Nika Muhl returns to Europe after underwhelming rookie season as her mother hypes her arrival in Besiktas

At the end of May, Nika Muhl signed with Besiktas JK Istanbul. The Seattle Storm rookie arrived in the Turkish city for the upcoming Women's Basketball Super League season after her WNBA season came to an end.

On Tuesday, Nika's mother, Roberta` Muhl, hyped up his daughter for her upcoming stint with the club. He posted a flexed biceps emoji along with an emoji of an eagle, as Nika posed outside the team's arena.

Roberta Muhl's IG story

Nika Muhl had an underwhelming rookie season with the Seattle Storm. After struggling to get her visa to play in the U.S., Muhl didn't get much time on the floor as she averaged under four minutes.

Moreover, Muhl appeared in only 16 games in the regular season. She also didn't get any minutes in the two playoff games that Seattle played against the Las Vegas Aces in the first round.

Playing in a different league in Besiktas will get her more time on the court, and perhaps the Seattle rookie will come back ready for the next season.

Nika Muhl "finally" breathed a sigh of relief after scoring her first point in WNBA

Muhl averaged 3.6 minutes and remained scoreless in the first 15 games. She finally scored her first point in the Storm's last game of the regular season. She played a career-high 14 minutes against the Phoenix Mercury and scored two points and provided three assists in the game.

After the game, Nikal Muhl said she was relieved to get that milestone out of the way.

“I was like, finally,” she said. “Finally, to get that point out of the way. We’re good now. I felt like, OK, now I’m good.”

Despite what the Storm's coaching staff thought about Muhl's time on the floor, the fans wanted more minutes for her.

However, Muhl never felt like the playing minutes were her primary concern. She said she was always thinking about making the most of the time she was getting on the floor.

“I appreciate the love and I appreciate them wanting to see me play,” Muhl said. “I really, really do appreciate all of that, but I never wanted that to be what I was thinking or how I was feeling."

In 16 games, Nika Muhl averaged 0.1 points, 0.6 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game. She was picked by the Storm at No. 14 overall in the second round of the 2024 WNBA draft.