that she will serve out her term there through the end of the calendar year. But someone new will have to step into the top job at the WNBPA. Tune in to the episode to hear Megdal and Powell provide their own theories as to who should run for the top spot.
Unrivaled
Megdal and Powell then welcomed Clare Duwelius, the general manager of Unrivaled, on to the show to discuss the league. They started off with a discussion of the Future is Unrivaled program, which brings college talent to work with Unrivaled personnel.
“The concept is is just trying to build that build that bridge early on with the college talent. You know, this is season two of our Futures Unrivaled program. We were lucky enough to bring three of of kind of the headliners back, in Maddie [Booker] Hannah [Hidalgo] and Sarah [Strong]. And that was it was special for me, and it was meaningful that they they believed it,” Duwelius said.
Megdal, Powell and Duwelius went on to discuss the current state of the WNBA offseason marketplace, as well as the coaches who work on player development during that time.
Azzi Fudd’s rookie season ends
The Dallas Wings announced Wednesday that Azzi Fudd will not play the rest of the season as she undergoes knee surgery to resolve soreness. That will end her rookie season.
Megdal pointed out that there are often simplifications when people discuss the performance of members of the 2026 Draft Class, including Fudd and Miles.
“That somehow it is either a celebration of Azzi’s first year or a destruction of her first year — ‘Because look at the year Olivia Miles has had,’” Megdal said. “Whereas I did some research, and it turns out both get to continue to be in the league moving forward as well. … Azzi Fudd had a really good rookie season. She shot almost 40% from three. She was crazy efficient.”
Megdal pointed out that although Olivia Miles is “clearly the best player who came out of the 2026 WNBA draft, Azzi Fudd may have been the best fit for the Dallas Wings. That is not a zero-sum scenario.”
Tune in to the episode to hear the weekly Court Vision segment, this time featuring the upcoming matchup between the New York Liberty and the Indiana Fever.
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