DeLisha Milton-Jones has played on two championship teams, won two Olympic gold medals and is a two-time WNBA All-Star, but to her teammates she’s Mama D.
That’s the nickname the other Dream players bestowed upon the 17-year veteran, one of the oldest active players in the WNBA at age 40. The Georgia native — she grew up in Riceboro — always offers help to her younger teammates, whether it’s in a game or practice. She even invites them over to dinner.
“I’m like the mom, the sister, the auntie, the best friend, whatever they need, I’m that,” Milton-Jones said.
With the Dream off to a slow start — two victories in the first six games — her teammates may need her guidance more than ever. Milton-Jones hopes she can help coach Michael Cooper ignite a spark in her teammates starting Friday night at Philips Arena against Chicago.
“The girls have to understand to win and to win now is critical,” Milton-Jones said. “The further you get behind in the race the more difficult your chances are to even make the playoffs.”
Under Cooper, Milton-Jones enjoyed some of the best moments of her career. In 2000, Cooper’s first season at the helm of the Los Angeles Sparks, Milton-Jones, then a second-year pro, made the All-Star team. Later that summer, she was part of the U.S. team that won gold at the Olympics. The next two seasons, Cooper guided the Sparks, and Milton-Jones, to back-to-back championships.
The pair was reunited last season when the Dream traded for Milton-Jones on July 9. Four days later, Milton-Jones ruptured her right Achilles tendon.
“(Cooper) brought me here because he felt like I was the missing piece to make that great playoff push last year,” Milton-Jones said. “That was really heartbreaking for me to go down the way that I did at that moment in the season.”
While Milton-Jones has played in three games this season, she’s still working herself back to full health. But Milton-Jones hasn’t let the injury affect her interactions with teammates.
When point guard Samantha Logic was drafted in April; she talked with Milton-Jones via skype that same day. Even over the computer, the rookie immediately noticed Milton-Jones’ positive and energetic presence.
“You don’t know how welcoming vets are going to be because it’s a business,” Logic said. “But she’s been very welcoming, very helpful. I don’t think I’d ever hesitate to ask for anything because she’s proven that she wants to help, and she wants the best for the team whatever it’s going to be.”
