{"id":94016,"date":"2025-07-26T11:59:09","date_gmt":"2025-07-26T11:59:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/94016\/"},"modified":"2025-07-26T11:59:09","modified_gmt":"2025-07-26T11:59:09","slug":"exclusive-paralympian-lindsey-zurbruggs-words-hit-like-an-arrow-in-crushing-wnba-confession","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/94016\/","title":{"rendered":"EXCLUSIVE: Paralympian Lindsey Zurbrugg’s Words Hit Like an Arrow In Crushing WNBA Confession"},"content":{"rendered":"

Little Lindsey Zurbugg<\/strong> had dreamt of winning an Olympic medal for as long as she could remember. So when our EssentiallySports correspondent met her at the WNBA All Stars Weekend 2025 and asked her if standing on the podium was something she envisioned as a child, her answer was loud, proud, and clear: Y-E-S. <\/strong>A lot had changed since that life-altering summer of 2011, but nothing could prepare us for the honesty and heart she brought to the conversation 14 years later. Few carry this kind of courage, and after this interview, Lindsey won even more hearts\u2026<\/p>\n

When Lindsey Zurbugg first picked up a basketball, she had big dreams, the WNBA kind. But after a diagnosis of Tethered Cord Syndrome in her early teens, those dreams took a sharp turn. The condition left her paralyzed from the waist down, and suddenly, the court looked different. But Lindsey wasn\u2019t someone who would be mopey and ask, \u201cWhy me?\u201d <\/p>\n

Within a year, she was back in the game, and this time, on wheels. What could\u2019ve been the end of her basketball journey became a whole new beginning.\u00a0She relearned the game she loved and learned to dribble the basketball in a wheelchair. \u201cOh woe is me, I\u2019m having such a wretched life,\u201d\u00a0that was never her mindset. But she had a few hidden dreams that only came forward for the first time today, exclusively as she spoke to EssentiallySports!<\/p>\n

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Today, Lindsey is the proud owner of not one but two Paralympic medals, a bronze from Tokyo and a silver from Paris. So when our EssentiallySports\u00a0correspondent, Chloe Mitchell<\/strong>, caught up with her courtside at the WNBA All-Star Weekend 2025, the mood was celebratory. This was Lindsey\u2019s moment, and we were there to soak it in with her. When asked if standing on the Paralympic podium was a childhood dream come true, Lindsey smiled and said, \u201cI think for me it was absolutely insane, because when I grew up, I was able-bodied and I watched the Olympics. I always wanted to be like a WNBA player. But I was 5\u20194\u2033 and I\u2019m sorry, 5\u20194\u2033 isn\u2019t making it very well\u201d she joked. Clearly, Lindsey has a sense of humor! But her WNBA aspirations? Sadly, they remained accomplished. Yep \u2014 Lindsey\u2019s got a sense of humor. As for those WNBA dreams? They may have shifted, but her drive never wavered.<\/p>\n

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Indianapolis has officially become the heartbeat of 2025 WNBA All-Star Weekend. EssentiallySports is tipping things off with an exclusive fireside chat featuring 3-time champ, @THoward_6<\/a> ; our Special Athlete Correspondent for the weekend. Stay locked in for every clutch\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2014 EssentiallySports (@ES_sportsnews) July 19, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

So to say, she transformed her shortcomings a bit. Lindsey said, \u201cAnd then when I got injured, I learned about the Paralympics. I mean, it\u2019s Disability Pride Month!\u201d At that moment, our correspondent, Chloe, couldn\u2019t help but smile and clap with admiration. Because what Lindsey said next was unforgettable. \u201cI\u2019m so proud of the fact that I have a disability<\/strong> and I\u2019ve accomplished a silver and a bronze. That\u2019s insane.\u201d Her 22 points in Tokyo and 12 in Paris are numbers forever etched into her memory.<\/p>\n

And no, she\u2019s not done yet. Lindsey Zurbugg isn\u2019t putting away her jersey. She\u2019s aiming for that next big dream and was one of those rare athletes who told us that herself.<\/p>\n

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Paralympian Lindsey Zurbugg\u2019s coming to LA in 2028!<\/p>\n

Nearly a year after clinching silver in Paris, she\u2019s already locked in on LA 2028. The U.S. Women\u2019s Wheelchair Basketball team has kicked off its new qualifying cycle, and Zurbrugg is right in the thick of it. The team has officially begun its next qualifying cycle, and Zurbrugg is once again right in the middle of it. After being named to the 2025 IWBF Americas Cup roster, a key stepping stone toward the 2026 World Championships and, eventually, the 2028 Paralympics, Zurbrugg knows exactly what she\u2019s chasing. Gold. And she\u2019s not sugarcoating it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got a next step,\u201d she told us at the WNBA All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis, where EssentiallySports was on-site for the #ItsHerMoment<\/strong> celebration. \u201cIt\u2019s called LA 2028, where we\u2019re going to get gold. Because that\u2019s the goal.\u201d Wordplay? Add that to her list of talents.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWell, it\u2019s a grind. You\u2019re probably averaging around 20 to 25 hours per week of working out, whether that\u2019s weightlifting, on the court, or conditioning. But I know every other Paralympic team is training to beat us. So I\u2019ve got to work harder than the next team around.\u201d <\/p>\n

And why does she do it? \u201cBecause I love winning. I love beating everybody else. And because America\u2019s great.\u201d From a little girl with WNBA dreams to a Paralympic star chasing gold on home soil, Lindsey Zurbrugg\u2019s story isn\u2019t just inspiring, it\u2019s still unfolding. And LA will write a brand-new chapter to this best-selling book!<\/p>\n