S2E5: WNBA vet, 3x-Olympian and WNBPA executive, Natalie Achonwa, joins us to discuss the WNBA expansion, growing the game & how motherhood has impacted her on & off the court.

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Gem Sessions Podcast

Justin Ochoa

39 episodes

5 days ago

Gem Sessions Podcast was created by performance coach, Justin Ochoa, as a way to connect and bridge communication between basketball coaches, trainers, athletes and parents. Justin will feature current and former pro athletes, coaches, trainers, agents and other interesting guests from all across the basketball community. If you want to take your game to the next level, listen up! We're dropping gems on all things basketball.

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All content for Gem Sessions Podcast is the property of Justin Ochoa and is served directly from their servers with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.

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S2E5: WNBA vet, 3x-Olympian and WNBPA executive, Natalie Achonwa, joins us to discuss the WNBA expansion, growing the game & how motherhood has impacted her on & off the court.

Gem Sessions Podcast

1 hour 19 minutes 44 seconds

2 years ago

S2E5: WNBA vet, 3x-Olympian and WNBPA executive, Natalie Achonwa, joins us to discuss the WNBA expansion, growing the game & how motherhood has impacted her on & off the court.

Today's episode features Natalie Achonwa, a multiple time Olympic athlete, WNBA vet and an executive member of the WNBPA. Natalie joins the show to discuss the WNBA expansion, how we can continue to elevate women’s basketball and how recently becoming a mother has impacted her on and off the court.

We start off by reflecting on Nat’s unique basketball background, growing up in Canada and specializing in basketball at an elite level very early in her high school career. This led her to Notre Dame, where she went to four straight Final Fours and made such an amazing impact on campus that she has since been inducted to the Notre Dame Ring of Honor — joining other Fighting Irish greats like Kayla McBride, Skylar Diggins-Smith and Niele Ivey.

Natalie was drafted by the Indiana Fever in the 2014. She played 6 seasons with the Fever before joining the Minnesota Lynx in 2021. She’ll be an unrestricted free agent going into the 2023-24 season. Natalie holds several WNBA honors, such as the Dawn Staley Community Leadership Award, WNBA Season-Long Community Assist Award and was a member of the WNBA All-Rookie Team.

Aside from her WNBA career, Natalie is one of the heartbeats of Canada basketball. She’s played in several Olympic, FIBA and Pan American international competitions, in addition to spending several “WNBA off-seasons” (huge air quotes) overseas in Europe and Asia.

We talk a ton about basketball and specifically women’s basketball — how we can continue to grow the game and improve the league. Natalie shares unique perspectives as both a player and a member of the player’s association, as well as her views on topics as a new mom.

Natalie recently welcomed her son, Maverick, to the world earlier this year so the 2023-24 season will be her first season back to the WNBA since becoming a mother, and she will be an unrestricted free agent entering the offseason. We talk about the free agency experience, what she’s looking forward to and expectations for coming back after maternity leave.

This is a great conversation packed with gems! Make sure you follow Nat on Instagram and Twitter, and continue to support her as she continues to highly decorated career!

***Today’s episode is brought to you by HOIST. HOIST is formulated to provide instant & optimal hydration, making it one of the cleanest, safest and most effective hydration beverages on the market. If you want to learn more about how HOIST can help you level up your performance, visit DrinkHoist.com and you can use the code GEMS for 10% off your orders for life!***