LOS ANGELES — Nneka Ogwumike was named to the list of 100 Most Influential People in Sports by Time Magazine this year.
The list also includes luminaries like Los Angeles Laker LeBron James, Los Angeles Dodger Shohei Ohtani, two-time Olympic gold medalist hockey player Hilary Knight, Las Vegas Aces forward A’ja Wilson, and Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark.
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An excerpt from Time on the reasons Ogwumike was on the list:
“As WNBA players were negotiating a new collective-bargaining agreement with the league this past offseason, Nneka Ogwumike, the 10-time All-Star, one-time league MVP, and president of the players’ union since 2016, insisted her colleagues would hold their position. “Players understand their worth, they understand their value,” Ogwumike, a Stanford graduate, told TIME in a December interview. “That’s what we want. It’s what we deserve.” She kept her word. The players signed a historic agreement in March: the salary cap for 2026 nearly quintupled to $7 million; the average salary is now $583,000, up from about $120,000, while the supermax salary rose from $250,000 to $1.4 million.”
Ogwumike has been President of the Players’ Association since 2016. She helped guide the PA to this current unprecedented CBA deal and has been such an influence for the league on and off the court.
“I’m grateful,” Ogwumike said about the honor during practice on Tuesday. “It’s always a privilege and an honor to be named on a list, receive some type of recognition. It’s not what I do it for but I’m very grateful to be considered in such an amazing company.”
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Ogwumike has been a 10-time WNBA all-star, 8-time all-WNBA selection, and 7-time all-defensive team as well as the 2012 WNBA Rookie of the Year and 2016 Most Valuable Player winner. She also helped lead the Sparks to the 2016 WNBA championship. She left the Sparks after the 2023 season and spent two years in Seattle before returning to Los Angeles last offseason.
Nneka Ogwumike is averaging 15.5 points and 8.6 rebounds this season with the Sparks. Coincidentally, the Sparks will be playing in Seattle against the Storm on Wednesday.
