When the Indiana Fever signed Sydney Colson in free agency, the vision for her role was clear immediately. She would be a veteran presence in the locker room and provide a calm, steady, and experienced ball handler. The on-court vision didn’t quite pan out, as Colson went down with a season-ending knee injury just 30 games into the season. She never wavered as an impactful veteran presence, however.
Colson appeared as a guest on Aliyah Boston’s and Candace Parker’s podcast Post Moves. Boston, who just finished her third season in the WNBA and her second playoff run with the Fever, showered Colson with praise for her leadership and locker room presence.
“She was basically yelling at me and telling me I need to pour into other people and she was completely right,” Boston said when detailing how Colson had helped her take another step as a leader on her team. “And I just think that just goes to show the type of vet and how important you were to our locker room, especially after you got hurt because that could have been such a moment for you to just be like, ‘Okay, well, I’m gonna show up and I’ll be here, but I don’t really have to do much.’ But you just continued to pour and give to us and help us give to each other.”
Colson’s WNBA journey hasn’t been easy
A big reason why Colson is such a good leader and locker room presence is the fact that she has experienced the many ups and downs of a career in professional basketball. Colson was drafted in the second round by the New York Liberty in 2011 and played 16 games. She was waived ahead of the next season and was out of the WNBA for four years. Colson eventually made her WNBA return in 2015 as a reserve for the San Antonio Silver Stars.
By 2021, Colson was once again out of the W, but signed with the Aces in 2022. Colson remained a key piece for the Aces for three seasons, playing a big role in Game 4 of the 2023 Finals after Chelsea Gray was sidelined with an injury.
Colson has dealt with injuries, she has been waived, she had to battle her way back into the league twice, and she has won at the highest level. She has also played with some of the biggest stars in the league. After 11 WNBA seasons, Colson has a lot of wisdom to impart on younger players, which made her an important asset to a Fever team developing Caitlin Clark, Aliyah Boston, and Lexie Hull.
At 36, an ACL tear is not an easy injury to recover from. Nevertheless, Colson said on Post Moves that she hopes to be back on the court for another WNBA season. Whether that will be with the Fever or not is another question.