{"id":91847,"date":"2025-07-25T16:45:10","date_gmt":"2025-07-25T16:45:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/91847\/"},"modified":"2025-07-25T16:45:10","modified_gmt":"2025-07-25T16:45:10","slug":"marina-mabrey-talks-leadership-and-being-a-little-demon-in-return","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/91847\/","title":{"rendered":"Marina Mabrey talks leadership and being a ‘little demon’ in return"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sun head coach Rachid Meziane had told the media that the \u201cgoal\u201d was for Mabrey to return after All-Star Weekend. During the weekend, The Next caught up with Mabrey backstage at \u2018Unrivaled HQ\u2019, a two-day activation where Mabrey led a shooting competition<\/a> with fans and offered them advice on how to make layups and her specialty \u2014 knocking down 3-pointers.<\/p>\n

After the event, Mabrey revealed that she was gearing up for her return to the court. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m feeling good,\u201d Mabrey said. \u201cI\u2019m ready to be a little demon.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n

Marina Mabrey said she\u2019s \u201cready to be a little demon\u201d on the court. <\/p>\n

In an exclusive with @TheIXBasketball<\/a> during WNBA All-Star weekend, I asked her about her leadership, trash talk and how she\u2019s feeling since being out with injury. <\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a sneak peek. Story coming soon! pic.twitter.com\/f38zJ2Ele7<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Deyscha “Sway” Smith (@deyschasmith) July 24, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The self-proclaimed \u201clittle demon\u201d wasted no time getting right back into the swing of things on the court when she drew the double-team and elegantly dished a pass to Tina Charles<\/a>, who found forward Olivia Nelson-Ododa<\/a> under the basket for an easy layup. Mabrey\u2019s playmaking continued with another effortless pass, this time to Bria Hartley<\/a>, who finished at the rim to extend the Sun\u2019s lead over LA to seven.<\/p>\n

With 49 seconds remaining in the first, Mabrey knocked down her first three of the game and sent the crowd into a frenzy of cheers and applause. Money Mabrey was back and finished with seven points, three assists and two steals in her first game in a little over a month. <\/p>\n

\"Locked<\/a><\/p>\n

Tune in to Locked On Women\u2019s Basketball<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here at The IX Basketball, in addition to the 24\/7\/365 written content our staff provides, we also host the daily Locked On Women\u2019s Basketball<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

Despite the Sun\u2019s loss to the Sparks, 101-86, it was apparent that what Mabrey also brings to the floor is a fire and level of competitiveness. Teammate and veteran leader Tina Charles once said that her first impression of Mabrey was that she\u2019s \u201cfeisty\u201d<\/a> while Mabrey\u2019s fellow WNBA peers recently voted her as the third biggest trash talker in the league in an anonymous poll conducted by The Athletic<\/a>.<\/p>\n

One player even noted how she\u2019s \u201calways in WNBA scuffles or around them,\u201d which seemed to the case on Thursday night against LA when she and Sparks guard Rae Burrell<\/a> appeared to exchange words in the fourth quarter.<\/p>\n

We asked Mabrey about her trash talking. With a smile, she said that she was \u201cbarely\u201d on the list before explaining how trash talking is \u201cgreat\u201d for women\u2019s sports.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Alyssa Thomas<\/a>] definitely took the prize on that one, she runs it for sure,\u201d Mabrey said. \u201cBut honestly, I love that about her, and I think it\u2019s really great for our game because I know that we are women, and sometimes that\u2019s not really acceptable. And I think it\u2019s great to be able to trash talk, show emotion and still be able to go and be a woman.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mabrey\u2019s leadership growth on the sidelines <\/p>\n

As an instrumental piece of the Sun\u2019s offense and one of their core leaders, Mabrey was averaging a career-high 15.2 points, four assists and five rebounds before sustaining a knee injury on June 20 against the Dallas Wings, which kept her out for a little over four weeks.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think I saw my team make a big jump on the court together and come together even without me out there. So just seeing the mental toughness and the strength that my teammates have, kind of inspired me to be able to go out there and do more for them when I get back. So hopefully when I get back I can give them one more extra spark to get us over the hump for a couple of wins.\u201d<\/p>\n

While being on the sidelines, Mabrey made it her mission to follow through on the very thing she told herself she\u2019d do when she first arrived to Connecticut: become a better leader.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that I had a chance in Chicago to be a leader, and I don\u2019t think that I did it as well as I wanted to,\u201d she admits. \u201cI think when everything happened [in the] offseason and me coming into Connecticut, I said that I would change the way that I led and try to find a better way to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

With Mabrey out, the Sun suffered a five-game losing streak to the top teams in league, including Golden State, Vegas, Seattle and Minnesota before undergoing a complete reset with sage, and a new game plan from Meziane<\/a> and a fresh perspective on coming together as a team. They also welcomed rookie Leila Lacan<\/a>, who joined the team on July 2 after competing in Eurobasket with the French National Team.<\/p>\n

During that time, Mabrey continued to learn, in real time, how to be the type of leader her team needed from her. On the sidelines, she would often to be talking to teammates from the bench, jumping into huddles during timeouts and reacting to calls and whatever else was happening on the floor.<\/p>\n

\u201cMe being out on the sidelines has really helped me to see a lot of things that my team needs,\u201d she said. \u201cJust being there to support them and make them feel like they\u2019re on top of the world every game so that that confidence level is high and we can come closer to winning. I think it\u2019s been the biggest part of me changing as a leader.\u201d<\/p>\n