Basketball has made this Kennewick graduate a star — and a globe-trotter, of sorts

Back when Leilani Mitchell was in college, she always thought she’d end up being an elementary school teacher.

The 2003 Kennewick High grad really wasn’t sure what to expect after finishing her stellar collegiate basketball career at Idaho, then Utah. That’s when she was drafted by the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA in 2008.

But before the season even started, the Mercury traded her to the New York Liberty.

“I was told, when I first started, that the average career in the WNBA was two years,” said Mitchell. “So going into it, I thought it was that. I am lucky to have played this long.”

Eleven years.

With teams like the New York Liberty, the Washington Mystics and two different stints with the Mercury.

Basketball has always been Mitchell’s game, ever since she was a child.

As a freshman, she helped lead the Kennewick Lions to a state championship. She was a four-year starter for the Lions.

WNBA 2019 award

And now, even at 34, Mitchell is still going strong.

So strong, in fact, she was named the Women’s National Basketball Association’s (WNBA) Most Improved Player of the 2019 season back in September while playing this season for Phoenix.

What makes that so impressive is she’s won the award before, back in 2010.

It’s safe to say she’s getting better with age.

But she also knows she’s on the tail end of her playing career.

“I’ll play probably just a couple more years in the WNBA,” said Mitchell in a recent phone conversation from Sydney, Australia. “As soon as I can’t play in the WNBA, I will continue to play in the WNBL.”

The Women’s National Basketball League is a women’s pro league based in Australia.

She’s been in the WNBL since 2013, and this year she’s playing with the Southside Flyers, a team in the Melbourne region.

The Flyers lead the eight-team WNBL in the standings with a 6-1 record.

Mitchell leads the Flyers in scoring at 15.9 points a game. Her 30 percent mark at 3-point shooting is fourth best in the league, and her 6.3 average assists is fifth best.

She’s a workhorse, averaging 34 minutes of playing time a game — seventh in the WNBL.

Around the world

The 5-foot-5, 138-pound Mitchell has had an interesting career, and basketball has taken her all over the world.

Besides the WNBA and the WNBL, Mitchell has played professionally in France and Croatia.

Leilani also spent some time in Australia to get to know her mom’s relatives after her mother, Eleanor, died from cancer in 2009

She decided to become an Australian citizen, and today she holds dual citizenship as an American and Australian.

She even speaks with an Aussie accent.

In 2014, Mitchell made the Australian National Women’s Team, the Opals.

Oympics and beyond

She came into team tryouts as pretty much an unknown. The Aussies really didn’t know who she was at the time.

But as a member of the team, she helped the Opals win a bronze medal at the 2014 FIBA World Championships.

She was with the Opals when they lost a quarterfinal game at the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics.

This week, she and the Opals are in the midst of pre-qualifying for the Olympics, playing games in Malaysia against Japan, Taiwan and India.

The final round of Olympic qualifying takes place in February, before the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics run July 24 to Aug. 9.

In between February and the Tokyo Olympics, another WNBA season will begin.

And believe it or not, Mitchell is a WNBA free agent, even after her award-winning season.

“I turned down a two-year deal last year for a one-year deal,” she said. “It wasn’t going to be guaranteed. But Phoenix has already said they want me back for next season.”

2019 season

The 2019 season was quite a journey for Mitchell.

She failed to make the Mercury out of preseason last May.

“I actually knew I was going to get cut by Phoenix,” said Mitchell. “Our coach in Phoenix (Sandy Brondello) is also my national team coach in Australia. She was trying to make a trade to clear a roster spot for me. But you’re not allowed to trade an injured player. They had to cut someone who was not on a rookie salary. That was me.

“It was a bit disappointing. I love Phoenix. So I had to wait 10 days, and when no one else picked me up, I signed with Phoenix.”

She was expected to be the backup at point guard to Diana Taurasi.

“Diana had back and knee injuries that bothered her all season,” said Mitchell. “So I was able to start the whole season. Experience goes a long ways.”

