All throughout the offseason, one WNBA player's name was nearly synonymous with the Collective Bargaining Agreement: that of Nneka Ogwumike, the president of the WNBPA. Ogwumike was the one who was tasked with both negotiating behind closed doors and giving statements to the media and to fans. Ogwumike was largely the face of negotiations, the player who was most expected to perfectly explain every delay, every loss, and every win.
When the new CBA was finally signed, Ogwumike was again front and center. And when she announced her retirement from the WNBA after 15 years in the league, the WNBPA issued a statement that emphasized just how important she's been to everyone in the league, on and off the court.
The union acknowledged that Ogwumike's true impact "cannot be overstated." That's true of her "leadership," which the union said has been "extraordinary." Elsewhere in its statement, the WNBPA noted that Ogwumike "understood that leadership was not simply about having a seat at the table; it was about using that seat to move the game and the business of the game forward for every player."
That idea was so central to the CBA negotiations that it almost became easy to overlook it; while the players made a lot of gains for the current athletes in the league, they also made gains for the future and for the past. This year's rookies will never know what it's like to play in the WNBA and be unable to make ends meet; most players in the league will go overseas in the offseason because they want to, not because they have to. And the new CBA also issued payments to players who have since retired from the game, something impactful and purposeful. It's also something they didn't have to do.
The WNBA has benefited enormously from having Ogwumike in the league for years; it's possible the full weight of what it means for her to move on hasn't been understood yet.
Of course, it's worth noting Ogwumike may not be finished playing professional basketball just because she's not in the WNBA. She's one of the players signed to Project B, which is theoretically kicking off its first season in January. Ogwumike appears to have confirmed she will still play in Project B, per a tweet shared by ClutchPoints and Front Office Sports. As for Ogwumike, she said in a statement shared about her retirement that she's "very content" with what she accomplished in the WNBA and WNBPA, and she's certainly walking away having done that job well.
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