Shakira Austin of the Washington Mystics joins the show, a couple weeks into her time at Unrivaled. She talks about the hot start of her Lunar Owls, her passion for fashion, and some of the adjustments she's been making to her game.
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Episode 52: Pull Up with Shakira Austin
(soft music) - What is up everyone and welcome to episode 52 of Pull Up with Miles and Owen. And today we welcome yet another illustrious guest to the program. She is a two-time all SEC first team member. The third overall pick in the 2022 WNBA draft. She was selected to the all rookie team. She's a center for the Washington mystics, but don't let that fool you because she's happy to switch on to any guard in the WNBA. And now she is a member of the Lunar Owls Basketball Club for Unrivaled Down in Miami. Shikira Austin, welcome to the program. How's it going? - Good, excited to be here. Thanks for having me. - Absolutely, we're so excited to talk to you. So we gotta start down in Miami because from afar, the vibes just seem through the roof phenomenal. - For sure. - Yeah, the social content, like just everything has been so fantastic. So my first question is simply how much fun are you guys having down there? - Oh man, we're having a blast. Like, unravels doing a great job of allowing really everybody to capture how much fun we're having. You know, you get the behind the scenes, you get the little sneak peeks, but it's really the vibe we have, you know, in the locker rooms and the training room. It's been fun. - So speaking to that, being able to capture a lot of this behind the scenes stuff. Number one, have you gotten to taste Marina Mayberry's cooking yet? - No, you know, I like to eat my own food that I make. I've seen some of her stuff, it looks all right. So maybe in the future, but I'll look towards maybe helping her a little bit with a couple of adjustments maybe. I like to think of myself as a chef, so. - And then secondly, what are they doing to kind of encourage just the fun, you know, social media aspect of this? 'Cause obviously the basketball is so great and we're gonna get into that. But it just doesn't seem like everyone's so comfortable. People are hanging out and there is all of this kind of, you know, behind the scenes access that we as fans are getting. - I mean, honestly, it's just been like the perfect setup. For the most part, you really don't get to stay in touch with a lot of WNBA girls once we're in the off season. So I think being able to capture everyone's attention from the moment this league was really started and created and they're consistent with the content, you know, they're pompous about every day. And some people might be annoyed with it like a couple of the old heads, but, you know, we all understand what's really happening. You know, this is a great time. And we just want to be able to allow this moment to be captured. So it's been super dope. - There aren't a lot of opportunities for women's basketball fans to just see somebody of their favorites interact with one another, like what we've seen captured. And like, I've made the comparison, it feels like an Avengers movie where like everybody comes together after they're all doing their own thing. - Yeah. - The other day, Courtney Williams said that she was fangirling over being in a sauna with Chelsea Gray at one point because you never got to really hang like that. Is there someone there in Miami that you've always kind of admired either their game or them as a person from afar that you've been able to build out a friendship with now that you're both in the same place for so long? - Honestly, it wasn't until this past season when I was able to watch a lot of Minnesota finals games where I was like, yo, Fi is, she's a monster, you know, she's silent, everybody says she's a silent killer and she definitely has that energy. But just being able to be on the same team with her and just watch how she works, you know, her mind said how she talks in practice. It's definitely been a nice little cookie. It was been nice. - I love when this happens where literally the next question up on our Google Doc was about playing with Fi. So you just let us right into that perfectly. - You're welcome. (laughs) - Yeah, thank you. That's a true pro. I mean, it's such a unique opportunity to get to watch someone like that up close in the WMB finals and then all of a sudden you get to share the court with her. You sort of just already answered it, but what are some of the things you're learning from how she approaches the game in her work? 'Cause from the outside and from the media perspective, what impresses me the most is just that it seems like she's so consistent. She's just so independent level every day. - I mean, that's exactly what I was gonna say. Like she's very steady. She's dependable. That's some of the things that I want to grow into be from my team with the W is just being dependable, being a constant force. And I think for me, it's something I'm trying to learn is to not get too high and not get too low. And you could just see how she carries herself as a vet. Just like I said, steady, it's just a steady horse. The grind doesn't stop where she continues, no matter if we're two and zero or if we're zero and two, I think she will have the same mentality. And like I said, just being able to watch that, as a young player trying to grow up into that type of player, that type of caliber. So it's been a nice journey to also play with her, but just see that from a different perspective. - Her versatility is really also just such a unique part. And I feel like you're an athlete that can learn from some of the stuff that she's doing. Because when the rosters and the court dimensions were first announced, my first thought was about the bigs and what the potential challenges could be with this