Nikki Teasley – Hoops, Help and Hope

 Nikki Teasley - photo by Julia Coleman

ORLANDO, Fla - By her own admission, two-time WNBA All-Star Nikki Teasley is “living the dream”. Happily married to Orlando, Florida native, Joshua Houston, raising their two children, and training local hoops hopefuls, Teasley’s contentment is obvious.

“When I was a kid, I knew I wanted to be a homicide detective. I just knew it. But that was before basketball.  Basketball became my passion and provided me all kinds of opportunities. I got to go places, and meet people and do things and travel  ...  and I’ve had a wonderful life. Now I just want to give back,” said Teasley.

With her husband lending a hand and their kids in tow, Teasley recently staged the first in what is expected to be a series of recurring pro combines. Just a few weeks ago, The Nikki Teasley Assist Pro Combine was staged at Hungerford Preparatory School just outside of Teasley’s adopted hometown of Altamonte Springs, Florida.

In early August, Teasley had just completed her first season with the Orlando Extreme, a semi-pro team competing in the Women’s Blue Chip Basketball League (WBCBL). With Teasley running the point, the Extreme finished second, losing in the championship game to the Rock County Robins. Along the way, she met so many players who wanted to play professionally after college but just didn’t have a clear path to follow. This was the genesis of Nikki Teasley Assist Pro Combine.

The WBCBL functions as both a competitive outlet for players as well as a showcase for agents. A quick glance at the WBCBL web site shows a list of players who have signed contracts and played abroad as a result of their exposure via this growing semi-pro league.

J.T. Turner is the head coach of the Orlando Extreme and is also an Orlando-area high school coach. As their WBCBL season closed, he and Teasley saw an opportunity and decided to make something happen. So they sent out invitations and hosted their first combine August 20-21.

“These are all college graduates,” said Turner as he surveyed the participants. “We may make exceptions in the future, but for now we invite college graduates, team owners, scouts and agents and put the participants through drills and then scrimmages. This is all being filmed so we can forward the video to anyone looking for players who can’t make it here to see them in person,” he added. “We are building a database of players that includes their biography, skills and contact info.”

One of the participants, recent UNCW graduate Treasure Johnson, was grateful for the exposure. “I’m just a kid from Columbus, Georgia who wants to keep playing basketball. This is a great opportunity for me to get my name out there and maybe get a chance to play overseas. I have my passport, I love to travel and I am ready to go – just sign me up!”

Teasley understands that players like Johnson, or recent University of Central Florida graduate Chelsie Wiley could fill a spot on an international roster, but may not have the connections needed to get a contract. She also understands that the name “Nikki Teasley” is a well known brand, both domestically and internationally, that can command the attention of the very scouts and agents that facilitate signing these players.Teasley expects one or two of her combine participants to get international offers.

“There were so many people who helped my every step of the way. My high school coaches Stu Vetter and Steve Kennedy, Coach Sylvia Hatchell, Coach Michael Cooper … all of them gave me opportunities and guidance and made me a better player but also a better person. I have just been so blessed. And these girls just need that same kind of help.  They just need someone in their corner to get them a little farther down the path,” she explained.

At the end of her combine, Teasley herself was working out the final details of a short-term contract to play for a team in Puerto Rico. “It could be one or two weeks or maybe one or two months or maybe even five months.I am being called in to replace someone who has gone down with an injury so only time will tell. 

“It is so hard, so very hard, to leave my children at this point to go play ball, but sometimes as an adult you have to make difficult decisions,” she said, acknowledging that her days of getting paid to play are coming to a close. “But I have a great team in place here, and my husband’s family – they all live right here - all pitch in and my family jumps in if I need them to help too.”

Teasley’s reliance on her family is matched by her reliance on her spirituality. “My mom and my brothers – we have all been through some difficult times. Losing my brother early on and later my father was very hard. My mom and I were always close, but we are even closer as a result of all of that.”

“Even though my brother is gone, I still feel like he is with me,” she said. Teasley credits her brother with the “assist” on two of the greatest moments in her basketball life: hitting the winning shot that sealed the 2002 WNBA Championship for the Sparks and then a steal and three-pointer to seal a win for her West team that led to her being named 2003 WNBA All-Star Game MVP. “I was just so calm,” she said.  “As soon as I let go on both of those shots, I just felt like my brother kind of grabbed the ball and guided it through for me.”

Teasley and her business partners have a website under development that will soon go live. Players interested in extending their basketball-playing careers will have a reputable resource and be able to attend future Nikki Teasley Assist Pro Combines as they are scheduled.

Teasley herself may pursue certification to become an agent. “So many agents only want to represent the players who sign big money contracts. That leaves all the others with no one to represent them.”

“It’s all about helping these girls,” said Teasley. “It’s all about giving back and helping them live their dream.”