WNBA

Chiney Ogwumike has earned herself plenty of supporters over her career as a professional basketball player and sports analyst -- including her husband, Raphael Akpejiori.

The athlete's husband went through plenty of changes in his life before he met the former Los Angeles Sparks team member, whom he married in 2023.

We're going to take a look into the boxer's background and see how his love story with the basketball star played out.

Ogwumike's not the only one with experience on the court, as her husband -- who was born and raised in Lagos, Nigeria -- played on the University of Miami basketball team.

Akpejiori served as a forward for the Hurricanes, and he spent a total of four seasons on the squad.

Oh, and in addition to his work on the court, the athlete spent a season as a tight end on the school football team ... and he was later added to the Miami Dolphins practice squad in 2015, according to the Miami Herald.

Akpejiori eventually earned a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Miami, and he landed a position in the school's Energy Department.

The athlete's boxing career began while he was at the University of Miami, where he began training after a friend decided to start going to a boxing gym.

Akpejiori, who told the Miami Herald his interest in boxing "started for me as a workout," eventually began competing as an amateur, and he won 13 out of his first 14 bouts.

He became a professional in 2018, and he trained with former world light-heavyweight champion Glen Johnson, who said Raphael was "very raw" when they began working together.

However, the former champ said seeing Akpejiori's skills as a boxer develop over the years was "very gratifying."

Ogwumike and her husband initially matched on a dating app, according to People, and their first date took place at a Burna Boy concert.

The former Los Angeles Sparks star and the boxer got engaged on Christmas Eve in 2022.

The happy couple subsequently the knot over a four-day wedding ceremony in Houston, Texas the following November.

Caitlin Clark threw some shade on her teammates' afternoon in the sun this week ... playfully roasting Lexie Hull and Sophie Cunningham for posting a bikini thirst trap on a game day.

Cunningham dropped a vid of her and Hull sitting poolside in some tiny two-pieces just before their game in L.A. on Tuesday, and she captioned the TikTok clip by asking for a potential swimsuit brand partnership.

In the footage, the two WNBA ballers looked stoked as they showed off their chiseled bods ... but a few minutes after it got uploaded, Clark hit the comment section with a big, ol' wet blanket.

Some fans are laughin' their asses off at the recent dildo throwing trend at WNBA games, but the companies that make the sex toys don't find it funny, telling us it's "disrespectful" and needs to stop!

TMZ Sports spoke with several sex toy makers, including Twisted Fantasies owner Avi Goldstein, who blasted the behavior.

"We make adult toys for the bedroom, not for throwing around at basketball games," Goldstein told us.

Megan Rapinoe and her fiancée, Sue Bird, jumped into the viral Coldplay concert cam trend headfirst -- but the couple added a twist -- and they had the whole arena cracking up!

The legendary soccer player and Bird -- who retired from the WNBA in 2022 -- pulled off the stunt on Tuesday during the 2nd quarter of the Minnesota Lynx and Seattle Storm game at Climate Pledge Arena.

During a break in the action, Rapinoe -- seated courtside -- was shown on the big screens in the arena ... when cameras cut to Bird, who was cuddling up with the Storm's mascot, Doppler.

A WNBA game was once again put on pause due to a flying sex toy.

The latest incident went down at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Tuesday night ... as the Caitlin Clark-less Fever were taking on the Sparks.

In the second quarter of the action, just after Kelsey Plum nailed a free throw, a neon-green pleasure stick was hurled onto the court by a fan in the stands.

Brittney Griner's been through plenty of ups and downs over the course of her professional and personal lives, and her wife Cherelle's been there for many of the athlete's hills and valleys.

The WNBA star and her spouse met during their college days, although they didn't start dating until after graduation ... and their married life was disrupted when the basketball player was unexpectedly detained on the other side of the world.

We're going to take a look at the background of the professional athlete's spouse ... and see how she dealt with her wife's ordeal.

