For Nika Muhl’s father, a flexed bicep with an eagle emoji on a picture of his daughter posing outside the arena was enough to hype her up. This marked a celebration of Muhl’s arrival in the Turkish city, where she made her debut for Besiktas JK Istanbul basketball club. As Muhl begins executing her offseason plans, which she inked in May earlier this year, even a Seattle Storm veteran couldn’t keep her eyes away.

Impressed by Muhl’s debut, Nneka Ogwumike took to her official Twitter account and wrote, “Nikababy” paired with a teary-eyed and heart emoji. Sure enough, the Seattle Storm teammate is happy for Muhl as she unfolds her offseason plans. Why wouldn’t she be? The No. 14 overall pick by the Storm admits that her first year in the league was “a serious adjustment” for her.

Earlier in training camp, the Storm’s guard beat out Jade Melbourne and nabbed the last spot available on the veteran-laden roster. After that, she missed the initial four games of the season due to a delayed work visa. Then, she struggled to find minutes behind reserve Sami Whitcomb and point guard Skylar Diggins-Smith.

Unlike last season, where the Storm gave extensive minutes to rookies during an 11-29 season run, Muhl averaged just 3.6 minutes across 16 games for the Storm, who finished at 25-15. “It’s easy to fall into the loop and a mindset or whatever. But I just didn’t let myself do that ever,” Muhl shared in a post-game conference. Now that she’s set to unveil herself in the Turkish league, her teammates are impressed.

Recognition means much for Nika Muhl

In the 40th and final regular season game for the Seattle Storm, Muhl finally got the opportunity she had been waiting for. She made a basket that gave her an adrenaline rush. As Muhl’s dogged work ethic and positive personality resonated, it also drew attention from the All-Star forward, who praised her during a team meeting.

“Hearing that from such a successful player, a vet, an All-Star and everything—it meant so much, even though maybe she didn’t realize it in the moment,” added the rookie. It was Muhl’s effort poking the ball away from Phoenix Mercury’s Celeste Taylor at the 4:43 mark that left everyone hooked to their seats.

For Muhl, this marked the end of her challenging rookie season with two points on 1-for-14 shooting, two steals, seven assists, and ten rebounds. She even logged a career-high 14 minutes during the Storm’s 89-70 win against the Mercury at the end of the 2024 season. And this is why her Turkish league debut is highly anticipated.