Atlanta Dream rookie Madina Okot says she is staying ready, and preparing for whenever her name is called to help her team win the WNBA Finals against the Golden State Valkyries.
Okot made her first Finals appearance in Atlanta's 79-65 Game 2 victory at Chase Center on Monday which leveled the best-of-seven series at 1-1 and gave the Dream their first ever Finals win going into Game 3 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta on Wednesday.
After remaining on the bench throughout the 68-64 loss in Game 1, the Kenyan center was called in and played 37 seconds late in the first quarter of Game 2. She committed a traveling violation just before star Angel Reese returned, finishing without a shot attempt or rebound.
"I don't think getting on the floor is going to be very hard for me because I believe that is what I am here for," Okot told Nigerian journalist Femi Adefeso.
"I am staying ready and I am going to be ready when my name is called. If I get the opportunity I am going to go out there and do my best to help my team win."
Okot appeared in 42 regular-season games for Atlanta, making two starts and averaging 5.4 points and 3.3 rebounds in 9.1 minutes per game. She shot 58% from the field and 76.8% from the free-throw line.
"It's been great. I am still young. I'm a rookie, I'm learning," she said. "It's a very important experience in my basketball journey moving forward. The roles are just different, its about knowing the role. I am staying ready and doing what I am supposed to do."
Atlanta selected the 6-foot-6 centre 13th overall out of South Carolina in April, and among the lessons she is learning in her rookie season is mental toughness, something that Atlanta seem to have in abundance.
Her teammates' performances in Game 2 offered examples that she says she is learning from.
After a less than stellar performance, Reese took responsibility after going scoreless in the second half of the Finals opener, saying she had let her team down. She responded with 30 points and 16 rebounds to lead Atlanta to their Game 2 victory.
Rhyne Howard also overcame foul trouble to set a Finals record with six steals. Jordin Canada contributed 10 assists despite shooting 3 for 14 from the field, finishing with 13 points. Okot pointed to the mental fortitude of her teammates, as some of the biggest lessons she is learning in Atlanta.
"It's just being tough mentally and being willing to learn everyday," she said. "It's great being around the greatest players in the world and competing against them. That's going to be so big in my journey."
Okot has reached the WNBA Finals just six years after taking up basketball. Raised in Mumias, Kenya, she grew up playing volleyball before switching sports at 16. She played at Mississippi State before transferring to South Carolina for her final college season and she says she is not taking the opportunity for granted.
"It feels great to be in the WNBA Finals. I am so grateful for this opportunity," she said. "It is an exciting feeling, I am just proud of the hard work I have put in to get to where I am today."
That hard work has not gone unnoticed. It led to a visit from Kenyan President William Ruto, who watched Atlanta beat the New York Liberty 83-65 in September while he was in New York for the United Nations General Assembly.
"That was amazing. I was so excited once I heard that he was coming," she said. "That was so big for me. It just shows how much he appreciates sports and I hope that is going to open a lot of doors for young girls back home and that will also help grow the game back home."