“It’s always been something that I wanted to
do,” Ogwumike said. “I think it’s mostly because of the elite collection of
athletes that they pick. It attributes to your success individually because
they don’t just pick anybody.”
But this wasn’t
the first time that ESPN called the Texas native. Four years ago, ESPN
requested Ogwumike with her younger sister, Chiney, for the photo shoot but the
two felt it wasn’t the right time yet.
Chiney was fresh off garnering 2014 WNBA
Rookie of the Year honors for the Connecticut Sun just a year after Nneka had
won the same award.
This time around,
Nneka pounced on the opportunity while Chiney chose to continue focusing on her
rehab process after injuring her Achilles tendon.
“I thought it shows a different side of me. A little bit more of the
authentic side,” Nneka Ogwumike said. “It also shows the confident part of me
that a lot of people would not expect. I always thought the Body Issue did a
great job of exemplifying a bit of a more artistic and graceful side of what
athletes do.”
Displaying your body
for the entire world to see typically wouldn’t sit well with anyone’s parents,
and for the daughter of two Nigerian parents that might be an understatement.
Although they may have not agreed with her decision, the Ogwumike parents
respected that it was something Nneka has desired to do for awhile.
Nneka added that she
gained a lot from the experience of the photo shoot.
“It allowed me to show my true essence,” she said. “It allowed me to
show that I was confident in my own skin.”
The issue is set
to debut online July 5, while the full magazine will be available July 7.
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