Nneka Ogwumike announces WNBA retirement after 15 seasons

Nneka Ogwumike announced her retirement from the WNBA on Wednesday, effective at the end of the 2026 season, according to Front Office Sports. The Los Angeles Sparks center is an 11-time All-Star, a one-time MVP, and an eight-time All-WNBA selection who will finish her career fourth all-time in points and third in rebounds.

Ogwumike, 36, led the Sparks to a title in 2016 and spent her first 12 seasons with Los Angeles after the franchise selected her with the No. 1 pick out of Stanford in 2012. She played two seasons in Seattle before returning to Los Angeles this past offseason on a one-year, $950,000 deal. "I feel very fulfilled with the 15 years that I've been able to play and compete at such a high level, and I'm proud to say that I'm retiring from the WNBA," Ogwumike said, per the reporting.

Ogwumike has served as president of the WNBA players' union since 2016, steering the membership through two collective bargaining agreement negotiations in 2020 and 2026. The most recent CBA, agreed to this past offseason, has led to the average WNBA salary jumping to around $600,000, roughly five times more than the prior year, according to Front Office Sports. In June, Ogwumike was re-elected for her fourth term as president; each term runs three years. She will remain in the role until the next union election, scheduled before the end of the year, at which point all positions except first vice president (held by Napheesa Collier, elected in June) will be up for election.

WNBPA executive director Terri Carmichael Jackson called Ogwumike's decade-long run as union president "extraordinary," stating: "We are profoundly grateful for the countless ways Nneka has championed her teammates, strengthened this union, and helped shape its future. We celebrate her remarkable career and the next chapter ahead. Nneka's legacy will forever be woven into the fabric of this union and women's basketball."

Ogwumike will not leave professional basketball entirely. She will continue playing for Project B, a new global basketball league planning to debut in January. She was one of the first players Project B announced. Unlike traditional employment, each of Project B's players receives an equity stake, a model Ogwumike emphasized at a Front Office Sports panel during WNBA All-Star Weekend last month. "I'm very excited to be going over there and experiencing those things. But then, most especially, having ownership. Being able to say that I'm a partner in this," Ogwumike said at the All-Star panel, per Front Office Sports. Alana Beard, Project B's chief basketball officer and a former WNBA teammate of Ogwumike for eight seasons, stated: "Her impact will be felt far beyond what she accomplished on the court, and I couldn't be more excited for what comes next."

The Sparks, currently 12-23, are on the brink of playoff elimination with nine regular-season games remaining, trailing the Dallas Wings (20-16) by seven and a half games for the eighth and final playoff spot. The Sparks' final regular-season game is September 24 at home against the Golden State Valkyries.