Storm off the Court: Skylar Diggins-Smith Is Unrivaled

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WNBA Seattle Storm

Storm off the Court: Skylar Diggins-Smith Is Unrivaled

January 7, 2025 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Seattle Storm News Release


Skylar Diggins-Smith signed with the Seattle Storm in February 2024 and had herself a career-defining season. Her work landed her the honor of being named the AP 2024 Comeback Player of the Year.

Diggins-Smith started all 40 games for the Storm, and averaged 15.1 points, 6.4 assists, 2.6 rebounds, 1.7 steals and 0.9 blocks per game. She ranked fourth in the WNBA in assists, tied for fifth in steals, tied for 12th in blocks per game, and 18th in scoring. She then tallied her 4,500th career point halfway through the season and landed herself in the franchise record book with the most assists in a single season (257).

Diggins-Smith and her family moved to Seattle following her signing, and this offseason is the perfect time for them to dig into the community and go on fun adventures in the area. She mentioned how welcoming the Seattle fans have been for her and her family, and she wants to give that energy back to the community.

"I've really enjoyed my first year and hopefully I can continue to integrate myself into the community," said Diggins-Smith. "I want them to feel me and feel reciprocated for how they made me and my family feel this year, how they welcomed me this year."

Since the end of the season, she's been popping into the Seattle Storm Center for Basketball Performance for workouts and shooting drills during the week.

"I'll be here [Seattle] utilizing this facility and I look forward to that," Diggins-Smith said at the end of the season. "Being able to have an offseason in this facility, I think is what I look forward to the most."

Having a place for players to go during the offseason to continue working on their game is a huge draw, and Diggins-Smith says it's necessary as her family adapts to life in Seattle.

"[We'll be] emphasizing a lot of family time, adjusting to being a mom of two in a new place, I'll be devoting a lot of time to spending with my family and my children," said Diggins-Smith. "Especially as we continue to integrate our lives in Seattle, get out and about in the city."

In early January, Skylar landed in Miami to play in the Unrivaled league as a member of the Lunar Owls. The new league is bringing together 36 WNBA players to play in a 3x3 league, they will also have ownership stakes in.

"It's important having some type of a player-led organization, where they take the cues from the players, and having the opportunity to see us as businesswomen as a whole," said Diggins-Smith. "Understanding how we see ourselves as brands, and understanding the state of sports, of women's sports in general."

On the court, Diggins-Smith will get to work on her game with the best of the best.

"The quality of competition that's going to be there, I'm a firm believer that iron sharpens iron," said Diggins-Smith. "The talent that's been collected for the inaugural season already, that's exciting. I look forward to that competition and that will prepare me, ultimately, for how I want to be in the WNBA."

There's something to be said about Miami in the winter, and while some might see this as an easy option for WNBA players, there is an underlying importance to the success this league could see in Florida.

"Playing in front of fans, in untraditional markets where the W doesn't have presence, we want to capitalize on that," said Diggins-Smith.

The opportunity to go from one-on-one workouts in Seattle to working with the players in Unrivaled gives Diggins-Smith another opportunity, stateside, to develop her game and her personal brand.

Her favorite way to explain her multi-faceted life is "hyphenated," and she has projects that combine her experience as a businesswoman, a fashion icon, a designer, and an executive producer on the horizon for 2025.

"There's a lot of things happening, definitely things in fashion, [I'll] continue to elevate there," said Diggins-Smith. "Things that have to do with basketball and this game, tell some stories that I feel deserve to be told."

Her goal for the WNBA offseason, simply put is, "Continue to be a multi-hyphenate."

Follow along with SDS on her personal journey and in Unrivaled this winter via her socials.

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