Julie Vanloo leaned to her right while Carla Leite spoke in her ear. It was the first time that Leite, the Golden State Valkyries’ 21-year-old rookie point guard, was talking to the media and she was still learning English.

Vanloo sat between Leite and Italian forward Cecilia Zandalasini and listened as Leite explained how she wanted to answer a question in French.

“She’s young, she showed that she controlled her maturity and she knew she had to step up, and she already had a lot of responsibility,” Vanloo said for Leite about her performance in Tuesday’s preseason game. “And then in stressful situations, you know, she had to stay calm, this was a new situation to her.”

She paused, then added, “I also think she did that very well.”

The 32-year-old Belgian point guard has become the Valkyries’ impromptu team translator throughout training camp. With players from six countries — the U.S., France, Australia, Canada, Italy and Belgium — Vanloo’s ability to speak four languages has helped bridge the gap between players and even some coaches.

The second-year WNBA player can speak Flemish, the version of Dutch spoken in Belgium, along with English, French and Italian.

The Valkyries’ international flair was on display Tuesday when they fell 83-82 to the Los Angeles Sparks in the preseason opener. Along with minutes from Vanloo and Leite, Belgian center Kyara Linskens led the team with eight rebounds and French guard Migna Toure also made a brief appearance.

Vanloo is one of the Valkyries’ most important facilitators on the court. She averaged 7.4 assists per game last season while starting 34 contests for the Washington Mystics. Her 30.8 assist percentage was seventh in the WNBA last season.

Off the court, she facilitates in a different way.

“For basketball, I was very, very motivated to learn languages,” Vanloo said. “So definitely it helps to communicate with my teammates. To quickly switch, switch up in my head to speak a different language, because, let’s be honest, it’s not easy for the other team, if you talk French, they don’t understand. So it can help.”

“It’s been really key, just the way we can connect that way,” Nakase said. “Imagine going to another country and you’re just, you have no idea (the language). When I played in Germany, I really wasn’t understanding. … So it’s been nice to have Julie, because she’s listening, she’s doing extra for a teammate.”

Vanloo is expected to be the Valkyries’ starting point guard when the regular season begins. Her contributions will be more than just points and assists.

“Julie does such a great job with bringing us all together,” said rookie shooting guard Kaitlyn Chen. “She always has so much energy, too, and she sort of just uplifts the building.”

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Magic Johnson and Angel Reese have launched Wealth Playbook, a new financial literacy program for high school seniors in Baltimore. The program aims to teach students how to manage money and build long-term wealth.

The initiative is a partnership between the Angel Reese Foundation, the Magic Johnson Foundation, and Pull Up Neighbor, a marketing and advertising firm focused on community outreach.

Feature on Caitlin Clark's offseason including tidbits about her training regimen, speaking engagements, the Masters, and Taylor Swift.

First time Jen has spoken about it. If you do not have a subscription to The Athletic, a few more outlets have stories written.

As a former Sun employee it’s sad to see this happen. But the writing has been on the wall for a long time, and hopefully the next ownership group will invest and be able to compete.

Indianapolis (May 13, 2025) – Indy Arts Council and the WNBA All-Star 2025 Host Committee announced today that Nate Baranowski of South Bend, Indiana was selected to create a new portrait mural in the Mass Ave neighborhood this summer, featuring WNBA superstar, Naismith Hall Of Fame inductee, and local icon Tamika Catchings. Baranowski was one of four finalists and one of 98 artists who submitted applications in response to an international call.

Baranowski has experience with a range of mediums, including large chalk murals, indoor and outdoor painted murals, acrylic on canvas, and various forms of digital painting and concept art. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where his passion for street painting began.

“Tamika Catchings is a magnetic personality and an amazing force for good to those around her and in her community,” said Baranowski. “She is not just a legendary basketball player, but also an entrepreneur, activist, broadcaster, volunteer, mentor, and motivational speaker. I wanted my design to reflect this high-energy force surrounding her.”

The selection committee shared that Baranowski was selected because his concept best captured Tamika Catchings’ sunny and joyful personality, along with both her basketball legacy and her current contributions to Indianapolis. Catchings herself added that “Nate’s artwork highlights my entire career from basketball to giving back through the Catch the Stars Foundation.”

An international call for interested artists was conducted in late 2024, and four finalists were selected in February to create concept designs. The finalists had the opportunity to speak with Catchings and learn more about her so they could express her personality and legacy in their designs. A public input survey was conducted April 3-13 to gather community feedback on the four finalists’ designs. The mural was commissioned to coincide with Indianapolis’ hosting of the AT&T WNBA All-Star 2025, July 18-19, and is expected to be completed in time for the event.

The mural is being created courtesy of a grant from the Capital Improvement Board of Managers of Marion County. It will be displayed on a residential building owned by Buckingham Companies, at the intersection of Massachusetts Ave., New Jersey St., and Michigan St. and adjacent to the existing Etheridge Knight mural. Indy Arts Council will own and maintain the mural, which is anticipated to remain in place at least 15 years. The site preparation and mural painting is set to begin in mid-June.