Aaliyah Edwards poses with WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert after being selected sixth overall pick by the Washington Mystics during the WNBA draft April 15.
This is a big year for Canadian basketball star Aaliyah Edwards, from going to the NCAA Final Four with her UConn team, to being drafted in the WNBA, to representing Canada at the Paris Olympics this summer. As the WNBA begins training camps this week, the excitement of new stars rising is in the air and on the court. The MedStar Performance Center in Washington, D.C. is the practice facility of the Washington Mystics and Canadian basketball star Aaliyah Edwards's new team.
"I'm just so grateful to be a part of it and impacting it," she said with her wide trademark grin. "I feel like I'm not only acknowledging those that came before me and just trying to keep pushing that way, pushing that momentum of bet on women, but also, you know, paving the way for those coming behind me.
"First of all, I'm not sure how many words I actually got out during my interview with Holly because I was crying and choking up through half of it," she said with a laugh. "I said a little prayer, like, you know, God got me. I'm just appreciative of all the blessings he's given me leading up to this point.
Edwards feels that to be a part of the basketball community in Canada and be an advocate for it is important and necessary. She is fully aware of her position as a role model and showing young Canadian ballers how greatness lives here, too. The only downside Edwards admits to while being away from Canada is missing ketchup-flavoured chips and real"I've tried to put my UConn team onto that," she said. "I definitely miss that the most since I've been here.
As far as the expectations for these Olympics go, Edwards is ready to do whatever the team needs her to do. She had just completed her freshman year of college when she made her Olympic debut, but this time she feels more prepared in her mental game.About 17 million Canadians consider themselves women's sports fans, report says
But not everything has been seamless for Edwards. In March, she was named as an Adidas athlete and joined the ranks of PWHL player Sarah Nurse, who promotes the global sports brand.
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