Coach Noelle Quinn Slaps Back at Reporter to Defend Mother of 2, Skylar Diggins-Smith: “Give Her Some Grace”

The Seattle Storm has a new face this season. Head coach Noelle Quinn added WNBA great Skylar Diggins-Smith and Nneka Ogwumike to a roster already comprising stars like Jewel Loyd, and Ezi Magbegor. However, in four games so far, they have only won once. Hence, everyone is getting itchy to know why a team with stars like Smith and Ogwumike has not been able to make a huge impact already. Consequently, a reporter asked about the status of the mother of two on not averaging 30-40 points a clip anymore and Quinn had the perfect response.

After Seattle’s 63-74 loss to the New York Liberty, the head coach defended her top player from the reporter. The reporter’s rather frank question about how Skylar Diggins-Smith is not at the top of her game got on Quinn’s nerves. She responded, “I’m glad you said that. Because there needs to be a respect about the fact that she has had two children and hasn’t played in twenty months. So, she’s not where she will be in game 4 of the season.”

In the defense of the 2x WNBA All-Star, Quinn also added, “My grace as a coach is to know that she’s working her b**t off every day. You guys don’t see it. Every single day. Two children. Not one, two! Not many can do that. So, the respect has to come in the work. The respect has to come. And this is a decorated athlete who’s done some amazing things for this league, for women’s basketball, for the world. Give her some grace.”

The head coach also mentioned how she is a competitive athlete who wants to get better and win for Seattle. Hence, as an organization, the Storm respects her motherhood and athleticism. But is the Olympic gold medalist doing so badly?

How is returning to a new team from motherhood treating Skylar Diggins-Smith?

So far, Diggins-Smith has shown what she is made of. The team, which is fairly new for her with another addition in Ogwumike and Nika Muhl, is still showing some good chemistry. They are already a good defensive team, with an offensive front as bold as ever. And doing a lot of damage for the team is Diggins-Smith. In the last four games, she has averaged 16.7 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 5.3 assists.

Moreover, in Storm’s only win of the season over the Mystics, Jewel Loyd scored second highest for the team with 18 points. She also had five rebounds and assists to add more strength to Seattle, who did not have Ogwumike playing for them.

So far, there is no denying that despite not touching the ball for almost two years, Skylar Diggins-Smith is doing great. Whether you call it muscle memory or plain skill-sharpening in the gym, this team will soon see better days. Especially with a head coach like Quinn, who knows when to be fun and when to have boundaries.