Cherelle started studying law at North Carolina Central University School of Law in Durham in 2019, according to People.

The WNBA star's spouse remained at the institution for three years before she graduated with honors in 2022.

Brittney revealed her wife had officially become a lawyer the following April by sharing a set of photos on her Instagram account, and expressed she was "abundantly proud" of Cherelle in the caption.

The professional basketball player wrote about the "hard work, determination, and passion" her spouse put into her degree.

The Griners' love story runs deep and way, way, back, as they first met while they were both attending Baylor University in the early 2010s.

The thing is, Cherelle wasn't Brittney's first spouse ... the WNBA star had been briefly married to fellow professional basketball player Glory Johnson, and although Brittney filed for an annulment after just 28 days of marriage, their divorce wasn't finalized until 2016.

Griner and Baylor University alum Cherelle eventually reconnected, and they got engaged in August 2018, tying the knot the following June.

Cherelle and Brittney later started a family with the birth of their son Bash, who arrived in July 2024.

Brittney made global headlines in March 2022 -- she had been detained in Moscow by Russian authorities the previous month after vape cartridges containing cannabis oil were found in her luggage during a trip to play ball in Russia.

The professional athlete later pleaded guilty to bringing less than a gram of cannabis oil into the country ... and although she claimed she'd done so unintentionally, she was sentenced to nine years in prison.

Cherelle expressed she was "hopeless" at times while her spouse was detained, in an interview with People -- although she later said she never had to "completely give up hope" about her wife's situation.

Caitlin Clark's earned herself plenty of supporters over the course of her career in collegiate and professional basketball -- and it looks like her boyfriend Connor McCaffery's one of her biggest fans!

The WNBA star and the assistant coach have been together ever since 2023 ... although he'd already made a name for himself in the sports world.

We're going to check out the background of the former college athlete and see what the Indiana Fever's point guard has had to say about her relationship.

Clark's not the only one with experience on the court, as her boyfriend formerly played guard for the University of Iowa team.

The former college athlete picked up several distinctions for his work on and off the court, and he was a five-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree, according to Hawkeye Sports.

And it turns out basketball runs in McCaffery's family, because his father Fran worked as a coach for much of his life.

The senior McCaffery coached at the University of Iowa for 15 years ... and he switched over to working at his alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania, in 2025.

McCaffery graduated from the University of Iowa in 2023, and he subsequently started his professional career as a team assistant for the Indiana Pacers ... and just in case you forgot, Clark plays for the Indiana Fever.

McCaffery remained with the team for one season before he began following in his father's footsteps, taking on an assistant coaching position at Butler University in September 2024.

Butler's head coach, Thad Matta, issued a statement at the time to speak about hiring McCaffery, and expressed he was "excited for the impact" the new assistant coach would have on the school's team, according to Fox News.

Clark shared her reaction to her boyfriend's new venture on her Instagram Story, writing she was "so happy" for her partner.

Clark and McCaffery went Instagram official with their relationship in August 2023, when she posted a photo featuring the assistant coach on her account, according to Us Weekly.

The assistant coach posted on his own Instagram Story after his girlfriend became the leading scorer in the NCAA women's basketball history the following April, writing he was "so proud" of his partner's achievement.

Clark celebrated McCaffery's birthday in July 2024 with photos of him on her Instagram, and she quipped he might finally be able to "find a way to outshoot me" in her post's caption.

Breanna Stewart's had a whirlwind career in the WNBA ... and her love story with her wife Marta Xargay Casademont has been just as crazy!

While the pair took their time in the early stages of their relationship, they got engaged, got married, and started a family all within a year -- how's that for moving fast?!

We're going to take a look at how the athletes' respective careers in sports led to them wanting to spend the rest of their lives -- off court, of course -- with each other.

Marta, who's originally from Spain, is a retired former professional basketball player -- how's that for a common interest?!

