How Pilates, playing in China shaped former UConn star Olivia Nelson-Ododa entering third season with CT Sun

When Connecticut Sun forward Olivia Nelson-Ododa joined Guangdong in the Women’s Chinese Basketball Association this offseason, the former UConn standout couldn’t communicate with most of her teammates or coaches except through a translator.

She wasn’t just the only American or only English speaker: She was the only player on the roster who wasn’t from China.

“The language barriers, just like understanding your teammates, getting used to being the only import over there definitely had its own challenges at first,” Nelson-Ododa said. “The pace of play there is different. There’s no defensive three seconds, so it’s just little things like that when you’re playing. You kind of just have to adapt to it, and then coming back to the States it’s like all the little things again.”

The game was also drastically different from the one she was used to in the WNBA. Players are smaller on average in the WBCA, but the undersized guards play at a pace Nelson-Ododa wasn’t used to seeing from the post players she dealt with in the U.S.

“It’s completely different, but I think it was really cool to try different offensive things and use that time to really work on things I want to try and use here,” Nelson-Ododa said. “And it helps too, when you’re in in-game situations versus just regular training here at home, so being able to kind of experiment with things in games like that definitely helps a lot.”

Alyssa Thomas averaged a near triple-double last season as the team’s centerpiece, and coach Stephanie White intends to lean even further into a position-less play style in her second season at the helm. Playing in China helped build Nelson-Ododa’s versatility, and as one of just three returning players without a guaranteed contract, making herself more compatible with White’s system is critical to establishing her value for the Sun.

“The guards are super small and quick, so I feel like my ability to guard players over here, to guard on faster players is definitely better, just because I’ve had to work on that over there,” Nelson-Ododa said. “Having to switch onto guards over there, I think that definitely helped adapting to (defending) people with a quicker pace and faster feet.”

‘It was a game changer for my body’

The WCBA is grueling compared to most international leagues — it plays 32 regular-season games, just eight fewer than the WNBA — but Nelson-Ododa feels stronger than she ever has returning to the Sun. Kristine Anigwe, who briefly joined Connecticut in the middle of last season, introduced Nelson-Ododa to Pilates, and the 6-5 center immediately fell in love.

“I feel like it hits those little muscles that we don’t get to use in regular weight training. It’s cool to introduce myself to different parts of my body I didn’t even know existed,” Nelson-Ododa said. “I’m getting sore in places I didn’t know I could get sore. I think it’s helped a lot with my core, things I remember last year I was really lacking … because I was working my abs, but it’s a difference between working your abs and your core, like really getting inside and working on that. It’s boosting my hip stability, things like that that I was like, personally lacking. I could do a whole tangent on it.”

Before she left to play overseas, Nelson-Ododa briefly returned home to Atlanta to recover from the WNBA season. With regular access to a Pilates studio in the city, she was participating in the cross training workout three to four times every week. Though she has less regular access to the machine required for Pilates now, it’s a routine that she has tried to maintain both overseas and since returning to Connecticut.

“I think it was a game changer for my body, so I’ve continued to do it. I felt major differences with it,” she said. “It’s my new hobby. I’m stuck on it … I just tried to get in as much as possible over there in China, but they do have very strict workout regimens. You don’t get off days, so I was just working with coaches over there like, ‘Okay, I’m doing this strength strength training.’”

As she prepares to enter her third season the WNBA and with the Sun, Nelson-Ododa still doesn’t feel like a veteran. She averaged a career-high 4.5 points and 3.7 rebounds shooting 53.7% from the field in 15 minutes per game last season, but if her numbers in China are any indication a, the center is poised for another leap in 2024. Nelson-Ododa led Guangdong in scoring with 19 points per game plus a team-best 7.6 rebounds with a 62.3% field goal percentage.

“Anytime with training camp I feel like you have those nerves first couple of days,” Nelson-Ododa said with a laugh. “Realizing that these players have so much experience, I’m just trying to learn from them … Regardless if they’re new or not, just knowing that they’ve had that much basketball time and experience, so I’m just trying to be a sponge and continue to read off people and learn how to play with them, too.”