Exclusive | Ex-Liberty star Michaela Onyenwere tells The Post about her basketball double life
The Liberty’s former Rookie of the Year is having a bounce-back season, and it only took a career pivot, a national championship, and some consistency to get there. Michaela Onyenwere, a Mystics forward, was drafted as the sixth overall pick by New York in 2021 and went on to claim the award after averaging 8.6 points across 32 games, including 29 starts.Nevertheless, her rookie momentum didn’t carry into the following season, where she only started one game and averaged half the amount of points. Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Madeline Kenney about all things Liberty and WNBA.
The Liberty ended up letting her go, and Onyenwere bounced around the league until the UCLA women’s basketball head coach called her former player to offer an assistant coach position for the 2025-26 team. “If you would have asked me a year ago if I would be coaching, I would say there’s absolutely no way,” Onyenwere told The Post ahead of Friday’s game against the Liberty at Barclays Center.“It was just a great opportunity.
I love UCLA down.I would pick it over and over again.” At just 26, Onyenwere brought professional knowledge to the team and helped push the Bruins to their first national championship while earning $205,000 total at the university, per Front Office Sports, which is more than she previously earned in the WNBA. Under the league’s new CBA, Onyenwere signed a two-year deal worth over $1.4 million with the Mystics and became teammates with her former player, Lauren Betts. Onyenwere came to Washington simply for an opportunity to contribute consistently, unlike in her other league years.
It has seemingly made the difference. Going into Friday, the forward was averaging a career-high 12.7 points on a 54 percent clip from the field across nine games, all of which she has started. “I’m really grateful for my journey but it would be nice to have something consistent,” she said.“I ...