format. And like Owen said, at the top, we're not gonna pigeonhole you into just playing a five and that you do switch, but the pace is so fast and everyone's just constantly on an island. So how, if at all, did you kind of change your approach or attack those differences in the 3X3 play on either end of the floor versus a normal 5X5 like you might normally play in the W? - Yeah, I mean, overall, I'm still trying to adjust just being completely honest. From the just one defensive aspect, when you don't automatically switch, it kind of leaves the big in a gray area. You don't have a normal tag backside help that would help you if the roller gets behind you. Like right now, we have to try to stop the mid range and stop the guards from getting downhill. But also you can't let a 6'4" or 6'5" get behind you. It's an easy layup. So little things like that, but like offensively, there is no help on the same sentence. So being able to use your skills and finish around the rim, it's really all together, different style from 5'5" but the principles are kind of still the same. I think in the end, it's a little bit easier in the sense of you're either gonna go straight and attack 101 or there's gonna be two people on you and you have to kick it. That's kind of the only adjustment, but honestly, it's a super fast game. It's definitely a guard-heavy game. The guards are getting their shots up. So we trying to represent for the bigs. We still gotta hold it down, but overall, it's been fun. And I think this is a nice creation that they've kind of made for this throughout the game. - And you showcase what you can do with your footwork or off the dribble in a way that it sometimes gets too crowded. - Yeah, how much? - How much are you fighting muscle memory? Like when a pick and roll is going down, how much are you like, oh no, I'm going out to hedge weight. I should not be doing that right now. And you have to like unlearn some of that specific skill that you've had hammered in a thousand times over. - Oh yeah, like I said, so coming here and think I was gonna be a professional with and be a perfectionist with this throughout the game was a little bit of an understatement. But yeah, it's been an adjustment because like, I'll catch myself, like if I see Courtney getting posted up by Chelsea Gray, my natural instinct is, okay, let me go help her just a little bit, but that one little step, now you got Chelsea Gray throwing over, over behind the back of pass to Azure. So, you know, there is just little things like that where it's like, okay, I gotta trust my teammates. I gotta, I'm the type of person who I'm gonna, I'm gonna over help, I'm gonna, I got your back, I'm gonna meet them at the rim, I'm looking to block it. So little things like that is, I definitely have to take it out of my toolbox right now and realize that if I go help, nobody has my back. So little things like that, I'm trying to learn, but honestly just playing every game and even every quarter, you start to pick up one of things a little bit faster. And, you know, our coach does a great job of breaking things down. And like I said, I have great vets on my team. So they overall have been helping me. And, you know, we all just help each other 'cause this is a new game, a new system. And, you know, we're just trying to figure it out and compete to be the best, so. - I love the way you put it where you said like, it's different style, but it's the same principles. - Yeah. - How has the process been from like a collaborative standpoint of sharing information of someone realizing like, oh, you know what? I just realized this about the three on three game. Like what's that been like just kind of learning on the go with this new format? - Yeah, I mean, I can appreciate my team so much because we are truly a collaborative team where, you know, the players can speak up, the coaches can speak up. There is no like hierarchy where only one person should be able to say something. And what I appreciate most is we were able to have kind of those difficult conversations early on like pre-season. And this is when we're still winning. Like we are getting the job done, but we're still in the locker room like, damn, I ain't like that shit. Like we could have did this. Like we should have done this. We should have been more aggressive. And it was really those early conversations that like, I felt like I understood that we're a little bit different from everybody else. Like we have some great vets that know what they're talking about, you know, we have everybody on the team has great IQ. And then we have a coach who's also, you know, bringing what he can to the table. And we're all just making each other better like every single day. So I think this is really what this league is about. It's just sharpening your skills, you know, toning into things that you want to fix and then competing to finish it out for the chip. - That's so cool. So from a more overarching perspective, we've heard Stewie and Fi talk a lot about what unrivaled means for women's basketball both now and in the future. And I just love to hear what you have to say in that regard about how important what's going on in Miami right now is for the future of women's sports. - Oh yeah, it's changing, you know, the course of women's sports in general. I think this was a great opportunity specifically for women's basketball. We are one of the sports that probably plays year round. I don't really know a lot of other teams that do that. So just to start really giving these opportunities for us to stay home, make money, sharpen our skills, get ready for the next season and not feel so focused on all, we got to play again next, you know, for the full 365 days of the year. It's really stressful and coming from somebody who's had injuries more than likely due to playing year round, I think this is just a