On August 2nd at Niketown Chicago, high school teams, fans, and aspiring female ballers were treated to an exclusive event.

With more than 150 attendees, the Niketown WNBA event was the place to be for b-ball fans. The event was as informative as it was fun, giving WNBA and Chicago Sky fans the chance to get the scoop from six of the top WNBA players in the country. Chicago Sky’s own Stacey Dales, emceed the event; Detroit Shock’s Ivory Latta, Cheryl Ford and Deanna Nolan; and Chicago Sky’s Candice Dupree and Armintie Price joined her. The WNBA players in attendance are some of the best in the game, with Candice Dupree being a two-time All Star in her sophomore year, “Tweety” Nolan is a seven-year vet and four-time All Star, Cheryl Ford is also a four-time All Star and leading rebounder, and rookie Armintie Price aka “Sugar” leads the WNBA in steals. Stacey Dales the 2nd overall pick in the draft in 2002 in addition to averaging 9.1 points and 2.7 assists per game, has been working as an analyst for ESPN since 2002. She was named “Rookie Analyst of the Year” in 2002 and “Best New Face” in 2004 by USA Today’s Rudy Martzke.

Dales kicked things off with Nike/WNBA trivia. Here’s a sneak peak for those who missed this great event:

Q: How many players does Nike represent in the WNBA?
A: 43 out of 170 players.

Q: How long has the WNBA been around?
A: 11 years.

Q: And of those 11 years how long Nike has been involved.
A: 11 years.

Since the WNBA’s inception, Nike has been a proud sponsor, emphasizing the importance of teamwork, the competitive spirit, and women’s sports.

During the Q&A session, topics ranged from professional to personal, giving fans an intimate glimpse into the lives of these all stars. Ivory revealed that she considers Shannon “Pee Wee” Johnson and Deanna Nolan as the most influential veterans in the lineup. Cheryl discussed how staying dedicated and putting in a lot of hard work made her game consistent. Nolan intimated her toughest opponent to guard: Tamika Catchings from the Connecticut Sun. Nolan says Catchings is hard to beat as she can handle multiple positions.

Fans received the real deets when the players got more personal. Ivory explained the advantages of being 5’5” in the WNBA, saying, “It’s all about using your quickness and playing with passion.” Tweety discussed the difficulty of taking care of her three Chihuahuas while on the road. All the players gave props to their moms as personal role models. They shared stories of their mothers working several jobs and pushing them to keep practicing when they were first starting out.

Later the questions were opened up to the audience, where fans were able to get answers to burning questions: For example, a fan asked at what age they started playing ball. Earliest answer was 3rd grade.

What many people don’t realize is just how much dedication and work goes into what these pro ballers do: They revealed grueling practice schedules to be sure. Candice also emphasized the importance of early training, giving a shout-out to her basketball coach in college and how her coach helped prepare her for the transition to the WNBA. By working on moves, attending training camps and playing every day, her coach got her as ready as possible for the switch over to the pros. Armintie discussed that the WNBA is not as glamorous as some may think. She commented on the major differences between the WNBA and the NBA. “There’s no glam; it’s not the NBA, we work for the pay check, but the money doesn’t matter. It’s all about the love of the game.” Stacey followed up with a question about her rigorous diet. Armintie responded, “I eat as much as I can, but I eat healthy and drink shakes, water and lemonade”.

Later, the players handed out limited edition autographed shoes to raffle winners. Nike introduced what the players were wearing; the Nike Women’s Elite Package contains three different shoes customized to the type of game played. For high-flyers, the package includes Nike Shox. Those seeking to accentuate their quickness should go for the Zoom Huarache, and for post players: the package includes the extra cushioned Nike Vis Air. The event wrapped-up with an autograph session given by the elite WNBA stars.