In fact, Mitchell had her best numbers in any of her WNBA seasons: 12.8 points a game, 4.0 assists, and 3.0 rebounds. Her 43 percent average from the 3-point line was her best since that 2010 WNBA season.

Getting the WNBA’s Most Improved Player award was a pleasant surprise, she said.

“Late in the season, people started talking about it,” she said. “The reason I wanted to go back to Phoenix is I thought we had a good chance to win it all based on what we did the year before.”

Mitchell calls the WNBA the toughest women’s professional league in the world.

“I mean, there are tough teams in overseas leagues,” she said. “But in the WNBA, you add in playing against the best athletes in the world, you sometimes play three or four games a week. We don’t fly private like the NBA teams do. We’re up at 5 a.m. the next morning after a game, and at the airport, flying commercial.

“Don’t get me wrong. It’s fun, and we know we don’t play for as much money as NBA players do.”

Because of that lower pay, Mitchell is like most women professional players who play almost year round.

“Playing in Australia has helped a lot,” she said. “It’s a physical game down here. And I’m asked to score more. I enjoy making plays. My shot has improved more over the years, and I feel comfortable with it.”

More well-rounded

“I think I’ve lasted this long because I’m more of a cerebral player. I understand the game,” said Mitchell. “I also shoot the 3-point shot better. In high school and college, I wasn’t terrible at it. But I wasn’t great.”

She got better at it, she said, during her European pro days in France (2009-10) and Croatia (2012-13).

“In Europe, you had to practice twice a day. So I just kept getting better,” she said. “In Europe, you play once a week. Twice if you’re in a larger Champions-type league. But you practice and practice. And you’re doing high school drills. Running around cones, for instance, for 20 minutes. I was thinking ‘We’re past these type of drills.’”

In Australia, WNBL teams practice three times a week.

“And we usually get a midweek day off or a Friday off, so you actually have time to have a life,” Mitchell said.

That’s important, because she has her own family now.

She’s married to former WNBL player Mikaela Dombkins, and they had a son, Kash Maxwell, in July 2018.

It makes things easier to play in Australia half the year.

“It’s actually difficult to be away. Mikaela was pregnant while I was away playing in Turkey,” said Mitchell. “Kash was born last year. My team gave me a week off for his birth. The hardest thing I’ve ever had to do was leave him to come back to play.”

When Mitchell got released by the Mercury for 10 days in May, she came back to Australia to spend time with Mikaela and Kash. Now, she’s home, for the most part, for the next four months.

“He gets a bit confused now. He’ll wake up and look for me,” Mitchell said. “He’s the best thing in my life. They’re such a fun age right now. It’s so fun to watch them learn.”

So the end of the basketball playing days, whenever they come, will be in Australia. That’s been home for a while.

Then what?

What about being that elementary school teacher?

“I don’t know about that now,” said Mitchell. “I thought about owning my own business. I have some ideas. Or maybe I’ll stay involved in basketball. I’ve got a lot of knowledge.”

Mitchell says she’s always been blessed with good coaches, from high school through college and in the pros.

“I think I have a good understanding of the court and spacing,” she said. “You’d be surprised how many players at this level don’t understand the game.”

Until that time, Mitchell will continue to play for as long as she can. This week, basketball is in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Next week, it’ll be back in Melbourne. In the spring, it’s likely back to Phoenix. And in July, probably Tokyo.

“I’m racking up the frequent flyer miles,” she said. “Maybe I’ll save them up for a vacation.”

Some time soon, it’ll be a visit to Kennewick.

Her father Dennis still lives in the Tri-Cities.

“I don’t get back to Kennewick as often as I’d like,” Mitchell said. “ I haven’t been back there in three or four years. I’ve looked at my schedule and it hasn’t worked out. I typically have a week off between seasons.”

Some day, though. Those flyer miles will be used to come home.

Her Kennewick home.