The athlete's been involved with various teams in her home country, and she earned a silver medal as part of the 2016 Spanish Olympic women's basketball team.

Marta was drafted into the WNBA in 2015, and she spent a single season with the Phoenix Mercury, where she played guard.

She eventually announced her retirement from the sport in 2020 in a post on her Instagram account, writing she would "always treasure the memories that I created" in her professional career.

Marta and Breanna initially met when the latter joined the Dynamo Kursk, a Russian professional basketball team, in 2018, although they weren't close at first, according to People.

The WNBA star claimed she was "nervous to do anything" with her now-wife at first, and the Spanish athlete expressed her spouse "didn't want to mess it up" when they were initially getting to know each other.

The pair's connection grew closer when Breanna ruptured her Achilles tendon and had to recover at home in the United States.

They eventually decided to make things official, and the power forward popped the big question on a hike outside of Phoenix, Arizona, in May 2021.

Stewart and Marta tied the knot in an intimate wedding ceremony at their home in July 2021.

And they didn't exactly wait long to start a family either, because they welcomed daughter Ruby that August!

Stewart spoke to People shortly after her child's arrival, and described motherhood as "bigger than anything else that I've done."

WNBA star Sabrina Ionescu's had plenty of great moments over the course of her career in the league -- and we think her 2024 wedding counts as one of them!

The New York Liberty's point guard tied the knot with Hroniss Grasu in Laguna Beach, California ... and a few figures with ties to the NBA were at the party, too!

We're going to take a look into the background of the basketball player's husband and see what led the two all the way to the altar.

Grasu's been a football player ever since his youth, and he joined the roster of the University of Oregon -- which Ionescu also attended -- in 2010.

Grasu was part of the squad that won the Rose Bowl twice, and he went on to become a third-round pick by the Chicago Bears in the 2015 NFL Draft.

The professional football player spent a total of seven seasons in the NFL as a center, and he played for several teams, including the San Francisco 49ers and the Baltimore Ravens.

Grasu was most recently with the Las Vegas Raiders, where he was traded in 2021 and remained until 2023.

Ionescu and Grasu let their fans know about their relationship in 2021, when they went Instagram official as a couple.

The pair dated for two more years until the professional football player got down on one knee and proposed to the athlete, which she documented on her Instagram account.

The point guard later shared a video on her TikTok account, telling her fans she was "completely shocked and caught off guard" by her partner's proposal.

Ionescu then added Grasu had "played it off so well" prior to popping the big question, and recalled she "couldn’t stop taking pictures with my ring" in the hours following the proposal.

The athletes made things official between them at their wedding ceremony, which was attended by Dallas Wings forward Satou Sabally, Vanessa Bryant, and former NBA power forward and center Pau Gasol, according to ESPN.

Ionescu made several comments about her wedding in an interview with People, and described the event as "the highlight" of her offseason.

The athlete and her husband, both of whom are of Romanian heritage, had "25 to 30" of their extended family members flown to America for the special occasion.

WNBA star Napheesa Collier's made plenty of strides on the court as the Minnesota Lynx's power forward ... and a large part of her success story involves her husband, Alex Bazzell.

The basketball player and her spouse have been together for several years, and their personal connection's carried over to their professional lives as well.

We're going to check out how the athlete and her partner started a family together ... and how they're working on creating a lasting legacy within the sports world.

Bazzell and Collier's love story goes way, way back, because he met the athlete during her senior year of high school, according to People.

The sports industry figure and the athlete evidently stayed in touch afterward, because he acted as her trainer when she was a student athlete at the University of Connecticut.

The pair began dating when she was a junior in college, and Bazzell popped the big question in October 2019.

You know that old rhyme, first comes love, then comes marriage? That doesn't really apply in this case ... because the couple welcomed their daughter Mila in May 2022 before they tied the knot that October.

Remember how we said Bazzell trained Collier when she was in college? Turns out, she's not the only person he's trained over the years -- do the names Carmelo Anthony or Kyrie Irving ring any bells?

