Everyone knows Dawn Staley’s name after she coached the South Carolina women’s basketball team through an undefeated season and the 2024 NCAA Tournament championship victory. However, the retired WNBA player was a star well before her recent victories.
On April 7, her Gamecocks defeated the Caitlin Clark-led Iowa Hawkeyes 87-75, securing the school’s third title in seven years. Staley has served as head coach since 2008. With all eyes on the veteran basketball star, her appearance during season 5 of “Martin” has been pulled from the vaults and popularized on social media.
In episode 6 of that season, “Bangin’ Hard in the School Yard,” Martin’s girlfriend, Gina, challenges him and his friends to a three-on-three game of basketball. Unbeknownst to the Detroit radio host, his girlfriend called in some players from the undefeated 1996 U.S. women’s Olympic basketball team, including Staley, Teresa Edwards, Rebecca Lobo, and Sheryl Swoopes.
A resurfaced clip of the University of Virginia alumna and her crew defeating Martin, Tommy, and Cole with minimal effort and plenty of smack talk is a reminder for some that Staley was also a dominating force in the sport. “That 96 Olympic squad was running thru entire the world,” wrote one person.
“Whoa I forgot about Rebecca Lobo SMH the 96 team was too nice they smacked team. It’s crazy they talking about how good girls are now Martin had them beating him back in the 90s Martin was before his time slim,” read a second comment.
Let this one Martin episode serve as another tribute to the phenomenal Dawn Staley.. pic.twitter.com/XAoxBANoU9
— Stace 💜💛 (@DSTacey1913) April 8, 2024
A third individual said, “Bruh I was crushing on Dawn so tuff in this episode.” While a fourth fan reiterated that “Martin was ahead of its time,” seemingly acknowledging the resurgence of interest in women’s basketball at both the collegiate and professional levels.
When Staley appeared on “The Dan Patrick Show” in March, she told the host, “I’m more famous for that episode than my basketball career. … When we were on that show ‘Martin,’ it was by far the biggest show in the country, so that’s one of the highlights of my career.”
She played in the WNBA for seven seasons before retiring in 2006 with the Houston Comets. At the end of her accomplished career, she had become a three-time Olympic medalist. This summer, she will return to the Games as Team USA’s coach. Her leadership helped the team secure gold in 2021.
