KICK IN THE Door

The WNBA, now in its 25th season, is the longest-running women's sports league ever. SLAM sat down with four of the most influential players of all time Diana Taurasi, Nneka Ogwumike, Skylar Diggins-Smith and Sue Bird to discuss their part in making the League the force it is today.

- CAMILLE BUXEDA

WHEN THE WNBA was first launched in 1997, its first well-known tagline was We Got Next. Twenty-five years later, the League is about to embark on a historic season as it celebrates its quarter of a century existence, and it’s no longer about We Got Next but We Got Now. Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi joined the League a few years after its inception and have played critical roles on and off the court in putting it in the position it’s in today. Nneka Ogwumike joined some years later and has been crucial to the voice of the WNBPA and ensuring that the women who play on the court are heard on everything from basketball-related issues to social justice reform and much more. Skylar Diggins-Smith brought a new era of the game with her as social media flourished, and now she’s one of the most followed women’s professional athletes in the world. Each of these four real-life superheroes formed a revolution in women’s sports and helped evolve the game that we love for generations to come.

SLAM: Did you ever imagine yourself saying that you would be playing in the 25th season of the WNBA when you first picked up a basketball?

DIANA: No. I think you know growing up and being a 12-year-old and the WNBA just starting and living in L.A., going to Great Western Forum and seeing Lisa [Leslie] play and all of the visiting teams, it was shocking because I was only going to watch the Lakers and now I’m watching the WNBA. So that to me was kind of the beginning of, Oh, I kinda like this. There might be a future in basketball. But 25 years in, that’s pretty impressive.