As women’s basketball surges into another landmark All-Star weekend, the Upshot League is taking its rising profile to Chicago with its commissioner, staff, and players joining the celebration of the WNBA’s 30th anniversary.
In addition to announcing that the inaugural Upshot League championship game will be held on Saturday, Aug. 29 at 7 p.m. inside the Jacksonville VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena between the top two teams, league commissioner Donna Orender shared season highlights, future expansion plans, and part of the purpose of being in Chicago during Wednesday’s state of the league press conference.
Right now, Jacksonville (17–4 overall) and Charlotte (12–10) sit atop the league standings. Meanwhile, there are still chances for Greensboro (8-15) and Savannah (7-15) to reach the championship game. For Orender, the championship will be a showcase of the league’s players and the wider women’s basketball community.
“Championship weekend will be a celebration of our players,” Orender told reporters over Zoom and assembled in-person guests. “Whether they are in the championship or not, many of them will be here doing clinics. We’ll have a coaches’ clinic. We’ll have a kids’ clinic. We’ll be gathering to have conversations about the emergence of women’s sports. … The weekend will bring together businesses and communities around the extraordinary momentum around women’s sports.”
That momentum is already translating into growth. The Upshot League will expand to six teams next season with franchises in Nashville and Baltimore already awarded. Orender also hinted that more teams could be coming, teasing “significant growth” while adding that the league is “not ready to make any announcements.”
As products of the WNBA, Orender and Taj McWilliams-Franklin see this moment as a full-circle celebration of the league that shaped them and still fuels their belief in what women’s basketball can be. The Upshot League is a competitive women’s four-team basketball league in its first year, which could potentially serve as a developmental league for the WNBA.
That belief is one of the reasons Upshot exists — and why they’re heading to Chicago to continue meaningful discussions with the WNBA about future collaborations and opportunities. While they have been pleased with the engagement from fans and commitment from the players in the league, they know there’s still more meaningful work to be done behind the scenes.
“I will say this, (the WNBA) got their hands full,” Orender said about future integration with the WNBA. “They know who we are. They know what we’re doing. We know that their general managers and their presidents and even a lot of the players are really proud of us and supportive. They’re looking at our players, and I think as time goes by, those conversations will continue to grow.
“I think they are still adjusting to their new business realities, which we’re so supportive of and happy for. But we do believe, looking down the road, that there is a way that we will connect in a meaningful way for everyone who’s part of this women’s basketball enterprise.”
Kelly embracing her role as Upshot ambassador
Meanwhile, one of the many players expected to be in Chicago this weekend is Deja Kelly of the Charlotte Crown, who understands her visibility serves a bigger purpose.
She embraces it, and she knows competing in the Upshot League alongside several talented players is a step in the right direction for the future of women’s basketball and another necessary phase toward her personal goal of securing a permanent place in the WNBA.
As a member of the Charlotte Crown, Kelly relishes the crown—pun intended—of being one of the faces of the first-year league. Her unwavering dream also comes with a spotlight she didn’t ask for but refuses to run from. In a first-year league still building its identity, she has become one of its defining faces, and Kelly embraces that responsibility as part of the grind.
Kelly has excelled on the court as well, leading the Upshot League in scoring at 17.7 points per game through July 22.
“I’m not oblivious to knowing that my name and a few others are talked about within this league while bringing some eyes and attention to it, which I think is great,” Kelly shared with The IX Sports during a recent phone call. “That’s obviously a great thing anywhere, let alone for women’s basketball. People are catching on. Whether it’s through my name or through a number of great players people have been following for a while, that is good. I think that’s a blessing.”
The Upshot League serves numerous purposes for the players who are fortunate enough to be in the league. The Crown has a few recognizable names, including Reigan Richardson, who played at Duke, and AD, formerly Asia Durr, a No. 2 overall pick of the New York Liberty in 2019. Each player in this league has a story and is competing for a variety of reasons. Despite their scars and arduous roads, they are continuing to thrive.
