After being traded to the Atlanta Dream in the spring, Layshia Clarendon is having a WNBA season to remember.
When Layshia Clarendon was told she was being traded from the Indiana Fever to the Atlanta Dream at the start of the WNBA’s 20th anniversary season, she was shocked. After all, the Fever had drafted Clarendon ninth overall in the 2013 WNBA draft, and she felt as if she were having the best preseason camp of her young career. Clarendon had just settled into a new apartment in Indianapolis, groceries and all, when she was informed of the trade. Twenty-four hours later, the California alum was on a plane to Atlanta, GA—her entire life and basketball career stuffed into a suitcase and headed in new direction.
Fast forward three months later and Clarendon will be the first one to tell you that, overall, she’s glad the trade went through. As point guard for the Atlanta Dream, she fits in nicely with the current starting lineup and is a solid scoring option in addition to All-Star and recent Olympic Champion, Angel McCoughtry. The Dream are currently in position to have a first-round bye in the upcoming WNBA playoffs and with Clarendon running the offense and facilitating the ball, they have a decent shot to make a run at a WNBA championship.
“Getting to be the starting point guard in Atlanta was huge,” Clarendon said. “It really was a moment where preparation meets opportunity because the past few years I’ve worked really hard in the offseason because I want to be really good in this league. And it takes a lot of time and investment.”
Needless to say, it’s been a breakout season for Clarendon on a variety of levels. She’s playing the best basketball of her career, and she’s become a respected outspoken advocate for LGBT and social issues off the court as well. To anyone who has ever seen Clarendon play basketball or followed her on Twitter, this comes as no surprise. She is very comfortable using her voice, whether it’s calling out plays or commenting on Black Lives Matter. For her, the two are interchangeable.
Curve Magazine caught up with Clarendon recently to speak to her about a variety of things from being traded to Atlanta and using her platform as a professional athlete to effect change, to her fluid sense of style (including her trademark fohawk) and some of her quirky habits.
Pick up a copy of the November/December print issue of Curve Magazine to read the entire feature in full, and get to know this articulate, outspoken, talented lesbian baller on a deeper level.
If you are an LGBT athlete and would like to share your story with Curve Magazine, contact Lyndsey D’Arcangelo at [email protected] or on Twitter @darcangel21