great space and, you know, really just a great step in the next direction. You know, I don't think it's really here to tear down anybody else, you know, we're not tearing down the WNBA. It's really just about continuing to take the next steps to allowing players to get what they deserve and allowing them to really become the best true self. - We've seen a lot of footage of the facilities and the amenities. And I think that that's something that on this pod, we've talked to a whole bunch of players. I remember one of our first ever episodes with Lexi Brown, she said at the time, athletes unlimited was pretty young and she was like, I needed somewhere that I could stay stateside and go hoop because I don't want to go to the, you know, the local Y or something like that and just have a bunch of dudes trying to prove something. - That's a full-by player. So you're going to mess around and get you hurt, yeah. - And we're seeing that obviously with Unrivaled kind of like turned all the way up. But you talk about having gone overseas, but then there's also the idea of you stay in one location too. You can kind of, you can maximize recovery, you can really get into a routine. How do you think that's going to enable you to maybe even push yourself further physically knowing that you've got that extra bonus recovery time? - Oh yeah, I mean, like I said, they're really set in the tone. It's funny, I was kind of just talking to my dad about this, the beginning of the last season of how, you know, the NBA players, they're able to really collab and work out in their off seasons. Like you can go YouTube and see them, you know, learning from the vets, learning from the older guys and really just playing good hoops, having good pickup sessions. So to have a lead come together, I mean, I just think it was really this is the best opportunity. Like everyone wants to be able to tone up their skills. They want to compete with the best. Like, I don't want to go to the YMCA. I know I'm going to give them 40, 50. Like, doesn't really make me better. So being able to be here and showcase what you can do at the best level, like this is literally the best players that anybody could go up against. So I think, like I said, it's a great start for our first year having this opportunity in our off season. And I think maybe there'll be more to come. I don't know if there're going to be more leagues, but I think maybe it could be a state side thing where you can have multiple, you know, cities having really like stations like this where you just have a group of really talented players competing, so. - I love that. And yeah, I'm rooting for that future. I feel like we're trending in the right direction. - Oh, I think so, yeah. Cali will be nice little, Cali weather. (laughing) - We also, we need the like the, whatever the, that like lifetime gym is where you always see like Carmelo like in the off season. - Exactly. - Yeah, we need that. We need more of that. - Yep, exactly. - The Chris Brinkley gym, I can just see, if I close my eyes now, 'cause we've seen so many players just like highlights coming out of there. - Yep. - Mm-hmm. - We wanted to move you back to college for a minute and ask actually, steal a question from friend of the pod, Haley Jones, who on her pod, sometimes I who always ask the question that I love, which is each guest, she'll say, she'll ask what the best conference in college basketball is even though her pack 12 rest in peace and why, and why that is true for them. So in your opinion, what makes the SEC the standard for women's college basketball? - Ah, man, I'm just, we just got a bunch of dogs, like you could go to your other conferences and you know, you could pick a couple good ones out of them, but for me, when I was playing the SEC, every single team could beat you at any night. Like it's not just the South Carolina's that at that point, it really wasn't the LSU, you know? I went to Ole Miss, they had zero conference wins before I got there and then we're competing with some of the best teams in the SEC and it was just super fun. Like I said, we had a lot of powerhouse talent that will come in and honestly, it was players that you might not have seen them in the WNBA, but they were pros, like the way that they were playing. And in the end, SEC got, we got big girls. We got, you know, a lot of muscle, we country fat. So, you know, I think we're just built a little bit different, you know, and that's coming from someone who's playing the Big Ten, you know? Slow, nothing against, none of the Northern girls, but it's just a little bit different down here in SEC. - It's so fun watching on a nightly basis. Like you said, like anyone can get upset on any given night, what was it about the coaching too? 'Cause I just feel like in general, especially over the last 10 years, it just feels like the SEC has pushed the standard higher and higher and higher, just all encapsulating everything about women's basketball. So what is about coaching and just the standard that set that really seems like it's pushing things forward? - I mean, when you talk about standard in SEC, you've got to mention Dawn Staley. I think she sets the tone for the SEC. Everybody else just trying to match it at this point. So I think, you know, the organizations and the schools have done a great job of recognizing, okay, like we have a little bit more to get to and they're bringing in the coaches that can help take them to the right direction. So, and bringing the right talent. So I think, like I said, Dawn Staley really has just set the tone with, you know, what a coach should wanna be and it just followed after that, so. - I think my favorite part about what Dawn has built is that it's like, it's always about more than the basketball. It feels like it's just like caring for players as people and not really cutting off ties when