🎙️ Episode 13: “From the French National team to the Valkyries: Iliana Rupert”

This episode highlights Iliana Rupert, our talented French center, rocking jersey #12, the same number her father wore. Not only has this player one a WNBA championship with the Las Vegas Aces, she also represented France at EuroBasket this past summer as well as in the Olympics in 2024 and 2020. 

Tune in to learn why she's the best.  On t'aime  Iliana Rupert! 🇫🇷🏀💜

Allez Les Violettes! 

Transcript

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So,

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Valkyries, Valkyries. This is Reina. And Vanessa. And this is Valkyries Say Less. And by that you know we really mean we're going to say so much more.

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We're two SF moms, ex-ballers, artists. Teachers.

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Teachers. Entrepreneurs.

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Today's episode is going to focus on Ileana Rupert. One of my Frenchies. First. But first, we have some things to talk about.

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Oh, my goodness. Okay. I don't even know. Where do we begin? Tomorrow is a major day. By the time you listen, it would have already happened, but right now we are on the eve of monumental moments.

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The beginning of the playoffs. Game one. Tomorrow morning. We're going to get a good night's sleep tonight after we record this. Oh, we are

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playing hard tomorrow. We need to go to bed immediately. After

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we do this.

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It is already too late. We should be in bed, tucked in, ready to go tomorrow morning. I'm picking you up, by the way. Thank you. You're welcome. That's so nice of you. You're welcome. I can't get on my bike

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on a weekend and get

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there on time. I am picking you up. We are going to Ricky's. They're opening up their doors early for this monumental event.

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Yeah. I love when we work together, we get to place this on time. But when we're separate, both of us are late. Well. It's interesting.

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We are better together. For the

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world, maybe. Go team. It's been a great season. Go team. Teaming with you.

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That is also how Ileana feels, by the way. Just a little heads up. Okay. She's into the collective. Okay. Okay. So back to tomorrow. Huge game. Game number one against the Lynx. Raina, what are your thoughts and feelings? I'm a stress ball.

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Stress ball. That's your word. Okay. Say more. Don't stop there. Well, we were just doing our little research and yeah, we've lost four times to the Lynx and they've been close games. These are true statements. I would say that the most recent one wasn't our best game. No. And so that gives me a little little bit of hope that like if our shots fall and we have a better game tomorrow then then we'll be we'll be okay i believe that we are able to crush them tomorrow

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oh crush them yeah you heard it okay okay you heard it correctly hot take is that we are able to crush them

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i love that your hot take of them staying in minnesota is working out they look great on their little hello to the bay today yes they just running in the hallway i'm like tip is this a sign is this an easter

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egg i know we haven't we haven't I haven't heard yet, so hopefully. I know, but

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she was in practice. She was running out of the practice and she had practice stuff on. Well, that's great.

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I'm like, be cool, girl. Be cool. We need you in whatever best form you are whenever we get you.

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Whenever we get

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you. Well, listen, they have been resting. Also, all of us in California have been sending them nonstop Reiki vibes.

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Yes. I've been hydrating on their behalf out of my plastic cup. There you go. You know. My tinfoil hat is my Valkyrie's cup. Normal. Just joking. Drinking water. Hoping they're drinking water. That they're getting sunshine. They're getting acclimated to Minnesota.

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Are they talking to the Lynx as buddies at all? I know. Or is it like Temi where she's like, that is the opponent and we have to boo them unless we're at the club.

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I'm thinking Temi saying there's plenty of time for the club later after

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the season. Later, but we can't hang. So they're not with the stud buds then.

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I don't

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think so. Oh my goodness. It must be so hard because they're probably like wanting to text Nafisa and to be like, but where do we go? Tell us the places to eat.

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Yes,

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yes. Hopefully they have many Valks fans who live in Minnesota. Natasha, we know you're listening. Anyways, hopefully you're sending them messages about where they should be going, all the best spots. Yes. Okay, so I feel like Rested and they are like hyper analyzing, you know, all the footage. They have the opportunity to go in there and nail it. They have to be on in terms of defense. They have to be hitting their threes And they have to play fast. All right. We're going to keep it going. Okay. But let's get into it. What are we doing

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today? Because it's new. All right. I really need you to talk me out of my stress ball. I'm here for you. Are you? Yes. Well. What is your teacher trick?

