Taj McWilliams-Franklin spent almost three decades playing the game she loves. 

She’s now giving back to the game in a special way – making a difference in the lives of current and past players by bridging the gap between playing time and retirement. 

“This is my opportunity not only to pay it forward with the new generation but to thank the ones that came before them with opening up this space that was never open to us before as former W players,” McWilliams-Franklin said. 

Her role as the WNBA’s Player Relations and Development Director allows her to assist current players in navigating between being a professional and planning for their future and former players navigating retirement. It was a position she was uniquely qualified for – a former player who understood current players, former players, and the players and GMs in the league. She was offered the position in 2020 and has thrived in it. 

“I didn’t have that, and a lot of our former players didn’t have that – someone to help navigate what life looks like after basketball while they are playing, and that really is what is important,” she said.  

“The players I grew up with in my generation were full-time basketball players in college and became full-time pros whether here or in Europe, and that was all we thought about,” she admitted. “Then when we were done, it was like, ‘oh my gosh, I’m done. What’s next? ‘ 

“So I want to be that stopgap. I want to be the person that’s able to help someone who may be vacillating between still playing and ‘my career is almost over. What am I going to do?’ Hey, let’s sit and talk about it. Let me look at your resume, let’s see what leadership skills you have, let’s work with the resources we have.”

“It’s vital to help players navigate what they are going to do after they finish their sport, but while they are doing it because right now you have sponsors, everyone is looking at you because you’re playing the game, you’re in the game, you’re current.”

But when the lights go off, and the game ends, people forget about the player, says McWilliams-Franklin. Sponsorships and partnerships aren’t available anymore “because businesses are looking at what they can get out of it as well. So what we want to do is give our players who are not making billions and billions of dollars – an opportunity to basically form those connections while they are playing,” she explains. The result is leaving the profession and moving immediately into the next phase of their life.  

McWilliams-Franklin and the player relations department do this through community conversations, town halls, and community empowerment sessions. They bring in industry leaders and executives to discuss opportunities post-play time, such as coaching, executives in the front office, entrepreneurship, real estate, etc.  

“This allows our current and former players to have an opportunity to engage with each other,” she said, adding that even though basketball is a sport/entertainment, it is a business at the end of the day.

As she works with players and their futures, McWilliams-Franklin, a two-time champion, two-time All-WNBA, and six-time All-Star, keeps her coaching skills sharpened, taking every opportunity she can to serve in this area.

A recent example was earlier this month when she and several current and former WNBA players participated in the fourth annual NBA Academy Women’s Camp Africa in Senegal. Participants participated in basketball drills, life skills programming, and leadership development sessions throughout the three-day camp, featuring top high-school-age prospects from across the continent. 

“I love coaching. This [trip to Senegal] is one of the ways I stay relevant with coaching,” she said. “I love to coach and teach. That is how I am built. That is what I do, on the court, off the court, in the parking lot. I would love to get back into coaching.”

McWilliams-Franklin has interviewed for a few open coaching spots in the W. She is also open to coaching in the NBA as an assistant, player development, or scout. “You always want to be somewhere where you’re wanted,” said McWilliams-Franklin, who participated in the NBA Basketball Operations Associate Program in 2019. 

“I love the W and would give my right arm to be a head coach in the W, but if that’s not where God is leading my path, then I will move forward with skills and expertise I have to help someone,” she said. “It’s not men’s or women’s basketball at the end of the day. It’s basketball. 

“And I am a basketball junkie. For me, that is my pleasure, my passion, my purpose, and one of the things I would love to do if the proper opportunity arises, she said. “But right now, I am in this space with player development and helping our players, current and former, and bridging the gap with the league office.”

McWilliams-Franklin, who retired from the WNBA at age 41 after the 2012 season, reflects on the gift that basketball has given to her.  

“It has given me and my family so much. It’s a gift. It’s a God-given gift, and the only way I can pay that back is paying it forward. That is what pushes me and the passion I have for our players,” she said. 

“I love all of our players, and that’s what makes this league special,” she continued. “We can remember the players in 1997 when the league started, and we can remember those to 2022. We have to keep our WNBA alums and legends in the mix of everything in order for this league to survive. You can’t go forward without the back, knees, ankles of these other former players that did it before.” 

Former players like Taj McWilliams-Franklin are among the greatest athletes ever to play the game. People will remember her stat lines and accomplishments while in the WNBA. 

She hopes they remember more.  

“Accolades and numbers disappear. In 10 years, someone will do better and more, and you want that because the game has evolved,” she said. “But what’s your legacy? What are you leaving behind of who you are and how you did business?

“My ‘why’ every day is to add on to a legacy that is not in numbers but in people and their lives and the impact I have on them, and that is really important for me.”

WNBA reporter Dorothy J. Gentry writes a column on WNBA.com throughout the season and can be reached on Twitter at @DorothyJGentry. The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the WNBA or its clubs.