Some are accumulating film for a possible shot at the WNBA, others are staying in shape, and those like Nicole Gwynn of Charlotte are just proving she belongs. As a league of opportunity, the Upshot League gives players, especially those finishing their collegiate careers, a chance to stay stateside and grow their game, which is another positive.
“Any more eyes and any help that we can give to bring more viewership to this league because it’s worth it,” Kelly said. “The competition is a very high level, and it’s a good brand of basketball. We’re all professionals. People have had experience already, so it’s really competitive and fun to watch. I think that that’s what will continue to bring, you know, more viewership and more fans and you know get people to watch.”
Those witnessing Kelly’s determined spirit will see she’s playing to fulfill her dreams of playing full-time in the WNBA. Sometimes being in the spotlight comes with challenges, which again Kelly understands. She’s not hiding.
Even though Kelly has a large following on social media, with over 14 million TikTok and Instagram followers combined, she has always been authentic and intentional in publicly documenting her journey. She’s also enjoying life by dancing and smiling on her socials.
“My success is in the light, and my failures are in the light, and I think that’s the beauty of it,” Kelly said. “I want to show people that just because I’ve had some bumps in the road and there are different areas in my journey that may have been unexpected, that doesn’t stop me from chasing the dream. The dream doesn’t change, and I think that’s a big motivator for me because I wouldn’t be the role model that I want to be to those looking up to me.”
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She knows her presence is bigger than buckets and highlight clips. For Kelly, it means showing up every night with authenticity and consistency as proof that you can chase a WNBA roster spot, carry a league’s name, and still leave room for others to shine beside you. It’s another form of leadership for her because she’s helping others see what’s possible through intention, empathy, and clarity.
“My story is different,” Kelly said. “If I just quit or gave up after I got a few no’s from the W, then I would be disappointed, but continuing to work is a big motivator for me. That’s something that’s a blessing because there are a lot of younger girls who are trying to be in my position and trying to get to where I am. If I could show them that a few bumps in the road and a little adversity don’t change where you’re trying to go and shouldn’t knock you off your path.”
Kelly has already dabbled in broadcasting and can see a future with a microphone in her hand, but right now her focus is on the story she’s still writing on the court and the people following in real time. The setbacks have become part of the example she’s trying to set because she’s aware of what they represent.
“My dreams and my potential are my biggest motivators,” Kelly said. “I have so much to give, and my story is far from done. So I think that’s what keeps me going because I know there’s so much left and my ceiling is so high. But outside of that, it would probably have to be the little girls who are looking up to me, the younger generation, just in general, looking up to me, to other female basketball players. I’ve already got some love from younger players who are following my journey, and that’s just so appreciated. You never know who’s watching.”
Kelly also played in Athletes Unlimited in Nashville this past winter, following a stellar collegiate career in which she tallied 2,247 career points while collecting 564 rebounds with North Carolina and Oregon. Proving how challenging the next level is, Kelly went undrafted in 2025 but signed a training camp contract with the Las Vegas Aces before being waived.
In two preseason games, she averaged 12 points and made a game-winning shot against the Phoenix Mercury. Despite not making the final roster, she had some positive takeaways from the experience.
“Training camp with Vegas was amazing,” Kelly recalled. “Just being able to have that opportunity and get my foot in the door, because a lot of people don’t get that opportunity. So just being able to have that with Vegas, with such an elite organization and elite players, and being able to learn so much in a short amount of time while getting a taste of what the W is about and where I need to grow and continue to expand my game.”
While the leg sleeve is her signature wardrobe accessory, Kelly’s specialty is her versatility, where she’s a scoring machine, a passing wizard, and a human handcuff. Kelly leads the Upshot League in assists and is fourth in steals.
With numerous high-level tools, Kelly is focused on fine-tuning various areas of her game to make her dream a reality. Kelly knows she can be valuable to a team that likes to play fast. Kelly has proven that she can compete against the best. While she’s confident that she belongs in the WNBA, Kelly also recognizes the fine details she must improve.
She’s been able to make open shots with more consistency, whether it’s off the catch, off the dribble, or off a ball screen, while getting to the foul line often. Even though she has scored double figures 17 times this season, including hitting for 30 or more three times, Kelly is focused on improving her point guard skills, facilitating, and defense.