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I mean, okay, let's just say I am going to tap into what I do in my entrepreneur side hustle, which, you know, who else does this? Maybe Monique Billings. Mm-hmm. really into wellness really into focus but I'm going to lead us into a meditation okay that is going to also teach us about Ileana it's never been done before it's going to be a grounding exercise that is focused the goal is that the listener feels grounded but also educated okay about Ileana

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and how to meditate because I'm I'm a non-meditator I would say I need like kinetic energy to focus I need my eyes, you know, doing something and not looking at my inner soul. But maybe looking at Ileana's inner soul

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will help me. I think it would help all of us. Okay. And in the game of life called womanifesting, I am womanifesting that I will one day be able to teach meditation to the players in French and in English. So that is what I am hoping to do in the off season. So anyways. Let's do it. Let's get started, Raina. Everybody, first of all, just take a breath. Beautiful. Did you hear how much stress was in there? Yeah, there's a lot right there. So everyone, just if it feels comfortable to you, close your eyes. Now, because this is a collab, Raina, you can also interrupt me. Okay. So just know that this is not a typical meditation. I

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was getting a little awkward.

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All right. This is a podcast. So if you're sitting– Find a comfortable seat. If you're standing, feel your feet on the ground. Can

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I open my eyes and look at my notes?

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Absolutely. You have to do what feels comfortable to you in this moment. We are here in preparation for one of the biggest moments of your life. Think of it like you are about to play in your very first playoff game. When no one thought that this was even possible to achieve, your very first game Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh. Okay. She's on ESPN's 25 Under 25 list with her two French players, Janelle and Carla.

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So at 6'5",

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or 6'4".

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Both are listed all over there.

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It's just highly debatable.

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6'4 and

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a half. She walks with presence, but her steps, like yours, begin with quiet grounding. As you walk, bring to mind her little Daughter of infamous, or dare I say legendary, Thierry Rupert. A French national player. Gone too soon when she was just 11. Feel the mix of strength and tenderness in that memory. Her mother, Elham, also played. Her brother, Rayan, plays now for the Portland Trailblazers. And she is married to Matisse Dossou-Yovou, another. Pro basketball player. Basketball is in her DNA, but also in her heart.

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Can I pause there?

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Yeah, let's

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pause. Excuse me.

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No, it's okay. Sorry to

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break the glass. This is

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meditation

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education. Okay. So what's coming to me in this is I'm actually getting calm, but I didn't have access to this information as an English speaker, but I didn't know her data passed away. So I feel like really a lot of... love in that really and for you because i lost my dad how old were you i was 15 yeah yeah and my dad passed away from a heart attack as well

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yeah he had cardiac he had cardiac problems and her mom played well that's something that we don't always see she really comes from i mean a mom and dad who met on the court in the 90s and had like a deep love they were together for 20 years wow

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yeah met on the court yeah So her brother plays for the Portland Trailblazers. I was able to access that information. And he's the younger brother, right? And I saw that they both have a three-pointer. Her three-point percentage is better than her brother. As someone that comes from a very competitive family, I looked at that. But she is older, so maybe he'll catch up.

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Maybe. Yeah. Maybe she'll develop hers even more, though. Nice. Yeah. And where was she born? She She was born outside of Paris. And then for three years, she went and did the INSEP, which is National Basketball Institute

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Leagues.

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haven't none of them have been married so far that we've covered and so she's 24 is married she started in the valks in july after your euro basket and after her civil wedding she had the religious wedding in december of 2023 so she's been married since december of 2023 okay yeah

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what is a civil wedding

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so in france reading that in france there's oh yeah that's funny okay that's just like not common knowledge in France there's two weddings um if you are religious you have a religious wedding and then so you don't have to have a religious wedding but if you do then you'd have a religious wedding and then the civic the civil one means it's the one that you register with the country oh yeah so in France they're not in France they're not on the same date or like it could be two different it could be two different parties because you would do like the big party would be the religious one oh and so that's the one where the one

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that she just had the civil was like really Really beautiful over the top.

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Well, I actually wonder if that was the religious one. And we were seeing old footage. Okay. So, okay. You want us

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to dive back in? So she's the only married player. She's the only married player. And her spouse is also a baller. He's a baller. And does he play professionally in the States?

