Former WNBA All-Star Diamond DeShields gets emotional reflecting on life-changing surgery that threatened paralysis

Connecticut Sun guard Diamond DeShields got emotional when reflecting on a life-changing surgery that threatened paralysis and nearly ended her career. After the 2020 WNBA season, doctors found a grape-sized tumor knotted with DeShields’ spinal nerves. If left unchecked, the tumor could’ve paralyzed the former All-Star, but operating on it also ran the risk of paralysis.

Diamond, nevertheless, chose to get surgery, and the procedure, which was originally supposed to take three hours, eventually took nine. What followed was a tough period of recovery where she had to learn how to walk again.

The 30-year-old got emotional when talking about the life-changing experience, during a conversation with the Boston Globe:

“There was this emotional phase that I was going through where I welcomed all the sympathy because it kind of wrapped me up in a soft blanket, essentially,” DeShields said.

“Where I was already beating myself up and feeling defeated, it was really nice to have somebody say, ‘Aw, poor you.’ ”

She added:

“Things have not gone the way I wanted them to in terms of stability on a team. I’ve learned so much throughout all of those experiences, and I’ve grown so much as a person and as a player.”

Diamond DeShields returned to the Chicago Sky in 2020 and played with them in the bubble.

She was also a part of the team that won the WNBA Championship in 2021. However, she failed to recapture her form and was traded to the Phoenix Mercury. A year later, she was traded to Dallas Wings, whom she couldn’t play for due to a knee injury.

It was followed by a one-year stint with the Chicago Sky that didn’t quite work out. Now, DeShields is ready to give her best for the Connecticut Sun

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“I feel really strong”: Diamond DeShields ready to bring her best to the Connecticut Sun

After five years of inconsistency and growing pains following her surgery, former WNBA All-Star Diamond DeShields has finally got her confidence back.

She averaged 16.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.3 steals during her best season with the Sky. The 30-year-old will look to surpass those numbers now that she has another opportunity to show out.

Speaking on how she feels about this new chapter, DeShields said:

“I feel like it’s all starting to come back to me,” she said. “Why now? I don’t know. But I feel really strong.”

Diamond DeShields was one of the highest-rated players coming out of college and had the potential to be a star in the WNBA. She will look to recapture that form with the Sun.