“A big focus is showing that I can facilitate consistently, which I’ve always been able to do,” Kelly said. “I’ve always been a really good playmaker, but just being able to show that I can do that consistently first and knowing that scoring can and will come as the game goes on, and whatever’s needed, too.
“Some teams in the WNBA have questions like, can I run a team? Can I be a point guard? Obviously, traditional point guards, there’s not really many of them in the league, but I know that realistically, whatever team I land on, my role is not going to be to put up 15, 20-plus points a night. It’s going to be to get the other stars the ball, which I’m more than capable of doing.”
Richardson embracing the opportunity
Duke gave Richardson a national stage, Spain taught her how to be a pro far from home, and Upshot has given her a chance to bring all of that back to the city that raised her.
The Upshot League has made a difference for Richardson, who earned a training camp opportunity with the Minnesota Lynx in 2025. After being waived, she played in the Spanish LF Endesa League, where she averaged 14.6 points per game during the 2025-26 season.
Now, playing in front of her family and eating meals with them at home or a nearby restaurant is a nice flex. For all the talent packed into Upshot, that might be its quiet superpower: giving players like Richardson a chance to chase big-league dreams without losing touch with the people and places that raised them.
She jumped at the opportunity to play for the Crown when head coach Tricia Stafford-Odom reached out to her.
“I am happy to have a team in Charlotte,” Richardson said. “It makes stuff a lot easier, but I’m happy that Coach Trish took a chance on me, and I’m just happy to be playing. It’s also great, especially for my family, because they love to come and support me wherever I am. So, it’s an easy drive for them to be able to support me, which matters.”
Those familiar faces provide a comfort that many women’s basketball players don’t have when they are overseas.
The popularity of women’s basketball is creating tomorrow’s legacy. With increased demand and the cultural influence of women’s basketball, leagues like Upshot, Unrivaled, and Athletes Unlimited have increased the opportunities for women’s basketball players to remain in the country and play competitively, which has proven to be a winning strategy for fan engagement. Fans have remained connected to some of the recognizable players they grew to admire during their collegiate careers.
Every player in this league has endured numerous twists and detours, but the nonlinear path they took is stitched into the fabric of their stories. Richardson knows that path well; being waived, going overseas, and now carving out a role in Upshot are all part of trusting the process.
The depth of women’s basketball talent has accelerated growth and visibility, providing a year-round showcase for the sport in America. In addition to elevating women’s basketball, the Upshot League has created momentum toward long-term investment and the ecosystem being built around it.
More investors, brands, media companies, and creators are developing meaningful experiences specifically for women’s sports. In addition to Upshot’s planned expansion, the WNBA will be adding Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia, creating more roster spots.
“There’s a lot of great talent in women’s basketball that just wants to hoop,” Richardson said. “If we’re not able to do it in the W or don’t want to go overseas, this is a great opportunity to still play against the best of the best. I think it’s a great opportunity for some of the other girls to really show what they can do outside of the W or overseas and play at home in the States. This is great.”
As Richardson patiently waits and works, she’s using the league like everybody to enhance parts of her game. Her growth area is on the mental side. More importantly, being from Charlotte, Richardson has embraced every challenge and opportunity to impact her community.
“For me, it’s just staying locked in and not being so down on myself when scoring isn’t going my way,” Richardson said. “I know I can play on both sides of the ball. So, if offensively isn’t going my way, I just got to be able to get going on the defensive end as well. I feel like that also goes hand in hand with what I’m working on, which is being consistent with my shot.”
Richardson has had a huge role in helping Charlotte overcome a 1-6 start to the season. The Crown are now 12-10 overall, sitting in second place behind Jacksonville. Richardson is averaging 12.9 points per game, 3.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. She’s also made 42.1% of her shots. She’s scored in double figures in five of her last six games, including a 25-point performance in an 85-75 win over Greensboro on July 16.
“I have spurts where I play well one game, and I don’t play my best another. I know not every game is going to be perfect, but at least I can control what I can, which is my effort and the little things I could do on the court to help this team win, regardless of if I’m having a good scoring night or not.”
