WNBA ALL-STAR GAME

July 15, 2023

Arike Ogunbowale

Postgame Media Conference

Q. Talk about the importance of your family right there and the support they have given you since you've been in the league.

ARIKE OGUNBOWALE: Yeah, I mean, forever, since I was born, they have been giving me everything. Taking me to all the tournaments, spending all their money. So just to make them proud right now and still having them travel everywhere to come see me is a blessing.

Q. I wanted to ask, it looked like you and Satou were guarding each other a bunch out there. It just seemed like you are just joking with each other and trying to make each other's life hard. So what's it like to guard a teammate in the All-Star Game and try your best to guard each other without obviously trying to play too hard because it's an exhibition game?

ARIKE OGUNBOWALE: No, it's just fun and games. We're just cracking jokes and doing whatever. But obviously we're both super proud of each other. To be both starters from the same team just playing really well this year, it's been good.

Q. Looking ahead to the second half of the season, what's your primary goal heading into the second half?

ARIKE OGUNBOWALE: I would say finishing top four. We definitely have the potential to do that. We've been playing really well. We're kind of around there right now, so just finishing the second half off strong and setting ourselves up right for playoffs.

Q. How much do you like the four-point shot? And was it a collective effort on your team to go after BG on defense as much as possible?

ARIKE OGUNBOWALE: Go after BG? No, she was blocking stuff. We weren't trying to go after her. And the four-point shot, maybe in a real game that would be dope, but it wasn't really much.

Q. When you look at just the elite level of guards we had just in this game, yourself, obviously, with Jewell MVP and Kelsey Plum, can you just talk about how that raises excitement level in this game because of the way you guys are just amazing scorers?

ARIKE OGUNBOWALE: Yeah, I think we bring a lot of fans to the W, just because of our style of play. It's exciting to watch. We all know how to get a bucket by ourselves one-on-one, and a lot of people want to see that. So just having these elite guards in the league right now, it's definitely good for the W.

Q. What does it mean to you to have your fellow NBA brothers come out and support you guys tonight?

ARIKE OGUNBOWALE: Yeah, they're always our biggest supporters. Any time they can, they come to games, sit courtside. They know how elite it is. They come support us and we support them. So we're all a big family, the NBA and WNBA. It's good to see them in the crowd today.

Q. I've got to ask since mom and dad are here, who helped her with that jumper? Who does she get that from?

GREGORY OGUNBOWALE: Probably she took after her mom. I was just a good driver, taking her everywhere. So her talent, her tenacity and all that. I was just a big supporter.

ARIKE OGUNBOWALE: What do you have to say? (Laughing.)

YOLANDA OGUNBOWALE: I second that. (Laughing.)

Q. We'll give some more love to the parents. How did you guys take this weekend and the experience being here in Las Vegas?

YOLANDA OGUNBOWALE: It was very fun. We had a good time, just being able to be here and support her and all the other women out there. It was really a great time the whole weekend.

GREGORY OGUNBOWALE: Yeah, like I just said earlier, it's a family. Many of them we saw when they were in college, then we've seen them play in the WNBA and now to see all of them in a collective, in one arena. So it's oh, Hi, Pops. It's just like a family, so it's a good thing.