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As Chicago Sky forward Michaela Onyenwere concluded the 2024 WNBA season, she vowed to prioritize herself in the offseason by dedicating herself to skill work, a luxury she has not always had due to overseas commitments and unexpected trades.
Onyenwere opted to only play eight weeks in China instead of her usual longer stints. Afterward, she returned to the U.S. to work with Seattle Storm player development coach Elijah Knox, who connected with Onyenwere in 2023 when both were with the Phoenix Mercury.
Player development coaches and other skills trainers play a pivotal role in the offseason for WNBA players, as Onyenwere and others say finding the right training can make or break their preparedness for the upcoming season.
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“Playing year-round is good for conditioning and it’s good for in-game reps, but I am actually getting better at things that I need for next season by doing individual training,” Onyenwere said. “The thing that prepared me the best were the individual workouts and being able to be one-on-one with somebody. When you play games back to back, you can begin to go through the motions.”
Onyenwere worked with Knox on taking and making open 3-pointers, handling the ball, playing on the perimeter and in the post while also continuing to work on her overall basketball IQ.
“There’s no great matchup for Michaela,” Knox said of Onyenwere, who is 6-foot. “With smaller players, she’s able to put them in the post. With bigger players she’s able to get around, and if you leave her open, she’s able to knock down a shot.”
Knox started coaching as a junior in college by working with a fifth-grade client. That led to him coaching multiple children who would go on to play Division I basketball. Due to his success, his name was mentioned many times to the Phoenix Mercury as the team was assembling its coaching staff for the 2020 season.
He started working with the Mercury in 2020 as an assistant coach and head of player development. At that time, the team had three Olympians: Diana Taurasi, Brittney Griner and Skylar Diggins.
Knox developed a solid relationship with Diggins before she signed with the Seattle Storm for the 2024 season. During the Olympic break last summer, he visited Seattle and worked out with Diggins and other players in the market. He also had the chance to speak with Storm staff and later meet head coach Noelle Quinn, which ultimately led to him landing his current role in March.
“Basketball is not rocket science,” Knox said. “A lot of the players have a lot of people giving them advice. For me, I just want to gain trust first, and once you gain trust it’s going at whatever pace the players want to go with.”
Like Onyenwere, New York Liberty forward Isabelle Harrison prioritizes skill work in the offseason. Harrison mainly works out with Los Angeles Sparks assistant coach Zak Buncik, whom she calls “the perfect addition” to her game.
Buncik, who was an assistant coach for the Unrivaled league’s Vinyl Basketball Club earlier this year, began working with Harrison in 2022 when she played with the Dallas Wings.
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“We [Wings players] used to have to wait in line to work out with him,” Harrison said. “Some people can be intimidated by trainers. They can be intense, and a lot of them come from the men’s side. The women’s side is a much different skill set in some ways and [in] how the women’s body works.”
Harrison suffered a torn left meniscus in 2023 and praises Buncik for helping her build up her confidence and regain strength in her knee.
“He’s seen me at some really low moments in my life. He is in some ways my therapist,” Harrison said. “He’s seen how I can be utilized more, and I’m heard when I am with him. Sometimes during our time, we just talk for 80% of it.”
Unrivaled provided an opportunity for skills trainer Stan Remy to cultivate relationships with WNBA players.
He established his Remy Workouts facility as the premier destination for Unrivaled athletes by leaning into his relationships with Unrivaled head coaches Phil Handy and Adam Harrington. As players moved to the Miami area for the league’s inaugural season, before gaining access to the Unrivaled facility, many participants used Remy’s facility in Medley, Florida, for workouts.
Once the season started, players such as Arike Ogunbowale, Satou Sabally and Marina Mabrey continued to work out at Remy’s facility on their off days, while others came to him for one-on-one and group training.
“The biggest step is keeping them [relationships] and not being like everyone else,” Remy said. “They see the care in that. I look at it as friends getting better on the floor.”
Remy’s career began while he was a basketball player at Morris College in South Carolina, where he started to train his own teammates.
“I really fell in love with the training process,” Remy said.
After graduating, he began training children in 2000. His clients have grown up to be McDonald’s All-Americans and NBA lottery picks, including University of Cincinnati commit Shon Abaev, Orlando Magic guard Jett Howard and Memphis Grizzlies forward Marvin Bagley III. Remy also bonded with 13-year NBA veteran Keyon Dooling while Dooling was in Miami, leading to multiple NBA client introductions and referrals. In light of his growing client base, Remy opened his gym in 2020.
As the WNBA continues to generate record ratings, those who are helping players sharpen their game are reaping the residual benefits of that exposure.
“I wanted to make sure they didn’t lose sight of the WNBA season,” Remy said. “I was keeping their skills sharp and continuing to [make] them grow.”
Remy and Knox hope the next generation of trainers are able to use their journeys as an example.
“I think it comes with doing a really good job with the player in front of you and not overpublicizing the workout,” Knox said. “It’s also not making it about you when they do have success.
“When a player I work with has a good year, they don’t mind bringing up who they work with … and if there’s an upcoming player that hears that, it makes them want to trust me as well.”