Healthy AD back playing
While life in the Upshot League isn’t glamorous, AD, formerly AD Durr, is excited to have recovered from long COVID and to be able to hoop. They didn’t mind Charlotte’s recent 13-game road trip that began on June 18, especially since when they played overseas, AD routinely endured 15-hour bus rides to games.
With one game remaining, the Crown are 8-4 on its road trip.
“I think the part you feel the most is when you’re on your way back home, and you get back at like one or 2 a.m.,” AD said. “You’re tired, and you’re just ready to get to bed, but in comparison to playing overseas, I’m very grateful for a four-or-five-hour bus ride. I’ll take that any day.”
The constant travel, quick turnarounds, and back-to-back games are another unique aspect of the league. For younger players, it’s another lesson in how to be a professional, take care of your body, stay sharp, eat correctly, and still perform under a spotlight that never really dims.
So, taking trips to Greensboro, Savannah, and Jacksonville are easy for AD, especially after conquering her biggest and scariest battle.
“The biggest thing right now I want people to know is that I am healthy,” AD said to The IX Sports during a phone call earlier this month. “I’m free of long COVID. I’ve been free of that for the last four to five years, I would say approximately. I’m just trying to get better every single day. So, I know some people have questions about how I am still feeling. I just want people to understand that I was, yes, I was very, very, very sick, but now I’m not. I thank God for that.”
AD is another recognizable name in the Upshot League. They were the New York Liberty’s No. 2 overall draft pick and averaged 9.7 points per game as a rookie in 2019 before life changed. They missed the next two seasons because of prolonged complications from COVID. AD wasn’t the same player when they returned, which led to them being traded to Atlanta and ultimately waived in 2023. Overall, they played 28 games for the Liberty before the trade.
AD is aware that they’re one of the marquee names of the league, but their focus hasn’t been on living up to that. AD is playing consistently and competitively for the first time since 2024.
“My focus has been just getting better every single day, and being the best version of myself on and off the court for my team, representing the Charlotte Crown and my family,” AD said. “I know that comes with a higher responsibility, so I’m just trying to get myself better every single day. So, I know that comes with me knocking off some of that rust, getting better, and being the best version of myself for my team.”
Despite the hard times they endured, AD always confidently knew they’d return to their explosive self. Now, AD is averaging 10.9 points in 22 games for the Charlotte Crown. The two-time ACC Player of the Year from Louisville has 12 double-digit games. AD scored a season-high 22 points on July 17 against Greensboro.
Even during recovery from COVID, AD kept working until earning opportunities to play in Russia and Israel. Their mindset rarely matched how their body was feeling.
“I always knew deep down inside I was going to be back playing,” AD said. “Obviously, your days become so foggy and blurry because I felt so sick. So, you start questioning, like, man, am I ever going to be okay? But I knew deep down inside, you know, I was going to bounce back from it; it was just a matter of time, and I knew I would be back playing for sure.”
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After two years overseas, AD came home to coach. During that time, AD played pickup basketball, but admitted it wasn’t the same as being in the gym with sweaty teammates competing for the same purpose. The high fives. The hugs after great plays.
“It was a struggle not having a game in my hands, playing ball,” AD said. “I think that’s the thing I miss the most: being part of a team. I’ll always love being part of a team. It’s fun, you get to meet so many different people, different personalities, and create so many different friendships. So, I think for me that’s what I’ve missed.”
AD missed all of that even while working as a member of the Charlotte women’s basketball staff as its director of scouting and recruiting.
It was there AD learned what the next chapter could look like.
“I heard some people talking about it, that this league was starting up, and that’s when I first heard about it,” AD said. “I started getting in contact with some of the coaches talking about the league, and understanding the trajectory of the league, what their goal is for the league, and you know, I think it’s, I think it’s a great league for players to have an opportunity to play. It’s a league of opportunity, and I love what they’re doing. I think it’s a great opportunity for players to expose themselves, not to have to go overseas and play.”
What’s more special about the league is AD’s grandparents can drive to watch them play, which is significant because they didn’t have that luxury when AD played overseas. Family and faith fueled AD’s return. Their wife took care of them while mom and dad continuously lifted her spirits with encouraging words.
