“If you know me as a person that’s who I am, my energy always speaks louder than my words and I know it.”
Erica Wheeler says it best herself.
In just a few games, Erica has already endeared herself to Storm fans with an incredible enthusiasm and flair for the dramatic.
Need a clutch three-pointer? Erica’s got it.
A key steal? A big play to get the fans engaged? Erica has that covered, too.
“She’s an energy giver,” said Storm Head Coach Noelle Quinn.
“You see her on the sidelines waving her towel, she’s always communicating with us and the team. On the court, she’s been really efficient in her minutes and what she’s doing on both ends of the floor offensively and defensively. It becomes contagious when your energy is positive and nets positive results,” Quinn added.
The way Erica plays the game isn’t just a basketball thing, impressive as her game is.
It’s just who Erica Wheeler is. The 2019 WNBA All-Star Game MVP just carries herself in a way that illuminates everyone around.
“I’m always happy, nothing can really tear me down, nothing can take me off my path because I believe in me more than anything. I’m protected by my mom in heaven. I’m protected by God who walks with me every day, and like I said, I’m happy, so nobody can really mess that up. Anyone who’s negative, I brush that off because I know who I am,” Wheeler says.
A state of mind forged in Wheeler by her late mother. who passed away from cancer while Erica was in college at Rutgers.
“My mom is one of those parents that — there are 10 kids on the block and they’re all coming to my house because my mom has snacks, is cooking. For me, I always saw how my mom gave back to her community, I wanted to do something that kind of resembled her,” Wheeler said.
So that’s absolutely lived on in Erica, you can see it in 30 seconds of speaking with Wheeler.
But it also inspired Erica to give back in so many ways with the Wheeler Kid Foundation. Erica does so many things with it, from free basketball camps with hundreds of dollars of gear for kids to helping families in any area of need.
“One lady was about to be evicted with her three kids so we ended up paying her rent for three months. So for me, that’s the stuff that you don’t want to get on camera but you know it’s in your heart. So for me and my foundation, we try to provide those things, to give them things. That’s not easy, and I’m not there in the flesh. I’m not there one hour and leaving, I want them to be able to see me .”
That’s Erica Wheeler.
Now she’s in Seattle, playing with our Storm, with the same mission on and off the floor.
“Aw man, Seattle is awesome, this facility that we’re in is great, awesome sauce. Then it’s the organization and how much they pour into us. The owners are here, so it just shows a good support system, they care about us. So that’s the thing that we love the most and makes us go out and play hard every night” Erica told us.
Truly, a game-changing player. Not just how she impacts a basketball matchup, but how Erica Wheeler impacts anyone she meets, quite frankly.
“I’ve been in this league for 11 years just trying to always impact the game wherever I can, whether I’m on the bench or on the court, talking to the refs in a certain way, just making it always light because at the end of the day I think sometimes we forget to have fun and I’m always trying to have fun and remind my teammates to have fun because it’s a beautiful game.”
