Even after suffering a devastating injury in her first game with the team, Nika Muhl is still tapped into Besiktas basketball.
The 14th pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft joined the Turkish basketball team after finishing her rookie year with the Seattle Storm. Her experience didn’t go to plan: Muhl tore her ACL not even three-quarters into her debut on October 3.
The Besiktas guard landed awkwardly after going up for a rebound and tumbled in pain. With no fans in the arena because of a fireworks incident the day prior, Muhl’s cries of “Oh my god” could be audibly heard on video.
Two weeks later, Muhl is still following the Turkish side. She posted a graphic provided by Besiktas on her Instagram story celebrating the team’s 73-72 victory over Cukutova Kasketbol in the KBSL.
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Temi Fagbenle, a teammate of Caitlin Clark with the Indiana Fever, led the way for Besiktas with 21 points and 15 rebounds in the victory.
Muhl started her professional basketball career playing for ŽKK Trešnjevka 2009 in her native Croatia as a teenager before committing to UConn. She would capture two Big East Defensive Player of the Year honors with the Huskies before leaving for the WNBA in 2024.
Due to Visa issues in Croatia, Muhl featured only 16 times for the Storm in 2024 due to Visa issues. She struggled to crack the Seattle rotation upon her return, playing 3.6 minutes per contest while failing to appear in the playoffs.
Muhl posted Besiktas’s win over Cukutova Kasketbol on her Instagram story (
Image:
Instagram)
Muhl took to Instagram following her ACL tear to check in with her fans: “Anyone that knows me knows I work my ass off all the time. This time isn’t gonna be any different. I appreciate all the love and support so much – yall really make this easier for my heart,” she posted.
“I am grateful for all the people around me that are true testaments of what belief and perseverance can achieve after being denied hooping. This is just another opportunity for me to compete, this time against myself. Not to be cocky, but that’s an easy W.”
Muhl and Fagbenle both moved overseas following the conclusion of the 2024 WNBA to earn a little more money. Muhl made just $67,249 with the Storm this year — the highest-paid player in the league, Jackie Young of the Las Vegas Aces, only took a little more than $250,000.
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Muhl’s Seattle teammate Gabby Williams was playing for Besiktas’s opponent, Fenerbahce, when she suffered the injury. Williams bemoaned the lack of financial opportunities in the WNBA as a reason for wanting to play overseas.
“The W[NBA] thinks that they don’t have to pay us more in order for us to be here. And I think I didn’t express that when I first talked about prioritization,” she admitted. “Our commissioner talked about us being able to make $700,000. That’s actually not true at all. There’s not one player who makes that.”
“So it’s still not enough for us international players to want to stay here and that’s a choice of the players,” Williams continued. “If I make a choice to make more money, whatever, and then teams are mad that I don’t come back, but that’s how it is. The WNBA, if you want us to be here, you have to pay us more. It’s business, it’s how it works, and that’s all that means.”
