Former Hawkeye Megan Gustafson enjoyed time in Paris

ARLINGTON, Texas — Megan Gustafson left Iowa as one of the most decorated players in the history of Hawkeye women’s basketball

However, earlier this summer, the 27-year-old Gustafson, in her sixth WNBA season and first with Las Vegas, experienced another career-first by playing in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris with Spain.

“Yeah, it was incredible. Just grateful for the opportunity,” Gustafson said before a recent Aces road game in Dallas. “Just an amazing experience. I didn’t take any day for granted, was really blessed to be on the world stage coming from such a small town.

“It’s very special to even be considered for that. We had some crazy games, some really fun endings and there were a lot of fans too, 27,000 I think at our first game, and we were averaging 20-plus every game. To have their support and see the world support for women’s basketball was really cool.”

The ex-Hawkeye who was a two-time Big Ten Conference Player of the Year and had her No. 10 retired by Iowa in 2020, has landed in a good spot with Vegas. Not only are the Aces the two-time reigning WNBA champions, but Gustafson is one of a league-high six Olympians on their roster in 2024.

“(Gustafson brings us) size, shooting, rebounding. She does a lot of little things well,” said Aces head coach Becky Hammon. “Now it’s just about putting her in spots that we can be successful in and she can be successful in.

“Early on, I think she was still learning our system, our dos and don’ts offensively and defensively. Since then, worked her way into the starting lineup, which is pretty good.”

In 33 games, including starts in five, Gustafson is averaging 3.2 points and 1.9 rebounds per game. However, her contributions to her new team — the fourth different employer she’s had in the W along with Dallas, Washington and Phoenix — are about more than mere numbers.

“(My focus) is just whatever I can do to help the team win. I don’t care if I play 40 minutes or zero minutes,” she said. “Whatever it takes, I’m going to do my job, whatever coach needs me to do whether it’s rebounding, getting inside finishes or hitting those 3s to stretch a little bit, whatever it is, I’m going to do it to the best of my ability.”

Another bonus with the move to Sin City is a reunion with former Iowa teammate Kate Martin, who was a freshman in 2019, Gustafson’s senior year and missed the entire season due to injury. Martin is a Vegas rookie after the Aces selected her in the second round of the 2024 WNBA Draft.

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“My freshman year when she was a senior, I looked up to her tremendously. She’s one of the hardest workers I’ve ever met,” Martin said. “She obviously had an amazing career at Iowa. I always wanted to lead and work hard like she did for the team.

“It’s cool that it’s been full circle and now she gets to be a mentor and somebody I look up to in professional basketball. I’m really thankful to have a familiar face around, somebody who’s come from the same place as me and a similar situation. We know all of the same people. It’s just fun to have that person around.”

And with this being year six for this accomplished ex-Hawkeye in the W, Gustafson now considers herself a veteran and someone who has been through pretty much every type of situation a player can endure.

“It’s definitely special (to have Martin as a teammate again). Every year, I try to take on a rookie,” Gustafson said. “I’ve done that ever since I’ve not been a rookie to help them out because I know how tough it is to be in this league.

“I’ve been cut multiple times, so I have that story of trying to work through all of that and I can relate to them. It makes it extra special that it’s Kate because we go way back. She’s a great person, a great player. It’s a full-circle moment because she was injured when I was a senior, so we technically didn’t actually play on the court, but we were teammates and to be able to get that moment back now is incredible.”

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Kate Martin quickly earned playing time and a place in fans’ hearts in Las Vegas

Of course, a frequent topic of conversation between her and Martin are the latest accomplishments of fellow Iowa product Caitlin Clark, the top pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft who has single-handedly raised the stature of the WNBA and women’s basketball over the past year.

“It is (so great to watch her and what she does). She’s a great player, a great person,” Gustafson said of Clark. “She works hard and she never lets anything get her down.

“She has a lot of attention on herself, but she’s brought a lot of good things to women’s basketball. She’s elevated everybody. We’re just really happy for her, we’re really excited, and we’re going to support her, especially Kate and I, in any way that we can because we know that’s a heavy crown that she wears. Whatever we can do, whether it’s sending an encouraging text or just supporting her and watching her games, but when we do play them, we’re not going to be as supportive.”

Some players might consider coming to play for the team that has won the last two titles in the W as a situation fraught with too much pressure, but not Gustafson. She not only wanted to play alongside some of the league’s best players, but also welcomed the opportunity to be coached by Hammon, a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a player.

“I think she’s just an incredible coach, very smart and strategic,” Gustafson said. “That’s what’s really made me grow as a player, is to be able to see things that maybe I didn’t see before. I think that’s been really important, figuring that out. Yeah, she’s a great, great coach. She’s one of my favorite all-time coaches that I’ve had.”

Stephen Hunt is a freelance writer based in Frisco, Texas.