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No, he doesn't play in the States. So this is a big deal for their relationship. He plays for Germany. He also plays for Paris and he plays for Germany. And so they got married, the religious one, in Germany. cool yeah and then she was talking about how she just really appreciates modern technology she's always on her phone because they're always trying to figure out like a time to talk to each other yeah and you know there's like the time difference there's you know their schedules so like travel schedules and stuff and they're always trying to figure out like when's the time to connect and is it even possible like for flights that they could you know see each other so you want us to get back into it yeah i

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was starting to get stressed again okay

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so Ready? Take a breath, Reina. Beautiful. Do one more. We need to send our breath to the Valks. All right. Now, make sure that you stand tall like Ileana as you breathe. Imagine that you, too, are almost 6'5". Picture her lacing up in jersey number 12, the same number her father wore. Notice your own pace. Steady. grounded, purposeful, just like hers. Shift your awareness to the rhythm of her game. She's a center with a three-point shot. Remember August 15th against Chicago, four for four from beyond the arc, 14 points in 20 minutes. You too can do that. As your breath finds a steady flow, let each inhale be a bucket. Each exhale The release. Beautiful job. Pause with gratitude for her international journey. Bourges, Mersin, Vegas, Atlanta, and now the Bay. Walking, sitting, standing, shooting. Feel the expansiveness of crossing countries, cultures, leagues. Her game is not just hers. It belongs to to France. It belongs to the WNBA. It belongs to her best friends. It belongs to every teammate she's ever lifted. Notice what you carry with you. Ileana always prepares her bag before her game day nap. You heard that. Before her game day nap. Tissues, sanitizer, lip gloss, gum, perfume, Perfume, Coco Mademoiselle. Interesting. A photo of her dad. A bracelet inscribed, Roops Forever. A little box for her wedding ring. As you walk, imagine what tokens of love and grounding you carry, seen or unseen. Feel her rituals. Headphones on. Creating her bubble. Centering before the storm of the game. As you continue your walk, listen inwardly. What's the soundtrack of your concentration? Should we pause and discuss? Do you want to know? Yes, of course. What are you listening to? What are you thinking? Also, what comes to mind? What's in your game day bag? What do you think about what's in hers?

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My My soundtrack right now is actually our Valk. I'm trying to make a Valks playlist based on all of our episodes. Oh, my goodness. That's fun. Yeah. And so we'll play it on the Caltrain. And... I am interested in– you did the little– I'm still stuck in Europe. I was like on– when you did the intentional– the international journey and how she's another example of a player that is very much an all-year

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invested in many different teams. She has prioritized French national team. Like she says it. She's like that is something that is very important to her. I'm assuming for a variety of reasons. She took off for

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– She took off for the 24 season from the WNBA. So she played for the Aces. She played for the Dream. And then she took off to prepare for the Olympics for France. And they, I mean, the one episode or the one interview that I listened to, which was, I had to do subtitles, she was just talking about the pain. Of the loss? Yeah. But not for her. Yeah. Well,

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she shot four threes and missed them all in the last game, whereas she had gotten 15 points in one of the previous ones. Yeah. in the olympics in france right and so like that's got to be such a heartache she said that a

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sting that's what

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she when she was like re-watching the game play the game play when she was re-watching the tapes with her she has a personal basketball coach okay and she was saying of course he was going to make me watch it and it was really hard because they were up by 10 at one point and she's playing with some other players in the w gabby williams on her team yeah and and I think it's Gabby Williams who missed. So Gabby Williams

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airball and then the last shot Gabby Williams crossed the three point

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line. It would have gone into overtime. It

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would have gone

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into overtime. It would have gone into overtime. So we don't know. But then what's crazy to think is that on her opposing team was Nafisa Collier who she's going to see again tomorrow. And

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you just mentioned coach. Yes. The coach of the USA team. Was the coach. Is the Yeah, Cheryl Reeves.

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If you have like one good thing, one good skill, you like perfect that. So that is also your move. Right. And especially under Coach Nat.

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threes for a while there, she had the best three-point percentage in the whole league. Ooh. As a forward, which is very impressive. This year? This year. Okay. So she's second right now. Oh. So she's second to Citron, Sonia Citron. So she, yeah, as a forward. That's awesome. I mean, it's sort of, yeah, basketball has changed as an elder. Wow. That it's just the three-point play and drawing a foul on a three-point play is just whatever everyone's after um and she so she right now her field goal percentage is 43.8 but her three point percentage is 44.2 okay um percent which is very good

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okay wow yeah my god we just need her to shoot it must have been so hard for her after that olympic game then knowing that she had not scored and that she's capable of like putting up double digits

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yeah her her averages in europe were higher um what surprises me here is that she's she's a scorer and then her rebounds are she hasn't had a double double and so i feel like coach nat is keeping she's like a big person to keep on the outside to shoot these threes and then maybe she's um not getting as many rebounds as a typical forward

