6x WNBA All-Star Skylar Diggins talks otherworldly WNBA record, decades long chemistry with Nneka Ogwumike and more (EXCLUSIVE)

Shortly after reflecting on her longevity, efficiency and work habits that enabled her to become the fastest WNBA player to post over 5,000 points and 1,500 assists, Seattle Storm guard Skylar Diggins conceded an apparent shortcoming regarding her dynamic with coach Noelle Quinn.

“I’m not easy to coach,” Diggins told Sportskeeda. “But she’s easy to play for.”

After six All-Star appearances and different challenges with the Tulsa Shock/Dallas Wings (2013-19) and Phoenix Mercury (2020-23), Diggins has since reported feeling more settled with the Storm for the past two years partly because of her relationship with Quinn.

The Storm (6-5) enter Tuesday’s game against the Los Angeles Sparks (4-8) with Diggins ranked 10th in points (18.1) and tied for first for most assists per game (6.1). Diggins’ value goes beyond her numbers as a scorer and a playmaker. The Storm also have a well-balanced team partly because of how Quinn has molded Diggins’ leadership style.

“I have self-awareness, but I challenge her as much as she challenges me,” Diggins told Sportskeeda. “I demand to be coached.”

Diggins spoke to Sportskeeda extensively about her recent league record, her leadership style, chemistry with Nneka Ogwumike and more.

Editor’s note: The following one-on-one conversation has been edited and condensed.

What does it mean for you to be the fastest player in WNBA history to have over 5,000 points and 1,500 assists?

Diggins: “I guess it shows longevity. I’ll choose to say that instead of that I’m getting old (smiles). But I played a lot of games and have been able to play a lot of basketball with a lot of great players. Obviously, that’s where the assists come from. I’ve played with so much talent in this league with all the different teams that I’ve been on and having different opportunities. I’ve gotten to have the ball in my hands and make plays.

"It’s amazing to consider all of the players that have come along in this league and all of the Hall-of-Famers and all of the shoulders of people that I stand on. So I’m just trying to continue that legacy. It’s great to see some of those things. Because sometimes you go through the motions and you realize, ‘Oh my gosh! This is year 13; year 11 on the floor and two maternity leaves.’ So I’ve been through a lot in this league. So it sort of shows my longevity. I’m extremely proud of that, and obviously all of the players that I’ve been playing with.”

You say it’s longevity. But it’s also an efficiency stat. What’s the key to pull that off?

Diggins: “Yeah, I think it’s the duality of being a point guard. At Notre Dame, I came in like a two guard. And then our point guard graduated. So then in my sophomore year, coach [Muffet] McGraw put the ball in my hands. I’ve always been a scorer and a combo guard. Then in this league, I just became a point guard. It’s about that duality of being a facilitator and also having to score on the teams that I’ve been on.

"I spent seven years on expansion teams between Dallas and Tulsa. As soon as I came into the league, I was thrown right into the fire. A lot of it is opportunity too with being on those teams and being able to play a lot of minutes. I’m trying to live in that duality of being a facilitator and being able to score.”

I saw a stat that you and Caitlin [Clark] are the leaders for most points when you have a double-double in points and assists. How did you pull that off?

Diggins: “It’s about being aggressive, first and foremost. It’s about being aggressive and attacking defenses I think when you’re aggressive early, it opens up things for your teammates. Defenses have to shift and have to change. I’ve been in this league long enough to have seen different coverages. So we start to get into tendencies and stuff that’s deeper than just on the surface.

"You start to learn tendencies, who’s going to do what, how to play, what they’re going to do and how you can manipulate it. So it is a lot of time spent with film and a lot of intangibles that people probably don’t see. But I think it’s the mindset of being really aggressive. That opens things up for your teammates and for yourself. Then you know when to take the game over a little bit and be more aggressive.”

What’s a peek behind the curtain on the film work and the intangibles that you mentioned?

Diggins: “I’m working on reads and working on different game looks. I’m looking at 3-on-3 breakdowns and little things like that. I’m having conversations with Noey [Noelle Quinn]. We talk every day. We break down film ever day. She really has been challenging my leadership and stretching my leadership. So I’ve learned a lot since I came here in Seattle and learned under her. I’ve learned how to break the film down, learned more about my personnel and a new team last year.

"So it is a lot of that stuff. We talk about nutrition and working out, and being able to keep my body in shape. The best ability that anybody has in this league is availability. Outside of my maternity leave [2019, 2023] and my ACL year [2015], I’ve been able to be out there. You got to be out there. I think it’s about staying ready, being body ready and being available to this game.”

What has Noelle’s message been to you about your leadership?

Diggins: “Just stretching my leadership and challenging me, especially with this team. Obviously, we’ve had some changes in the offseason [the Storm traded All-Star Jewell Loyd to the Las Vegas Aces while acquiring the No. 2 pick and Li Yueru from the Sparks]. We had a different type of makeup. So it requires all of us, not to have new roles, but to embrace our role on this team.