The sports executive was associated with Kobe Bryant, as well as his daughter Gianna -- who he trained -- and he told People the Los Angeles Lakers star was "the biggest mentor I've had."

Bazzell said the late athlete showed him how to remove the "pressure" for his daughter to follow in the footsteps of her parents and pursue an athletic career.

Oh, and he's spent a little bit of time on the court as well, as he briefly played professional basketball in Germany, according to his LinkedIn.

On top of their personal connection, Bazzell and Collier are professionally involved, as they've both worked on the development of the Unrivaled women's basketball league.

Collier co-founded the league alongside fellow WNBA star Breanna Stewart, and Unrivaled serves as a venue for professional female basketball players to play the sport in the offseason.

Bazzell, who serves as the league's president, provided a statement to CNBC Sport, saying the league would "fill a gap in the calendar" for numerous athletes, and described Unrivaled as "extending the runway of professional basketball."

Sophie Cunningham was as unfiltered as it gets in her defense of Caitlin Clark ... claiming anyone who doesn't think her Indiana Fever teammate is the face of the WNBA is "dumb as f***."

Cunningham -- known for her passionate defense of Clark on the court -- proved she's just as loyal off it in her new podcast, "Show Me Something," this week ... explaining to her cohost and Bravo star West Wilson why she gets so worked up over the debate surrounding the superstar's impact on the W.

The 28-year-old made her stance crystal clear -- "It pisses me off when people are like, 'She’s not the face of the league.' What? ... When people try to argue that she’s not the face of our league or that our league would be where we’re at without her — you’re dumb as s***, you're literally dumb as f***."

It was a rough night all around for the Los Angeles Sparks ... not only did they lose to the Las Vegas Aces -- their mascot got wrecked by a performer doing some backflips!!

The moment went down during a break in the action at Crypto.com Arena. As Sparky was interacting with the crowd, one of the dancers was backflipping his way down the court when he made contact with the dog ... sending him down to the ground.

But he didn't let it keep him down long ... as he was back in the crowd shortly after -- rocking a band-aid on his noggin.

Caitlin Clark's groin injury has stopped her from shooting basketballs, but not kicking soccer balls ... and some of her fans are pissed!

A video surfaced showing Clark at McCombs Middle School in Des Moines, Iowa, on Monday, where she was seen playing with kids, including kicking around a soccer ball.

Some fans were left stunned after watching the clip -- and not in a good way.

Angel Reese might've just added John Kruk to her Hater List -- she apparently clapped back at the former MLB catcher for shading the hell outta her during Tuesday night's Phillies game.

Kruk's comment came during the Phils' win over the Chicago White Sox ... when his co-announcer, Tom McCarthy, gave a birthday tribute to one of his buddies' wives -- pointing out the guy "played at Rider and Monmouth. It's all because I missed a lot of shots and he cleaned them up."

Kruk then hit back with a bit of a zinger ... replying, "I don't want to say anything, but there's someone here in Chicago that does that a lot."

A WNBA game on Tuesday night was delayed several minutes ... because of a flying sex toy.

Seriously.

The wild scene -- click here if you wanna see it -- unfolded late in the fourth quarter of the Valkyries vs. Dream matchup at the Gateway Center in College Park, Ga. ... when a fan decided to hurl a neon green dildo onto the court as the two teams were tied at 75 with one minute to play.

Michael Lewis -- the 55-year-old man accused of stalking and harassing Caitlin Clark -- was just sentenced to 2.5 years behind bars.

The Texas-native appeared in an Indiana courtroom on Monday, and after striking a deal with prosecutors ... he formally pleaded guilty to one felony count of stalking and one misdemeanor count of harassment.

In addition to time in a cell, Lewis was ordered to have no contact with Clark and to stay away from Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Hinkle Fieldhouse, Indiana Fever Events and Pacers Organization Events.