The 2023 WNBA season brings new leads, teammates, and joy for Kia Nurse.
The six-foot-tall Hamilton guard will be ready to take on the Seattle Storm on Saturday when they take on the defending champions, the Las Vegas Ice. This will be Nurse’s first season in the WNBA since she tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee in 2021, which cost her all of last season with the Phoenix Mercury.
“I think it’s different when the game is taken away from you and you don’t have a choice in it, and that’s exactly what happened with me,” a nurse told The Canadian Press. So yeah, there is definitely joy.
“When you become a professional athlete, a lot of things start to weigh on the game and become your job. And there are a lot of eyes and a lot of people with a lot of opinions and I spent a whole year on that.
“And I think that kind of rejuvenated me a little bit and gave me a chance to be the same kid I picked up basketball with at four years old and just enjoy playing.”
The 27-year-old nurse missed 11 months of action and returned to court with the Canadian national team at the FIBA Women’s World Cup last fall, where Canada fell short of the bronze medal game to host Australia.
She advanced through minute restrictions and finished the tournament averaging 11 points per game.
“It was great to be able to come back. I think it was aspirational to play eight games in 10 days from injury in the AFC Champions League,” Nurse said. Here, I didn’t have those limitations imposed on me. It was a big part of that.
“And then just starting to feel the match, I thought as the tournament went on I got better and I felt more comfortable with the way my body was moving and how my knee was there. And that was a big thing in terms of confidence.”
Nurse joins the Storm squad that has seen star forward Breanna Stewart Bolt in free agency for the New York Liberty, and guard Sue Bird retire after 19 years in the WNBA. The idea of a bigger role, having played behind Brittney Grinier and Skylar Diggins-Smith in Phoenix, helped her decision to sign with Seattle in February.
“I’m excited to be back on court,” said a nurse. “My biggest goal is to get through the season, be healthy, and then, you know, get back into my rhythm in the game again.
“I’m in a role that will allow me to play a little bit more in space on the offensive end, drop hits, and be a reliable person defensively as well.”
One of the things Nurse is familiar with is playing for Seattle coach Noel Quinn, who works as an assistant coach with the Canadian national team.
“It’s great that I was able to get delegates with her to Canadian basketball just to see who she is, how she works, her love of the game, her love of Canada,” Quinn said. “When she was opposition and played against the storm, she always burned us.
“A very capable goalscorer who can play on both sides of the ball. Very knowledgeable, high IQ, very good teammate. She fits our culture perfectly.”
The role Quinn envisions for the nurse is multifaceted.
“I want her to find her shots, find her positions, be a consistent playmaker and score goals for us,” Quinn said. “The defensive end, being solid every night, may have to protect the best wing or perimeter players.
And then also, just a lead role, she’s a voice. She’s been in that league… And so she knows what it’s supposed to sound like and then she uses her voice, speaking loud on and off the field, making sure our group remains tight and sharp in our execution “.
Canadian delegation
There are four Canadians scheduled to be on WNBA rosters with the regular season scheduled to be brought forward this Friday.
Along with Nurse will be Minnesota Lynx forwards Bridget Carlton of Chatham, Ont., and Natalie Ashunua of Guelph, Ont. Laeticia Amihere from Mississauga, Ont., joins the group as a rookie for Atlanta Dream.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on May 19, 2023.
Join the conversation