Nneka Ogwumike says she is retiring after this season, her 15th, putting an end to one of the most decorated careers in WNBA history.
The 36-year-old eight-time All-WNBA forward, who is back with the Los Angeles Sparks this season after two years in Seattle, announced her intentions Wednesday in an interview with Boardroom Talks.
“I feel very fulfilled with the 15 years that I’ve been able to play and compete at such a high level,” Ogwumike said. “Even though I didn’t know what kind of player that I could be in this league, I never thought that I would play this long. Never thought that would be the type of player that I’d play this long.”
The No. 1 pick in the 2012 draft out of Stanford, Ogwumike earned Rookie of the Year honors that season with Los Angeles. She was voted league MVP in 2016 when she helped lead the Sparks to the WNBA championship.
“Nneka has always led with a rare combination of strength, purpose and grace," former Sparks teammate Alana Beard said. “For 15 seasons, we’ve watched her give everything to this game, not only as an elite competitor but as a leader who has helped shape the league and lift up the people around her.”
Ogwumike this year made the All-Star Game for an 11th time and is averaging nearly 17 points a game.
“It is a little bit my body: I still feel very good,” Ogwumike said. “But I also feel the comfort of slowing down a little bit. I just feel content. I feel very content with where I’ve left my career.”
Ogwumike expressed pride in playing at the same time as the likes of Maya Moore and Tina Thompson, as well as Angel Reese and A'ja Wilson. Along the way, she was named one of the 25 players in the first 25 years of the WNBA and was a seven-time All-Defensive Team selection.
“I just feel like I have poured as much as I could into this game, and the last bit is this year of playing,” Ogwumike said. “I’m proud of what I’ve done.”
Ogwumike in the interview also expressed contentment with the state of women's basketball. WNBPA executive director Terri Carmichael Jackson credited Ogwumike for extraordinary leadership as president of the union, which earlier this year negotiated a transformative collective bargaining agreement.
“She has served this union with a level of commitment, courage, integrity and purpose that is truly unparalleled,” Carmichael Jackson said. “Nneka 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 — today and for generations to come.”
See AP’s full WNBA coverage here
FILE - Los Angeles Sparks forward Nneka Ogwumike shoots a free-throw against the Toronto Tempo during a WNBA basketball game in Los Angeles, May 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Lewis, File)
LEEDS, England (AP) — Seamer Ollie Robinson made another dramatic return for England as he hammered the Pakistan top order on the first day of the test series on Wednesday at Headingley.
Pakistan was collapsing at 150-7 at tea after an extended three-hour session due to the morning cut short by rain.
Robinson took out four of the top five batters — all bowled or unassisted — including a wicket with the first ball of the three-match series, a first in England, which has been hosting tests since 1880.
He had 4-39 from 16 overs in his first test since June at Lord's, where he took a match-winning 7-77 against New Zealand in his first test in two years. A knee injury and doubts about his fitness prevented his return in that series that England lost.
The other three wickets were grabbed by Josh Tongue, who broke Pakistan's biggest partnership then, right on tea, dismissed interim captain Salman Agha and Ali Usman in consecutive deliveries. Tea was immediately called, delaying Tongue's hat trick ball.
Featuring in a four-prong pace attack, Robinson made a sensational start when he pinned Azan Awais first ball with a nip-backer from around the wicket. Then he went over the wicket and trapped Shan Masood trying to drive.
Only 9.4 overs into the game, rain forced a delay of two hours.
Abdullah Shafiq and Imam, together from 6-2, endured a cautious return in the afternoon and gradually became comfortable enough to push the run rate.
But after 91 runs together, Imam drove at a wide ball by Tongue and nicked to second slip. Walking off with 42, Imam castized himself.
From 97-2, Pakistan lost five wickets for 53 runs.
After Shafique brought up his 13th fifty-plus score from 82 balls, Saud Shakeel was given out lbw to Robinson by umpire Allahuddien Paleker, who took his time. Shakeel also took his time to review the decision and was timed out by umpire Chris Gaffaney. Video showed the ball missing the top of leg stump.
Shafique departed soon after, for 61, bowled by Robinson, who by then had wicketkeeper Jamie Smith standing up to the stumps for added pressure.
In the last five minutes before tea, Tongue bowled Agha and Usman and exposed Pakistan's tail with Mohammad Rizwan on 12.
See AP’s full cricket coverage here
England's Ollie Robinson celebrates bowling out Pakistan's Saud Shakeel on day one of the first Rothesay Test match between England and Pakistan in Leeds, England, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026. (Mike Egerton/PA via AP)
England's Josh Tongue celebrates taking the wicket of Pakistan's Ali Usman on day one of the first Rothesay Test match between England and Pakistan in Leeds, England, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026. (Mike Egerton/PA via AP)
England's Josh Tongue celebrates taking the wicket of Pakistan's Ali Usman on day one of the first Rothesay Test match between England and Pakistan in Leeds, England, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026. (Mike Egerton/PA via AP)
England's Ollie Robinson, right, celebrates bowling out Pakistan's Azan Awais on day one of the first Rothesay Test match between England and Pakistan in Leeds, England, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026. (Mike Egerton/PA via AP)
England's Ollie Robinson celebrates bowling out Pakistan's Azan Awais on day one of the first Rothesay Test match between England and Pakistan in Leeds, England, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026. (Mike Egerton/PA via AP)
England's Ollie Robinson celebrates bowling out Pakistan's Azan Awais on day one of the first Rothesay Test match between England and Pakistan in Leeds, England, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026. (Mike Egerton/PA via AP)
England's Ollie Robinson bowls out out Pakistan's Azan Awais on day one of the first Rothesay Test match between England and Pakistan in Leeds, England, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026. (Mike Egerton/PA via AP)
Pakistan's head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed, center speaks during a nets session in Leeds, England, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026 ahead of the in the first Men's Rothesay Test Match between England and Pakistan starting Wednesday. (Bradley Collyer/PA via AP)
England's Joe Root and Jofra Archer attend a nets session at Headingley, Leeds, England, Monday Aug. 17, 2026, ahead of the 1st Test match against Pakistan on Wednesday. (Bradley Collyer/PA via AP)
FILE - England's Joe Root leaves the pitch after losing his wicket during the second day of the test match between England and New Zealand at Lord's cricket ground in London, June 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)
