Colson on WNBA growth and change
WNBA’s Sydney Colson joins Callie Fin and Meghan L. Hall in a conversation surrounding Colson’s life lately, the WNBA, and her partnership with Secret.
Sports Seriously
It’s been a year since two-time WNBA champion and 11-year veteran Sydney Colson has played after a left knee injury, but that doesn’t mean she hasn’t been busy.
Colson, 37, is exploring multiple creative and professional avenues as she prepares for a potential return to the league. And she knows exactly where she hopes to play in 2027.
The former Las Vegas Aces guard most recently played with the Indiana Fever after signing a one-year deal in 2025 to back up Caitlin Clark and provide an experienced locker room presence. She had a short stint as starter when Clark was injured, starting in six of 30 games last year. Then, she sustained an ACL tear on Aug. 7, 2025 that kept her out for the remainder of the season.
Colson entered free agency in the midst of ACL recovery that likely would have kept her out for the 2026 WNBA season.
Colson caught up with Callie Fin and Meghan L. Hall of USA TODAY’s Studio IX about her time away playing in the WNBA. The conversation is below.
Note: This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
Question: What does staying ready look like for you on a day-to-day basis right now, and what are the pressures?
Answer: “I’m living in New York, pursuing some stand-up comedy dreams and some other comedy stuff and obviously still recording the Unsupervised Podcast with Theresa Plaisance. So we’re trying to make our way around New York. That means we’re riding the subway, we’re trying to get places on time without being lost. But it’s been fun living out here. It was fun to be at All-Star and and partner with Secret (deodorant), and they were super easy to work with. They made it very fun. They let me just be myself, and that’s always what I enjoy in in partnerships.
Q: Are you in the gym working out, too?
A: “Yeah, yeah. I’ve been in the gym working out. I started to take it easy once I was just like, ‘I don’t plan on being, picked up late in the season.’ I think even if somebody called, I just wanted to focus on just making sure I’m good. Obviously, I’m older, so I’m like, ‘Let me take the the entire year.’ I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I could be back when the team comes to Houston next season.”
Q: What’s the draw of potentially playing in Houston?
A: “It’s where I’m born and raised. It’s where I live in the offseason. I grew up watching the Comets, so I was I was there for the back-to-back-to-back-to-back championships. I still have this like this journal at my mom’s house. I was in like third grade or something when I wrote about wanting to play in the WNBA for the Comets. So it’s going to see something very, very full circle if that’s able to happen. So I’m just trying to work towards that.”
Q: There’s been a lot more discourse around the WNBA. Some of the league’s legends say it might be part of growing pains for the league as it continues to get larger. Having been around the league, what’s your mindset regarding this this intense period for the league as it grows?
A: “I think this is also something that happens whenever you’re dealing with globalization of a sport. We’ve seen an influx of international players coming into the league, and that was also what happened in the NBA. When you’re bringing in a lot of fans, there’s going to be a lot of different opinions. There’s going to be a lot of people who aren’t actually fans of the product. I think there’s gonna be a lot more negativity than what people are used to, and it doesn’t mean that you have to entertain all the negativity. “You can just sometimes ignore some of it, and some of it does need to be addressed.
“For me, I think about when my brother told me two years ago that some guys at his job were discussing the WNBA in a heated debate at lunchtime. He said, ‘I’ve never had men at my job talking WNBA.’ And that’s how you know it’s expanding to points that are gonna bring some unwanted attention and bringing some different people that maybe you don’t want in the space. But that’s just part of getting bigger. You could even say that just for individual celebrities, when we see their fan bases grow and they have stans, or they have people who are just committed to hating them. It’s just is kind of par for the course.”
Q: We also talk about the scrutiny facing WNBA leadership, and Cathy Engelbert as commissioner. If you were WNBA commissioner, how would you operate and what would you prioritize?
A: “I would prioritize the players, their safet, and the product. I think those are the most important things. We established that when we were in CBA negotiations; without the players, there is no product. Without players safety, you would also have a problem with the product being out there. I’d make sure to speak to the things that the players are making clear that they care about. When that doesn’t happen, trust is lost if that trust was ever had to begin with.”
Q: Speaking of jobs, you’ve done some new stuff this year. You made your debut with Sports on Prime just a few weeks ago. What has this transition to broadcasting been like for you?
A: “I wanted to be a sports reporter or do color commentating when I was like a junior or senior (in college at Texas A&M). I thought that was what I would want to pursue when I was done. As I was able to keep playing, I kind of drifted away from that. And then as time went on, I wanted to do acting. So when the opportunity came back around, I was just like, ‘I used to want to do that, but I want to act now. I want to do stand up.’ And then my mom was like, ‘Stop dismissing stuff. Some things can come around because they’re a part of a bigger plan, and this might be something that helps you with acting. This could be something that helps you further your career in another way.’
I finally, just accepted the opportunity when my agent hit me, and it was really cool. I had a really good time in studio. I don’t know what’ll what’ll come of it, but I’m gonna just put my best foot forward, be myself.”
Q: What are you most excited about that you’re working on creatively this year?
“There’s the a queer rom-com that was called Courtside, and the the creator and the director they asked me to come on board and be an executive producer and I was like, ‘Absolutely yes,’ because the director was also the director from The Syd and TP show show years ago. I love (director) Carly Usdin and (writer) Brittany Nichols. Brittany was a writer on Abbott Elementary and did work on A Black Lady Sketch Show (HBO) so these are just people who I really respect their their comedy and their writing. And I’m new in this space, so I’m trying to soak up as much information and knowledge as I can and meet as many people as I can in this in this field. So that’s a that’s a project that I’m super excited about. We’re going to be having quite a few WNBA cameos, and I miss those days of seeing WNBA players in pop culture stuff. It’s come back around, but it’ll be cool to see it in a in a movie.”