After two-time WNBA MVP Elena Delle Donne announced her retirement in April, USA Basketball CEO Jim Tooley said he waited "about five minutes" to text her about her future plans.
The two appeared on a video call with reporters Tuesday, one day after Delle Donne was announced as USA Basketball's women's 3x3 national team director. Delle Donne, who had said in April that she would still keep close ties to basketball, said Tuesday that she knew she would need to keep her mind challenged and "grow in the game."
"I knew I would obviously need to stay busy, just with my personality through my playing career," said Delle Donne, who also will serve as a special adviser to Monumental Basketball, parent company of the Washington Wizards and Mystics, with whom Delle Donne spent the past six seasons of her WNBA career. "I wanted to still be involved in the game but still have the flexibility as well. That's why I picked these two roles. The one with Monumental allows me to grow to many areas and see, 'Am I interested in player development and coaching? Am I interested in being a GM? Am I interested in all of those things?'
"Both of these roles [are] going to help me grow in the game besides a playing role, which is very exciting. My body told me it was time to retire, but my mind still needs to be going and challenged. So it's all worked out."
Delle Donne, 36, battled back injuries and the lingering effects of Lyme disease during her WNBA career. But when healthy, she was one of the top players in league history, winning MVP honors in 2015 with the Chicago Sky and 2019 with Washington. She also won the WNBA title in 2019 with the Mystics. The No. 2 draft pick and Rookie of the Year in 2013, Delle Donne finished her career averaging 19.5 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.5 blocks.
"My body has been feeling great," she said of her post-retirement health. "I still work out a ton. I plan to be on the court with our athletes and help coach them up a little bit or guard when I have to. Do whatever I need to do. Throw me into some practices. We'll see.
"So I've been on the court [since retirement]. Not a ton. Probably the most has been with my niece, kind of just training her. Today's her birthday; she's 12. So I get on [the] court the most with her. That's keeping me fresh."
Delle Donne also said she is eager to work with and learn from other USA Basketball managing directors, especially her counterpart for the men's 3x3 program, Jimmer Fredette, with whom she already has had several conversations.
"I think even when we're selecting our teams, Jimmer and I will be talking to one another," Delle Donne said. "We know the importance of teamwork and running ideas by one another."
Former Seattle Storm star Sue Bird is the managing director of the women's 5-on-5 program; Bird and Delle Donne were Olympic teammates in 2016. Delle Donne said she also would have enjoyed playing 3-on-3 in the Olympics had that option been available. The sport debuted at the Summer Games in 2021 at the Tokyo Olympics.
Delle Donne said playing 3-on-3 has helped players improve at 5-on-5, citing guards such as the Los Angeles Sparks' Kelsey Plum, the Atlanta Dream's Allisha Gray and the Las Vegas Aces' Jackie Young. They were on the U.S. Olympic team that won the first women's gold medal awarded in 3-on-3 in Tokyo. Plum and Young then won gold in 5-on-5 last year in the Paris Olympics.
"I think it's just being able to be a little more creative, attacking, shooting the ball," Delle Donne said of elements of 3-on-3 that build players' confidence. "You're getting up a lot of shots. It's certainly a fun game to watch and allows a player to really get in their bag."
Delle Donne also spoke Tuesday about another Olympic gold medalist: Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier, who this year matched Delle Donne's 2019 feat of posting a 50-40-90 shooting split for a WNBA season. Delle Donne recalled being worried over the last few games of the 2019 regular season that she might slip just enough in one of the categories to barely fall short, but she didn't.
"I was thrilled to see Napheesa do that," she said. "She is a player who has always been so efficient and has played the game so beautifully. I texted her and said, 'How happy are you that it's over? How are your nerves now?'"