“I get my strength from God, primarily,” AD said. “Having them around me and constantly reminding me that I will be okay, that’s what helped me push through, for sure.”
For AD, Upshot is both a destination and a bridge.
“I would love to get back in the W,” AD said. “It’s always been a dream of mine since I was a kid, but for right now, I’m going to be where my feet are and try my best to maximize this opportunity that I have with great coaches. I’m just trying to get better every single day. There’s a lot of stuff that I need to work on and get better at, so that’s my focus now.”
Gwynn’s goals realized
Soaked in sweat, Nicole Gwynn relentlessly trained like the phone was about to ring, even when it stayed silent.
Armed with faith and zero guarantees, Gwynn ran 50 sprints after every workout in a silent gym that had long since emptied. The gym was the lonely witness to Gwynn’s determination. She attacked six full‑court layups and ground through sets of 10 baseline‑to‑baseline touches, each one under 70 seconds. Then she moved to the weight room, training for a job she wasn’t even sure still existed for her.
Gwynn’s support system knew her breakthrough was coming, even if, for weeks, the only sound that answered her was the echo of her own footsteps, the clank of iron, and the thump of the ball on the hardwood. Then, back home, her father broke the quiet: “What if you get a call — would you go?”
On June 12, the call she’d been training for came.
“He always was like, just stay ready so you don’t have to get ready, and being ready for the moment,” Gwynn said to The IX Sports during a late June phone call after signing a free-agent contract. “My dad just kept saying keep working, because you never know what could happen. And I was ready. I stayed in shape just in case, and it just happened to work out in my favor.”
Gwynn’s professional hoop dreams are a reality, built on all the times she refused to quit after a cut or a setback. Weeks after being one of the final training camp cuts in the Upshot League, she signed a contract with the Charlotte Crown. The door closed at first, but she kept working until it swung back open.
“I was heartbroken, and I was sad,” Gwynn said of being cut from training camp. “My dad was like, it hurts right now, but just keep training like someone is going to call you. My biggest thing was like taking everything with a grain of salt and keep working because if I was good enough to go there, then I’m good enough to play. It just wasn’t the situation for me.”
Her circuitous path to Charlotte rarely followed the easy route. She played two years at South Carolina State and then one year each at Queens and Georgia Southern, where she earned her degree. A 5’7 dynamo with a sweet-shooting stroke, Gwynn scored 1,549 points, made 220 three-pointers, and collected 178 steals across 121 games.
She wasted little time proving she belonged. In her second Upshot League game, Gwynn scored nine points on three 3-pointers in a home victory over Greensboro on June 18. It was the kind of night that made sense if you’d followed her career. Nothing about Gwynn’s rise has been easy, but she has always found a way to make herself impossible to ignore.
Gwynn is standing tall despite carrying the scars from her overseas experience. Her first professional contract took her to Turkey, where her experience dissolved in a blur of illness, endless conditioning drills, a nine-pound weight loss, and a quick release in less than a week.
“I feel like I’ve been through a lot of situations like that throughout my career where things just didn’t go as planned,” Gwynn said. “(The opportunity in Turkey) felt right. Unfortunately, the entire time there, I was severely sick with food poisoning. That was my first time out of the country. Then on top of that, I never played five-on-five or two-on-two. It was just conditioning, so I don’t really know where his mindset was when he cut me, because I never got to do anything live or play. So honestly, from my perspective of it, I thought it was because maybe I was a liability.”
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Working hard has been the silent beast that fueled Gwynn’s journey. It started when she had to walk on her first year at South Carolina State, where her parents paid her full tuition. Gwynn played well enough to earn a scholarship as a sophomore, during which she eventually earned All-MEAC honors.
She got another chance at playing professionally in Morocco and lit up the league. Playing for Moghreb Atlético Tetuán Basket, Gwynn averaged 28 points and seven assists per game.
She may have had moments of doubt, but her parents, John and Monique, have always been there for her. They have been her foundation. Her father played basketball collegiately at UConn, and her mom ran track and field at Central Connecticut State while her sister, Alexis, also ran track at UConn.
