February 19, 2025
Locked On Women’s Basketball: Michelle Smith joins the podcast
By The Next
Michelle was honored with the Curt Gowdy Media Award
Michelle Smith, senior contributor at The Next, was named a recipient of the Curt Gowdy Award by the Basketball Hall of Fame over the weekend. On Wednesday’s episode of Locked On Women’s Basketball, Michelle joins SFGATE sports editor Alex Simon to discuss what the award means to her and much more.
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Here at The Next, in addition to the 24/7/365 written content our staff provides, we also host the daily Locked On Women’s Basketball podcast. Join us Monday through Saturday each week as we discuss all things WNBA, collegiate basketball, basketball history and much more. Listen wherever you find podcasts or watch on YouTube.
Michelle recently received the prestigious Curt Gowdy Award, which honors excellence in broadcasting and journalism. She received the news during a call from the president of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame on a Wednesday, with the public announcement made two days later. “It was a surreal phone call to get,” she said.
The recognition means more to Michelle because of the support from colleagues and coaches in the women’s basketball community, including longtime mentor and Hall of Fame coach Tara VanDerveer. VanDerveer, who was a key figure in Michelle’s career, was there to celebrate the achievement alongside other influential figures in the sport.
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Later, Michelle and Alex discuss the Golden State Valkyries, the new WNBA team debuting in the 2025 season. The Warriors’ ownership group, which owns the Valkyries, initially believed that their state-of-the-art facilities would be a significant draw for players, assuming that the prestige of their arena and resources would make them stand out in the WNBA. However, as more teams are now building similar top-tier facilities, Michelle noted that “other people are building facilities… and free agents are gravitating towards specific teams for a reason,” such as the attractions of places like Indiana and Phoenix.
While the Warriors’ facilities in Oakland and San Francisco are beautiful, the challenge of constantly crossing the bridge between the two locations, along with the high costs of parking and transit, may make it less appealing for players. As Michelle highlighted, “it’s not just a bridge right away… traffic can sometimes just be amazing.” This logistical issue may affect the team’s ability to attract big-name free agents in the long term.
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