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but yes you say yes she knows coach nat from the aces from the aces and Isn't it a small world? And Coach Nat, when she was talking about repair, she was saying Ileana wanted to learn any and everything and just to fit. She said she's like, whatever you need, coach, I'll do it. We're like, can you space the floor and lock up defensively? Repair is like, yep, I can do that. Excited to reunite with her. When I said goodbye to her in Vegas, I was like, I guarantee we're going to work together someday. Oh, we manifested that. Awesome. Yep. I love it. So that was part of her contract when she signed with them. But then after they won the championship for 2023, they said they wanted her there from the beginning. And she was like, no, I still want to play for France. And so they waived her and the dream picked her up.

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Right.

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Because the dream accepted for her to continue to play in France. And so then in 24, she didn't play because the Olympics were in 24. And then she was picked up by the Valks, who also agreed. That she could start after Eurobasket. Oh, yeah. Oh, like Caitlin Clark and Kate Martin. And Caitlin Clark did that with Kate Martin. And then she was called. You're right. Oh, my God. What happened to my brain? No. I'm focusing on the playoff game tomorrow and I've wiped out everything else. The bestie pool. Wow. So it's the bestie pool. So she was also in France. They don't have bridesmaids. They're just called witnesses. You have to like witness the wedding. So she was also her witness. And then she was also on the Olympic team with her. Mm hmm. And Marine ended up being drafted by New York. But then because she wanted to continue also prioritizing playing for France, she didn't, like, sign with New York. Okay. So she has not joined the WNBA yet. Well,

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that was also with Rupert. She didn't sign her contract till July. Yeah. Which is, that would stress me out. It's like, is my contract still going to be on the table?

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Yeah.

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So next year, she is already signed up for, in Turkey, where Ceci played. Yeah, for two years. Yeah. And Moe Billings signed up for Fenerbahc. Okay. Okay. So those two are going to head out. And so that's the same. They must pay well. They also have 13 teams. It's the Turkish Super League, also known as the Ing. Oh, my God. Do we have to

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do

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a podcast about this?

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Because I don't know about them.

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And so in Turkey, there are 13 teams as well. Okay. And they're hiring people. Like Kelsey Plum played in there. Collier. Okay. Okay, okay.

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her connected to the links about Courtney Williams talking about how much she loves John Kyle Jones because John Kyle Jones took a salary cut so that they could have more room to get Courtney Williams back on the sun when that was like before the links yeah okay and so she was like you know I'll always have her back for that so I'm just

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like the bestie

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pool the bestie pool yes that's what this is the bestie pool so okay with that bestie pool in mind this is also where we go back to Ileana and her talking about how basketball was not her passion like she played but it wasn't for her deep love of the game she liked to socialize she liked going to practice with her friends the bestie pool got her into

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being a professional

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basketball player and like she swam she danced and then she got like way into basketball later but like she calls it also like the collective I think it's like

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the

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collective joy yeah okay okay so I'm gonna bring us back for a second to the meditation okay and then we're just gonna chitty chat I'm calming you down again I could see us just the anxiety the anxiety going up again okay so now bring your mind to her leadership beautiful take another big breath in and out and think about how she stands with her silver medal around her neck from the Paris Olympics, bronze medal from Tokyo, co-captain for the France team, how she balances national pride with her WNBA journey. Her game is collective, collaborative, beautiful to watch. Her words, she loves the beauty in the game. And yet she reminds herself to sometimes stop thinking and just go for it like you're going to do, Raina. With your next steps, your next breath, feel the invitation to trust your instincts. As you near the close of this meditation, breathe in her journey from Paris to San Francisco, from national stages to intimate rituals. We've got to get back to that. From grief to legacy, Ileana shows us how to hold Hold history, family, and personal growth in the same body. Breathe in one last time. Exhale. Full trust.

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All right. We're going to do a trust fall now. Now we're doing a trust fall. Hold on. We have to move the laptop. That was very comforting. Now I'm really ready for bed. Okay. Perfect timing. For our beauty sleep before we go to Ricky's. Okay. Perfect. What was your ritual thing you want to talk about? Well, yeah. Did you have a ritual when you were playing basketball in high school?

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Do you remember? Well, I feel like I maybe mentioned this once already, but I used to never be able to say it without crying, so I've really grown.

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Mm-hmm.

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Because my senior year, I had read that book, In These Girls' Hope is a Muscle. And I just thought that book was so moving and motivating. It was about a high school team that they just kept doing really well, but like never being able to make it to, like never being able to be champions. And so then there was a journalist that followed them the year that they won.

