The seed of evolution in Chiney Ogwumike was planted years ago on the campus of Stanford University by Condoleezza Rice, the former U.S. Secretary of State who is a professor at the California campus.

“I was so committed to ‘ball is life,’ I gotta be successful, I gotta prove myself,” “She (Condoleezza) told me, ‘Chiney, you can go as hard in the classroom as you go on the court,” Ogwumike recalls of her time as a student on campus. 

“At first I was like ‘I don’t know’, I’m trying to be as great as I can be, and being surrounded by greatness academically was intimidating’”, Ogwumike said of her feelings before an ‘aha moment’ made her realize she truly could do both.

“It (new mindset) set the foundation for my mentality as a pro. I could be a WNBA player and also actively be a broadcaster and remove some of those stereotypes that you have to commit everything to one thing to be successful,” Ogwumike said. “I think now we are seeing so many different things in life that merge at once; women are entrepreneurs, fashion icons, moms, sisters, aunties…why not add to the list?”

Adding to the list is exactly what she has done. 

In addition to playing forward for the Los Angeles Sparks, the 6’2” superstar athlete – a former No. 1 WNBA pick, Rookie of the Year, and two-time WNBA All-Star – has evolved into a major sports broadcaster whose star is shining bright.

The 30-year-old Ogwumike can regularly be seen on ESPN’s “NBA Today” and “NBA Countdown,” where she has stepped in as a host on occasion, a move she said “is awesome – oftentimes you have analyst, but now to be able to host to and expand my skills is really been a fun challenge for me.”

Ogwumike is also now also calling NBA games for ESPN. Prior to this, she could be heard on ESPN radio alongside Mike Golic, Jr. — making her the first Black woman to host a national, daily sports-talk radio show. And she’s still playing basketball and is also the vice president of the WNBA Players Association.

From baller to broadcaster is a career pivot that wasn’t initially on her “to-do” list.

“I definitely did not plan on literally having a seat at the table when it comes to broadcasting and basketball and primarily the NBA, but it’s been my biggest blessing,” Ogwumike, adding that her current success came out of adversity.

A season-ending injury while playing for the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun in 2015 led to experimenting with sportscasting, and it stuck. 

“ESPN was literally in my backyard at that time, and we (family, agent) just saw an opportunity where I naturally was able to be myself, and it just turned into more and more opportunities,” she said. “This was back in 2015, and at the time, not many women were concurrent broadcasters and also ballers.”

That has all changed with Ogwumike leading a new wave of women ballers who are also excelling in the broadcast booth.

“Helping pave the way for that has been one of the most rewarding things for me,” she said. “When I started, it was very much a ‘prove that you can do this and then opportunities can come from there’ situation, and now people are seeking out the player perspective no matter what the league is.

“This is probably one of the biggest wins where women don’t have to feel like they always have to do one thing to help support themselves and build careers. You can build life-long careers while playing basketball at a high level.”

 Another win is Ogwumike’s higher visibility as a role model resulting in her reaching a whole new generation.

“Honestly, I think that is the coolest part of what I am experiencing right now. I’ve always prided myself on being a voice of the locker room. Whether it’s the WNBA or NBA, I can always speak from the player’s perspective, but I can also speak to what we know because that is what we have to do as women.”

She’s using her newfound visibility and voice to ensure she elevates those who need elevating. Case in point: there was a recent young hooper Ogwumike went out of her way to ensure she received the coverage she deserved. 

At The Chosen – 1’s Invitational, a high school basketball showcase at USC last fall, Ogwumike recalls all the buzz surrounding other high-profile players in attendance. “I was like, ‘yeah, but the player of the invitational was Juju Watkins. She had 30 (points) and 18 (rebounds). She’s the top prospect,’” she said. 

Ogwumike, who was hosting NBA Today that particular day, insisted on Watkins being a part of the show. 

“I would have been remiss to not put Juju in the show, especially when I have a voice and a seat at the table. She was the story. Guys that were lining up to see Bronny and other high-profile players were also lining up to see JuJu – The Game, Chris Brown, other LA celebrities – I basically advocated for her to be in the show.”

The next day she received flowers from Watkins, who acknowledged and appreciated the support from Ogwumike. 

It left Ogwumike happy to reach the new generation and be able to help them. She also appreciates what her increased visibility allows: an opportunity for her to authentically occupy a space within a platform. The Texas-born beauty can often be seen on her various shows wearing multi-colored prints, patterns, and designs representative of her Nigerian-American roots.

“Young girls are starting to say, ‘what she wears is what I want to wear.’ It’s not what is cookie cutter. It is what is authentically herself, as a Black woman, as a woman that throws in her culture and is also relatable,” Ogwumike said. “I can see the next generation celebrate my role and my authenticity in a way that makes them feel seen; that is the coolest thing.”

“More people are following me now – young girls – that love fashion and love makeup and style and being themselves because now they see you can do all of it and be a hooper.” 

As she reflects on her life and accomplishments, Ogwumike calls “being a multiplier” what she is most proud of. “I think I am most proud of doing the work, being myself, trying something new that has opened the doors for so many others. That’s what I call being a multiplier.” 

“Especially as Black women, it is on us to be multipliers and create opportunities for others because those opportunities were not there in the beginning,” she said. “That, to me, is the most exciting thing and just being someone that people can see themselves in me. That’s for sure what I am most proud of right now.”

Among Ogwumike’s she-roes and heroes are her parents and siblings – including teammate and WNBA Players Association President Nneka Ogwumike – her agent Allison Galer and former WNBA legend Lisa Leslie.

“I really look up to Lisa Leslie because she also evolved her career in multiple ways, and she did it while being herself,” Ogwumike said. “She was the first basketball player who I saw was a baller, a broadcaster, an entrepreneur, a mom, a sister, and more.”

As she balances her days and nights as an emerging national sportscaster, role model, and athlete, Ogwumike lives by these words of wisdom from her mother: tiny drops of water make a mighty ocean.

“The little things we do, one day you wake up, and you have become a forest of power. And so that is the way I have approached every day; taking those tiny, incremental steps, doing those things that people think are tiny opportunities that eventually build into something much greater.”

WNBA reporter Dorothy J. Gentry writes a column on WNBA.com throughout the season and can be reached on Twitter at @DorothyJGentry. The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the WNBA or its clubs.