They were the team that drafted her and now, the team that is giving her the first taste of being traded.
Posted Apr 28, 2021, 05:32AM EDT
They were the team that drafted her and now, the team that is giving her the first taste of being traded.
Canada’s Kia Nurse had her name called by the New York Liberty in the 2018 WNBA Draft, beginning her journey in the league. Fast forward two years later and she is now a member of the Phoenix Mercury.
“I didn’t expect it to come but I had a feeling something was happening,” Nurse told CityNews after the trade in February.
The Liberty dealt her in a three-team trade that saw her end up in Phoenix with WNBA vets Skylar Diggins-Smith and Diana Taurasi.
“There is so much for me as a youngin’ that I can learn from them,” said Nurse.
This week, the WNBA opened training camp where Nurse was able to get advice from Taurasi and Diggins-Smith about developing her game.
“I asked them about what they have found success in and how they have got themselves out of shooting slumps every once in a while and they have been really great in between plays to help me with little things,” Nurse said from camp.
Nurse is just one of a handful of Canadians playing in the WNBA the season with two of her Team Canada teammates Bridget Carlton and Natalie Achonwa, who play for the Minnesota Lynx.
Nurse believes that with the leadership and talent on the Mercury, no team will be able to stand in their way of the championship this year. “I think we have a top team for sure.”
Last year, the 12 teams played a condensed season in a bubble like the NBA scenario in Florida because of the pandemic. This year will also be unique as some players, including Kia, will be leaving their teams to compete in the Olympics.
“This is going to be another one of those unprecedented times. It will be different then what we saw in the bubble just because we are in market and we are traveling but you have to add in the fact that there are the Olympics and that some of us that will be leaving in the middle of the season to just leave and go play for another team and just come back,” said Nurse.
The WNBA Season will tip-off in its 25th year on May 14.
