“My boss thought I was there to steal her job”: When $12 million worth Dawn Staley talked about her job before WNBA even existed

Dawn Staley gave a glimpse of her life before she played in the WNBA, Olympics or overseas while speaking to Jemele Hill on the "Unbothered" podcast. In the episode released on Jan. 11, 2024, Staley shared that her mother helped her secure a job at a retail store in 1992 where she worked for three weeks.

Staley's focus was purely on getting an overseas contract, as the WNBA did not exist at the time.

"I worked retail for three weeks," Staley said (Timestamp: 22:10). "I used to run from the customers because I didn't want any interaction with people, and then my boss thought I was there to steal her job. So, she gave me a hard time.

"I'm like, 'I don't want this job, this is just something for me to do before I go overseas.' But three weeks, I got my first paycheck, well, got my first and only paycheck, and it was like 200 and something dollars. What am I supposed to do with that? But I mean, it was back in 1992, but still, I wanted to play basketball."

$12 million worth (as per Celebrity Net Worth) Dawn Staley's first overseas contract was for $35,000, summoning her to play in Spain. She also played professional basketball in Italy, Brazil and France.

Staley represented Team USA in age-restricted tourneys and the Olympics before joining the WNBA in 1999. She was picked ninth overall by the Charlotte Sting.

Dawn Staley commends her players for team-oriented approach

Dawn Staley highlighted the sacrifices that her players make daily to continue the winning ways of the program. Her remark came after the No. 2 South Carolina Gamecocks defeated the No. 13 Oklahoma Sooners 101-60 on Sunday.

"I'm going tell you what it means, it means we sacrifice SEC Player of the Week, we sacrifice having a National Player of the Year candidate, we sacrifice possibly some All-Americans," she said (Timestamp: 8:52).

South Carolina (18-1, 6-0 Southeastern Conference) will next face the undefeated No. 5 LSU Tigers (20-0, 5-0) on Thursday. The two teams last met in the 2024 SEC championship rematch, with the Gamecocks lifting the trophy.