"For me, it’s about being a leader. I’ve never shied away from that. So I’m trying to make sure we’re organized, trying to establish our edge and keep it. Obviously, I’m not afraid to change the environment if I have to in the games. I try to bring a grittiness to our team. That’s my role, really. And it doesn’t always have to be vocal. I think it’s about learning to lead in other ways that’s not just me talking or being in the middle. Sometimes it’s me being in the back or leading by example.”

How have you seen the group respond to your different approaches?

Diggins: “I think really well. The makeup of our team this year is more veteran. We have more veteran players. Obviously adding Alysha Clark as a three-time champion, every time she talks, we are dead silent and listens to whatever she has to say. It’s also empowering other people to lead and knowing who to follow and who you can follow, too. It’s been great working with Noey. I’m not easy to coach, but she’s easy to play for. You know what I’m saying?"

Why do you say that?

Diggins: “Listen, it is what it is. You know what I’m saying? I have self-awareness. But I challenge her as much as she challenges me. I demand to be coached. That’s what she has done for me and I’m having that support system with her.

"She’s somebody that will challenge you. But at the same time, she’s not going to give you an unobtainable goal. So whatever she sees in you, it’s there. Sometimes I’m like, ‘You see a lot in me!’ But I think our relationship has been really essential to our team in how we want our team to feel and look.”

You and Nneka [Ogwumike] rank second in the league for most combined assists (29). What has gone into having that kind of chemistry?

Diggins: “Twenty years of friendship starts there. We’ve been playing together since the Nike Skills Academy back in 2006 and 2007. But obviously she’s an MVP in this league, a champion and an All-Star. She is a three-level scorer in this league. She has extended her range to 3. She can pass to literally anywhere on the court. She’s an excellent screener. She’s great at getting to her spots. We got great chemistry because we played together a lot over the years.

"So we’re trying to take advantage of that. We’re not letting people off the hook when we have opportunities together. We’re in a lot of screen-and-rolls together. I think that opens stuff up for our teammates as well. But I always know that something good is coming when I see her. I know where she is on the floor. It’s like I’m playing with my sister (laughs). I’ve known her for 20 years so I think that chemistry shows how cool we are off the court. It manifests to good things on the court.”

What’s been your impressions on how Dominique [Malonga] has adjusted to the W as a talented young prospect?

Diggins: “I was picked third in Tulsa [in 2013] and we didn’t have a weight room. Usually when you’re top pick like that, there’s usually in a reloading or rebuilding situation. You don’t really get to have the luxury of having a lot of veterans or a team that is established that can help you. We have players that you can learn under as you’re thrown into the fire. So this is unique in that she actually can develop.

"We have a developmental aspect in our league, which is why you don’t see 19- or 20-year-olds in our league. I don’t think there should be with Americans, I should say. We don’t have a developmental portion of that, but she gets to get some of that [overseas]. Where at the W, it is so accelerated. Two weeks into camp, and then you jump into the games.

Diggins continued:

"She’s able to see the process and go through that process and embrace it. She can learn from veterans like Ezi [Magbegor], who started in this league at 19. Just like Dom, she’s coming from overseas [Australia] and joining the Storm organization. Look at what she’s done in six years already as she’s leading almost as the top rebounder and shot blocker. So I think she’s learning from people that are similar to her.

"Then with Nneka, as far as her ceiling, culture, leadership and behaving like an adult, she can learn all of those intangibles. And then obviously with her teammate and countrywomen, Gabby [Williams], it lends to a hope and level of comfort that she can see somebody who has been through it, has played on her national team and speaks her language, literally. Sometimes you want things to happen overnight. But for her, I think she sees that she’ll be on this team for 20 years. So with her development every day, she’s getting better. I like her approach. More and more, you see she impacts the game with her minutes.”

You’ve been quoted as saying this is the most talented roster you’ve ever been a part of in your career. What gives you that impression given all the different teams and teammates you’ve had in your career?

Diggins: “Absolutely. We have options. Our four or five losses have been two-possession games. So it is an aspect where we’re still developing what our identity is on both sides. We’ve made it through the first quarter. Now we understand how we want our team to look like and how we want that to manifest on both ends of the floor.”

So you have those ingredients. What’s the key from now until the playoffs to put that all together to win a championship?

Diggins: “That’s always the vision. I think it’s about the standard in which we play every day. For us, it’s about establishing who we want to be and what’s our identity. We have painted our masterpiece with that. But the great thing about this league with there being so many games is that you don’t want to peak too early. But we like the trajectory of things that we’re doing. I think there are just certain areas, it’s not a thousand areas, but there are areas that we know we can get better.

"We have a veteran group. We don’t have to keep learning the same lessons over and over. It’s great to be here at a place like LA. The West have been playing the West teams, which are some of the toughest teams in our league in the Commissioner’s Cup. So with the competition in this league, the parity has been the best it’s ever been since I’ve been in the league. So every night, your ass has got to be ready (laughs). We understand that. We just finished our first quarter. We’re trying to start our second quarter of the season with a W.”

Mark Medina is an NBA insider for Sportskeeda. Follow him on X, Blue Sky, Instagram, Facebook and Threads.