The WNBA season might be over, but there are still a ton of ladies who deserve spotlighting. One of whom is RocNation athlete Skylar Diggins. Her work doesn’t stop off-court either which is why she was a no-brainer for this week’s spotlight!
1. Skylar Diggins Was A Superstar At Notre Dame
While dominating in high school, colleges were scouting Diggins. She had narrowed it down to Notre Dame and Stanford, choosing Notre Dame. During her time at Notre Dame, her senior year was easily her best with Diggins playing in every game that season, set the school’s steals record and helped the team win the Big East Championship. However, their season ended in the Final Four, losing to the University of Connecticut who had a stacked roster, including Breanna Stewart.
2. Diggins Is A Two-Time Nancy Lieberman Award Winner
Her time at Notre Dame wasn’t without recognition. Even though the Fighting Irish didn’t win the NCAA Championship, Diggins was awarded for her hard work. The point guard was given the Nancy Lieberman Award in 2012 and 2013. For those who don’t know, the Nancy Liberman Award is given to the nation’s top point guard in Division I Women’s Basketball. Diggins is the only Notre Dame player to be given the award and is the third player to receive the award more than once.
3. She Was Drafted Third Overall In the WNBA Draft
After her impressive performance at Notre Dame, teams were clamoring to get their hands on Diggins. At the 2013 WNBA Draft, Diggins was picked third overall by the Tulsa Shock. The team is now known as the Dallas Wings but her career with the team has been nonetheless impressive. In her first season, she was named to the All-Rookie Team and in her next season, Diggins was named a WNBA All-Star and won the Most Improved Player Award.
The following season was a little rocky for her due to a torn ACL in June, but came back this year. Her team failed to make the playoffs but Diggins was able to play in 27 games.
4. Diggins Is Passionate About Helping Kids
As I mentioned above, Diggins does a lot of work, off the court as well. Most of her work is either to educate kids or help kids who are athletes. Diggins holds her own basketball camp, “Shoot 4 The Sky” which according to the website “The Shoot 4 The Sky Basketball Camp Tour was designed to challenge all levels of competitive basketball. We invite all Boys and Girls, ages 7-18 to come and #GetBetter with our energetic and knowledgeable staff! There will be fundamental skills and drills, games, music, prizes, surprises and more, to ensure every camper has a great experience!”
She doesn’t just work within the basketball community, though. Diggins has her own encouragement program called “Skylar’s Scholar.” The program was started by Diggins to highlight students who overcame challenges and worked hard to meet a goal academically. Diggins is also a member of the GenYouth Board of Directors.
5. She Is The First Female Athlete Signed To Roc Nation Sports
Founded by Jay-Z, Roc Nation Sports has become one of the most popular sports management companies in the last five years. After signing with Roc Nation, Diggins signed endorsement deals with Nike and Body Armor SuperDrink. She would eventually go on to pose for Sports Illustrated and Vogue but one thing that Roc Nation did differently was advising her against playing basketball overseas. While it might have seemed dumb at the time, it has only helped Diggins become more relevant in the United States rather than overseas and made her brand even stronger. Diggins knows more than enough about business being that her degree is in business.