“I was obviously upset,” Gwynn said after being cut. “I was hurt, because that was my first time getting a professional job. But my parents are so supportive, like, they’ll let me cry about it for a couple days, and then we’re back to work. There was nothing we could do about it now. It’s just a lesson to learn from and grow from, and I feel like every situation has made me stronger. Getting cut from the Upshot League didn’t hurt as bad as me getting cut the first time in Turkey. So, it prepared me for this cutthroat kind of career that I chose, which sucks, but that’s just how it goes.”
Now, with the Crown, Gwynn is relearning something she already knew: despite being one of the smallest players in the league, she belongs. Even if that means shooting layups a little higher or using different moves to create her shot. Height has always been more a state of mind than a measurement for Gwynn, and it’s enabled her to light up gyms from Connecticut to Turkey and places in between.
She’s been through just about every basketball emotion by 24 years old.
“I never realized how small I was until I got here,” Gwynn said. “I’m undersized, but honestly, going into college, you get that feeling of, wow, everyone’s so big and strong, and then once you’re in there, it’s like, I can still do what I want to do — you just have to go about it a certain way. So, it never really bothered me or affected me. I know I really am short, but I try to use it to my advantage. That’s all I can do.”
Gwynn and Greensboro’s Diamond Johnson are two players in the league who competed in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC).
Playing in Charlotte is a full-circle moment for Gwynn, especially since her collegiate career was spent in the southeastern region of the United States. The Crown practices at Queens, where she once played, and when she walks out of the gym now, she’s living next to the same apartment building she begged her parents to let her move into as a college kid.
“It means a lot,” Gwynn said of the opportunity to play for Charlotte. “I’m super grateful. When I first came to this league, I didn’t know how big it was or the ins and outs of it. This is a great league, great competition, and it means a lot, especially coming from an HBCU. It makes me speechless, because a lot of the girls I’m playing with and playing against, I’ve watched. Just being able to learn from my teammates, because they’ve played at a high level for so long, it’s surreal. I stayed true and kept working to even get into the position to play at this level. I’m just grateful.”
Jacksonville soaring behind Pulliam
Lindsey Pulliam has been one of the key reasons why the Jacksonville Waves have established themselves as the team to beat in the Upshot League. She and her teammate Ariel Hearn, Upshot’s second-leading scorer at 16.3 points per game, were present at the Upshot press conference.
The Waves have won 17 of their first 21 games and enjoy a 5.5-game cushion over the Charlotte Crown. Pulliam is one of eight players on the Waves’ roster who have participated in a WNBA training camp.
Pulliam, who was the 27th overall pick in 2021 by the Atlanta Dream, is enjoying her role for the Waves, averaging 11.3 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. The affable 5’11 guard from Silver Spring, Md., appreciates the opportunity of playing in the Upshot League after playing internationally in Turkey, Spain, Dubai, Israel, Slovakia, Mongolia, and Iceland.
“This is the first time since 2021 that my dad and brother have had a chance to see me play,” Pulliam said to The IX Sports during a Zoom call. “The Upshot League has been great, and they’ve been taking care of us across the board. We have a great group of people, players, and just a great team.
“It’s been awesome to compete against other talented players who you know got drafted or had great college careers or, you know, have had training camps and haven’t made it in the W yet, so it’s just been awesome to compete and be a part of the first of something. So yeah, I am blessed to be here.”
There was no animosity in her voice. Just gratitude for continuing to play a sport she loves, one she started with her dad when she was young. For Pulliam, only the arenas change because, for her, the gym still has a hardwood court and a bouncing ball. The lessons from her father about shooting while maneuvering between chairs that simulated defenders are still part of her essence.
Pulliam enjoyed a decorated collegiate career at Northwestern, where she helped the Wildcats win a Big Ten championship and play in the NCAA tournament. Being with Jacksonville in the first year of the Upshot League feels familiar because she’s helping establish a winning foundation, just as she did at Northwestern.