people graduate and go on to the next thing. Like it's just that sort of thing. And you see that all across the SEC, which I think is really cool. Kind of staying in the region. This is another one of my favorite questions to ask when the opportunity arises. Very simple. What is it about DMV Hooper's that's different? - Ah, we built different. I'm telling you like, it's just the energy that you could expect when you go to play pickup with a bunch of DMV Hooper's is unmatched. I mean, the trash talking, you need to be prepared for the aggressiveness that you gotta be prepared for. And then just the skills. Like, I mean, you look at Kevin Durant. Like he's my idol, you know. He's somebody I really look up to skills wise. And, you know, he just, I can't say he truly represents DMV because he's such a quiet Hooper. Like he will give you 45 on 50% Philgo and like not even say a word. So, but the skill wise and the way he competes like that, that's literally us. So I don't think there's nobody better than DMV Hooper offer. - I'll be able to ask this question to Angel McCotry who gave us a very similar answer to you and talked about how when she was young going to the park, gender didn't matter. It was there and you were gonna hoop. And I feel like that's that energy that we have up in here in New York a little bit too. Where people are just like, all right, you're here to show us what you're made of. And it's also kind of here because, you know, you're a different generation than Angel was when she was coming on up. So it's great to hear that that is kind of a through line through the DMV Hoops. Oh, yeah, I would say New York is probably number two. I'll say. Yeah. - I also love that about Katie 'cause maybe the biggest flex is the fact that he just never, he never talks shit. It's just like, it's all over here. - Man, I wanna get like part of me wants that to be my game. Like just be quiet and just get a Hoops, but I just can't, I just cannot stay quiet and save my life. - I really don't, he got it though, he got that. - Yeah, so I wanted to switch a little bit to kind of a fun off the court topic, which is a couple years ago when the mistakes came to New York, I talked to you in the pregame about making your own clothes and just the role that fashion has played in your life. And I just love that conversation. I thought it was so cool. So this is a two-parter. Firstly, could you just take us through how that became a passion for you? And then secondly, like what actually is the process of making your own pieces? - Yeah, so for me it was, you know, I'm 6'5. I'm really into beauty and fashion and it's super hard for me to find long pants or, you know, a nice jean jacket that fits, but it's also like not going with just basic designs. It's really hard to find like unique pieces unless you pay thousands of dollars for like the way that NBA players do, you know, to get that length. So for me, it was, you know, one, I was bored, but two, I just really wanted to create pieces for myself. And it really just starts with me going into finding, finding the material that I like, just going, I'll literally go spend like $3, $400 and some of the material might not ever be touched. Like I'll just have these thoughts and ideas and I'll draw them. And sometimes they're never even touched, but it's just the thought of, you know, going in and being creative and thinking of like, okay, I can see this piece or I can make this into a two piece. I can make this into a purse. There's so much you could do. And I'm still learning and I'm, you know, as I think more about creating my own fashion company, like I think I'm leaning a little bit more towards like getting manufactured because it's a lot of work to make a piece. And it takes a lot of focus. And, you know, if you want things like super specific and super detailed, you might have to make it a couple of times. So I'm leaning more towards finding a manufacturing that can help me out, but still having it be my pieces of the creativity that I'm thinking about. So yeah, it's coming. I've been focusing on my health right now. So that's number one. But I'm hoping it's going to come out real soon. - That's so cool. And I remember watching an interview with you where you said that post-career, that your goal is to be an entrepreneur and in the fashion industry. Have you given much thought to, if that would be something that kind of evolves as you continue to play? 'Cause it feels like more and more players are kind of putting their own fashion stamp on the W. So it could be within women's basketball. - Oh, for sure. I mean, you know, I've never wanted to dip into my next career after I'm done with the basketball. Like I want it to be, obviously basketball is number one priority, but I don't want to wait until I'm retired to start thinking and getting these things going. I think what you see in the WNBA is a lot of entrepreneurs they're using their momentum. They're using the money that they've gone overseas to make and they're investing that and they're creating their own businesses. So I love to see like things like Alicia Gray. She, I didn't even know she had her own business. She had her own restaurant. I'm like, they need to start promoting this stuff more. Like I haven't even heard about half the people that walk around, they have their own entrepreneurship. So I think it's super dope. I think the W is a, you know, a very special environment. We, we create our own opportunities. We create kind of our own pathway. So I think that it's definitely something that I want to collab with sooner rather than later. So. - Yeah, our friend, Christina Williams, recently had Alia Boston on her podcast. And Alia was talking about her broadcasting and how she'd gotten into that so quickly into her pro career. And she'd said her own plan was to wait as that for the, like a