Sports Illustrated and Empower Onyx are putting the spotlight on the diverse journeys of Black women across sports—from the veteran athletes, to up-and-coming stars, coaches, executives and more—in the series, Elle-evate: 100 Influential Black Women in Sports.
Shay Murphy is no stranger to fated happenings. Whether it was using basketball as a coping mechanism in the aftermath of her father’s early death, dealing with the untimely loss of her basketball idol Kobe Bryant or eventually stepping into her role as the first Black woman coaching associate for the Lakers’ franchise—the former WNBA star always finds a way to “turn breadcrumbs into bread,” something she attributes to her own Mamba mentality.