“One of the big reasons I went to Northwestern was because I knew I would have the opportunity to build something special. …The class that left before us was really talented, and we knew it was going to be a rebuilding year, so I loved the idea of building something, competing, and growing. I think it’s just as special being a part of this team, too, because we’re the team that has the target on our back, and just being at the top and winning and being able to go compete for that every single day is awesome.”
A midrange magician, Pulliam’s jumper floats with the elegance of a feather before finding the bottom of the net. Pulliam’s father, Anzalo, was the one in the gym with her when she was young, sharpening the pull‑up jumper that’s become her signature. At the same time, her mother, Susan, provided balance by picking her up emotionally when those workouts got heated.
Fast forward years later, Pulliam is averaging 30 minutes per game and has scored in double digits 13 times this season. Another impressive part of her game, given that she’s a bigger guard, has been her rebounding, in which she’s grabbed at least five in 13 games. Her 19 points and nine rebounds helped Jacksonville edge Charlotte, 100-98, on June 26.
Many players are intentionally working on a specific skill set or two to accomplish their goals of signing a WNBA contract and sticking on a roster. Some of what Pulliam is focused on doesn’t even appear on the box score and would be easily missed by casual fans. While scoring is always appreciated, Pulliam understands it’s not unique, since everyone can put the ball in the basket.
Instead, she’s learning to be a better rebounder by recognizing angles and positioning. In addition, playing defense, consistently bringing energy, and leading by example are subtle ways in which Pulliam continues to develop into a complete player who will be hard to ignore as the WNBA continues to expand.
“To get there, I got to be where my feet are every single day, and I have to do the little things to get to that to get to that step,” Pulliam said. “The W is always going to be the goal, but before it gets to that, I need to continue to grow and get better and be where I am because if I don’t do that, then that’s never going to be an opportunity. So, like, a big thing for me this season has just been focusing on what else do I? It is my way of locking in and thinking about what a team would want me to do and what I bring if I get an opportunity in the league. Focusing on where I am in the moment and knowing that everything that I do day-to-day right now in this season is what’s going to get me back there.”
She never looks far for inspiration because her former Northwestern teammate, Veronica Burton, remains connected through the team group chat and a weekly Bible study. This rhythm keeps Pulliam grounded even as she chases her WNBA dream.
Burton’s story has been one of overcoming adversity and showcasing resilience in becoming a critical member of the Golden State Valkyries. Pulliam draws on lessons from Burton’s journey to keep herself grounded.
“We’ve talked about it a little bit, especially through that stint where she got waived and then got picked back up, and kind of where she is now,” Pulliam shared. “I think what I take away from her is just continuing to be patient, continuing to trust the process, continuing to believe in yourself, and being able to overcome even when there are obstacles, because we all go through things where we get kicked down.
“When you get waived, it sucks, but it’s something that’s a part of the journey, and without those things, you don’t really end up where you’re supposed to be, so it’s all just a part of the story and part of the plan. Credit to her for just continuing to put her head down, work, and show up every single day because that’s all what it’s about.”
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Pulliam has also tapped into her other passions while continuing to lead Jacksonville.
In addition to showcasing her DJ skills, Pulliam has become increasingly passionate about financial education, especially as NIL opportunities for student-athletes and WNBA salaries rise. What started as a way to earn a little extra income in the offseason has evolved into a mission to help athletes understand money, plan for life after basketball, and build generational wealth.
“Understanding how money works can really flip your mindset and put you in a good position for when the ball does stop bouncing,” she said.
Pulliam traces her edge back to the DMV, where fouls were a rumor and toughness ruled. Playing against elite competition and navigating life’s realities have fueled a mindset that has traveled with her overseas, where she had to adjust culturally and grind.
“I don’t think I would be where I am today if I didn’t grow up there, especially playing in the WCAC, one of the best leagues,” Pulliam said. “It’s kind of like you’re playing somebody who went D1 or somebody who is in the league right now every single night. So, you either figure it out and have that dog mentality and bring that heart and aggression every night, or you fall by the wayside.”
Now in the Upshot League, that same resilience shows up in how she talks about being present, which is why she’s having a blast for the first-place Waves. It’s also why Pulliam keeps going.