post career switch. And then she spoke to her agent. So like, no, we'll get you going right now. You are, you are what people are going to tune in to watch and you can hone that skill now. So it's so awesome to hear. - And they want to push it. - Yeah, like the W, they'll, they'll reach out. You know, I have people working in the offices that, you know, they tried to get me into the broadcasting and I was like, oh no, you know, sometimes I don't have a filter and I don't know if I'm ready to be on air live. But at the end of the day, like these are spaces that we can fill, you know, people want to listen to Alia Boston talk about, you know, what she sees on the floor. So I think it's like I said, W is a special place for us. It's a, it's a great opportunity for us to really, you know, take advantage of the opportunities. - One of our favorite Yankees here, C.C. Sebastian was just, just made into the Hall of Fame. But I remember a few years ago, he said he wanted to do broadcasting, but he's like, I got to wait until like HBO gets rights to these games, but I'm going to be cursing left and right. - Oh yeah. - You're not going to hold that energy. - No, it's not the one that you can curse on. - Yeah, okay, so I need to give them a Hall of Fame. - And pull up with Miles, no one. - Oh, yeah, you can curse him while I'll help him. - Yeah. - Who are some of your favorite, because there's so much style in the WNBA. And I think that's so much of what we love about it is how many different unique styles there are because there's just so many different presentations that people are showcasing their culture or whatever it is, what's important to them. Who are some of your favorite dressers in the WNBA? - Ooh, see, I'm such a versatile girlie. I love TIP, TIP from Vegas. She is like, she says it's on. And me and her have been talking about collaborating. So like I said, it's been great just walking around and having these conversations. But yeah, TIP, I would say Enrique, like, I love, like I'm so jealous that I can't, like I said, go to the store and find some of the pants that she has because they're just such statement pieces and the way she puts them together, 10 out of 10. Yeah, I would say those two. I like that they bring their own style, you know? And I don't think they have, that might be wrong, but I don't think they have stylists, but that type of design is definitely fire to me. - I'm glad you said TIP 'cause that she doesn't usually get brought up in these conversations, but she's crazy. - But she's crazy. - What, she be putting that shit on, bro. Oh, I'd be so jealous. And she just looks so cool, like, like, if you were to see her walking, you would think she was like a fashion model, seriously. - Yeah, yeah, it was a legend. - Yeah. - So as we reach the end of the episode here, a question I always like to ask, I always like to go to music just for like a fun outro. And when we had Izzy and Dory Harrison on the podcast, Dory asked Izzy, within the context of the podcast, a perfect question which I have now stolen many times, just if you were to put your music on shuffle, who are the three or four artists that are most likely to come up? Or who's just, you know, in the rotation recently? - Okay, in my rotation. It's so funny because every time they act, like, any time anybody asks about music, I'll be lying. Like, I sometimes be like, oh, yeah, I listen to Meek Mill and my old baby. No, I'll be capping. I'm an old head. So you're gonna hear probably like Erica Badu. You're gonna hear like, hmm, Janae Aiko, and it's so hard to choose. And I'm not gonna lie to you. I listen to Gosh for every couple of days to try to refresh my spirit. So you don't hear some arm and sack. - Love that. - Yeah. - I was good to say when you were, that's, you saying that makes you feel like an old head and makes me feel super old? A lot of that is not very old in my life. But I appreciated those answers. I was like, cool, someone's coming to our level for once. - Yes. I could, I could've went deeper. I tried to honestly keep it a little bit current. Yeah, I'm an old soul. I'm definitely old soul. - I love that. I love that. And the last one, as we take you out here, is we had to circle back to unrivaled and the way that these games finish with that first to 11, that Elon ending with Skyler calling game on opening night, you got to see it as the format was made for. This is the perfect way to end the pod because it just condenses and it brings all the action to the forefront. How do you enjoy that as a Hooper, knowing that you're not playing a foul game, that people aren't trying to play keep away, but that it's all about getting a stop and getting a bucket. - Man, it's so fun. It's so fun knowing that you have to have a game winner every single night. Like, you're not gonna find that anywhere else. So I appreciate it, whether I'm on the floor, whether I'm watching from the bench, like it's fun basketball. It's people going out there showing their energy, Skyler doing what she does. So it's amazing to be a part of and to see for sure. - I was like, when that happened, it dawned on me and going back to the DMV thing and the pickup, I was like, this is the purest form of Hoops, when the defense has to be like no threes or something. - Yes, like, to be so disrespectful to go under a screen, yeah, Skyler was popping her shit, respectfully. Like, if it's all under a screen on me, that's so disrespectful, and hey, there's a little moment like that and you lost the game. - Follow game. - Amazing. - Shakira, thank you so much for pulling up with us. This is such fun conversation. And we just look forward to watching you hoop consistently down at Unrivaled for the next month, I've been going into the W 2025 season. Thanks so much. - I appreciate y'all, this was fun. Thank you. - Thank you. (upbeat music) [BLANK_AUDIO]