Nneka Ogwumike drops secret to longevity amid multiple career milestones appeared first on ClutchPoints. Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
LOS ANGELES – Upon hearing that Los Angeles Sparks star Nneka Ogwumike had reached yet another career milestone, moving into the top five on the franchise’s all-time assists record list, Erica Wheeler and Ariel Atkins were in disbelief that they were selected to come to the postgame press conference instead following the team’s 102-87 win against the Chicago Sky.
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“She gets an award every game,” Wheeler joked. “We have something to talk about every game, and she’s just like, ‘thanks!’”
Wheeler’s assessment perfectly sums up the greatness that is Ogwumike. The player who recently tied Diana Taurasi for second-most All-Star selections in WNBA history, the player who is fourth on the league’s all-time scoring list, the player who has been one of the WNBA’s models for elite consistency, is among the most selfless.
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It’s all about the team, it’s all about getting wins. She doesn’t always like to put herself in the spotlight. But after the Sparks’ grabbed their second straight win, with Nneka Ogwumike leading the way, she was honest in acknowledging how she’s managed to sustain such a high level of efficiency across 15 WNBA seasons.
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“I had some amazing vets that I was able to model my preparation and recovery after, and I’m just very grateful to have been healthy for my whole career. I want to continue to do that,” Ogwumike said. “I think that the only constant is change and understanding that as a woman, as a player, as an athlete competing at a high level, adaptability is your biggest strength.”
Part of that adaptability has been increasing her 3-point efficiency and incorporating the outside shot more into her game. Through her first 13 seasons, she had only two years where she averaged more than 1.7 3-point attempts per game. That was in 2019 at 2.1, and 2024 at 2.0.
Last season, she was up to a career-high 4.1 per game and this year she’s at 3.5. And her efficiency has been strong as well. She connected on 36.7 percent of her attempts in 2025 and she’s up to 37.9 percent this season. This year can partly be accounted for by Sparks head coach Lynne Roberts’ system that stresses shots at the rim and 3-pointers.
But it also has to do with being adaptable and slightly altering your game to continue to keep up with the way the game changes over the years. Players can extend their careers by adding new things to their game as they age.
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“Sometimes you don’t feel like you can move the way you want to, do the things that you’re used to, but you also develop skill that you didn’t have before,” Ogwumike continued. “And I try to just tap into what’s working for me in the moment.”
In the win against the Sky, Ogwumike finished with a game-high 25 points, 12 rebounds, five assists, one steal and one blocked shot. She shot 9-of-16 from the field, 3-of-7 from the 3-point line and 4-of-5 from the free-throw line. And that was on the heels of another double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds, to along with three assists and two steals in the previous win against the Seattle Storm.
“She’s just unbelievable. There’s not enough words to describe her,” Roberts said after the game. “She kind of willed us there, especially in that fourth quarter … there’s nothing I can say to describe her. Nneka’s Nneka. We’re happy that she’s a Spark.”
Related: The Kelsey Plum message that ‘lit a fire’ before Sparks snapped losing streak
Related: Lynne Roberts drops brutally honest response to Sparks’ struggles
