As great as the last two WNBA seasons have been, one cannot help but think that there has been a large Louisville-shaped hole in the heart of the W the past couple of years.
That Louisville-shaped hole was in the form of Asia Durr, who was drafted in the 2019 WNBA draft second overall by the New York Liberty.
Durr left the Cardinals as one of the most decorated athletes in the history of Louisville athletics and was projected to be one of the cornerstones of the Liberty’s young and rebuilding core.
That was until Durr came face to face with Covid-19 – and how it affected her as an athlete – and as a human being.
Louisville legend Asia Durr is still in a major fight with Covid after being diagnosed in June. She’s lost 32 lbs and hasn’t played basketball in 6 months. She’s unsure if she’ll ever play again. Very sad. 📺: @wncaudill pic.twitter.com/AVdtuklovB
— Nick Coffey (@TheCardConnect) January 27, 2021
Durr missed the last two seasons – including the Liberty’s 2020 season in the bubble and last season – New York’s first full-time season at Barclays Center.
A few days ago, the Cardinals great informed us of news that had to be one of the high marks of the year in the WNBA – Nite Nite is on the comeback trail.
I have officially been cleared to return to basketball. This will be a day in and day out grind. I’m so ready and dedicated to the process. I appreciate my close ones being here with me, it’s been a crazy journey. Thank you @Jumpman23 @POWERADE @nyliberty
— Asia Durr (@A_Hooper25) November 16, 2021
I’M BACK‼️ Thank you God. Thank you to everyone that’s played a role throughout this journey. Dedicated to the process. It’s not gone be easy. I’m ready. Let’s get it 🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/3eXvN7PK8z
— Asia Durr (@A_Hooper25) November 16, 2021
A few years ago, we were questioning (as Durr herself was) if she would even be able to step on a basketball court again. Now, she is on the mend and is preparing herself for a return to the sport she loves.
One can only imagine how excruciating the last couple of seasons have been for Durr – yearning to be back on the court with her Liberty sisters. On the cusp of what should be a promising career in the WNBA not to mention having the opportunity to wear the uniform of one of the W’s marquee teams in the Liberty only to have the atrocity that is the pandemic potentially cut her career short.
Durr is someone who was referred to as a Covid “long-hauler,” one where the side-effects of contracting the coronavirus go far beyond simply getting the virus itself. Contracting COVID is not simply about what it physically does to the body, but the mental toll caused by the uncertainty of how the body will respond.
Only Durr herself and those in her closest of inner circles can understand everything she has been through the last couple of years.
The pain.
The anguish.
The agony.
The tears.
The emotions.
The heartbreak.
Her announcement that she has been cleared to return to basketball serves as an all-around story of courage and resilience. Durr defied the odds and is ready to return to the court. She understands that there is still a ways to go as her journey back to basketball continues, but her having the opportunity to resume her career is a testament to how much she loves her sport.
Women’s basketball fans are more than ready to see her career get back going again, but no one has to be more pumped than Durr herself. That first time when she steps back onto a WNBA court – there will not be a dry eye in the building. When she hits her first shot, there will not be a dry eye in the building as there should not be as Durr has earned her flowers.
When Rudy Gobert contracted Covid at the outset of the pandemic – and when NCAA basketball tournaments were canceled, that was when the sports world and the world at large knew that no area of society was immune from this new, unprecedented challenge facing the human race. Durr, in many ways, was the signature face of how the pandemic impacted the sports world and her announcement of being cleared to play the sport she loves again is a story that not only transcends basketball, but the sports world at large.
She is well on her way to becoming one of those “never give up” stories we hear about so often in sports. Durr could have easily decided to simply call it a career and move on with other life pursuits if she so chose. She is an inspirational story to young woman ballers, young male ballers and women and men everyplace to keep fighting and that it is never too late to put one’s 100% into what they love.
As her process continues, we know that she is more than ready to put the stress of the last two years behind her … and get back to this.
She dropped 47 POINTS with 11 3’s 🚨 @A_Hooper25 (via @theACCDN) pic.twitter.com/eoWh2Lpr1i
— Overtime (@overtime) March 1, 2019
And this.
Still one of the coldest plays. @A_Hooper25 @UofLWBB
Basketball is better when Asia’s on the court. (🎥: @espn) pic.twitter.com/u2h6JWnrDa
— WSLAM (@wslam) October 15, 2019
And this.
🏀 @A_Hooper25 lays in her first #WNBA points! @nyliberty vs China, LIVE on ESPNEWS pic.twitter.com/PidHGcUheF
— WNBA (@WNBA) May 10, 2019
And this.
Back-to-back triple’s from @A_Hooper25 👀 pic.twitter.com/yAqVZVgJFg
— WNBA (@WNBA) July 7, 2019
And this.
🔥 SPIN. MOVE. @A_Hooper25 #LibertyLoud pic.twitter.com/oIpAG5BomJ
— WNBA (@WNBA) June 28, 2019
WNBA courts, fans, coaches, players – the sport has missed Asia Durr. We all await how her comeback story unfolds as she tells the last two years … nite nite.