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So

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I read that book, loved it. And then it was like, I'm going to read excerpts to my teammates before the game and we will huddle up and we will be inspired and then we will go out and we will crush it except I would get into the huddle and I'd start to read something and then I'd get really choked up because I'm such a sensi at times and so then I had to pivot I had to pivot because I was like not getting the job done that I want to get done

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you now do guided meditation

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as a your job as one of the many

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that

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was

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the beginning

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of feeling totally I was like I loved the idea of like coming together and like centering and like we did not I did not go to a religious school we were not like you know praying or anything but so I was like what can we rally around put our hands in there more than just a rally call cool yeah did you have

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any I was just gonna say our rally call in high school was a prayer yeah But it was like screaming a prayer. It was like, little flower, give us power. Help us win this game. Before your basketball game? Yeah. Just a little prayer to the Virgin Mary.

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Help us win. Okay. I mean, it's very classic. I feel like the Catholic sports leagues. Yeah. their game

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right

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and their mindset

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one of the ways that we would come together in college and in high school was coming up with the warm-up music uh-huh yeah yeah so it was so great everybody got to like give suggestions the seniors eventually were like the ones that would give playlists um it was always it was an actual mixtape okay oh that's and it was and we would travel with it yeah and we would play it on the bus growing up i know all those i know the the mixtape on the bus and i know the mixtape and

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then i think when we have to recreate your playlist from high school we um when we had away games we would travel there from like so we played in i went to french american and we played other private schools in the city and then other ones outside of the city and we wouldn't we would travel we always listened to kmel jams 106.1 the radio the radio yeah i know it's so funny to think of like what how how low low key i mean no one had phones back then either

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right i think some people Some

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people had Walkman to get, like, pumps. Like on the days that she's playing. Love that. And so she packs her bag so that way it's like done. And one of the things that she puts in there is extra shoelaces. And she did say that during a game once a shoelace broke and she's like, oh, no problem. I have extra shoelaces. She's going to be a fabulous

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parent if she ever becomes one. I still have nightmares of bringing the wrong uniform or forgetting my sneakers, my court sneakers or forgetting a sports bra. Do you have nightmares like this? It's like having just lost my keys. This is like my biggest anxiety. So remembering shoelaces is really over the top organized

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and responsible. Somebody asked her about, you know, what are her pregame rituals? And she was like, oh, it's basically very easy. I have this square bag and these are all the things that go inside of it. And then she just listed them off, including perfume. I was like, you're so French. Cocoa. Mademoiselle. Have you ever

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smelled that?

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I mean, it's from Chanel. So probably. That's

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the American in me. The non-binary sensitive. Where you're like, that sounds insane. Why do you need makeup? I said makeup. Why do you need perfume to play basketball?

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But it's just like, it's so sensual. You get into your body. So I feel like you're not trying to invade other people's space. Like that would be putting on too much. Or are you? You

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know those kids, remember the kids that would spray Axe on themselves? Oh God, so bad. I don't think it was Coco Chanel.

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No, no, please. But that's it for her pregame ritual. Okay, so anything else about her that we haven't yet

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emphasized enough? The mixture of great, this is not the first player on this team that has brought up like that theme of Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. men or like if your mom passes away all these other basketball players that are sort of like their teammates and parenting and then they sort of like swoop in and like the players that were played on my dad's team have just been like uncles to us basketball is like we talked about it sort of being like artistic but like it's also just the team is more than a team and I think that's where like I don't know I can relate to Ileana digging into basketball in that sense of like

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and her mom community I mean her mom has really made it her it seems like you know one of her priorities is to go and see her kids play wherever they're playing

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yeah I saw that photo and she looks younger than us correct yes I think she's probably around our same age but she looks great her dad was born in 1977 so that would make him two years older than me yeah and her mom is

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also a teacher

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oh

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really yeah she's a high school teacher so that she does two things she's like a high school teacher and then she also is in like wealth management so she rotates to different high schools in so she's still in in La Sarte which is halfway between Paris and West Coast Brittany

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she's taking personal days and well

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maybe she's not like a classic teacher yeah and then she has she works in wealth management like real estate okay as we come to the end of this episode yeah We have to say who are we doing next? Are you ready? Yes, I'm ready. Because we only have two choices. There's two choices. So let's see. Because I'm really debating. Let me

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think. Let me think.

SPEAKER_00: 36:49

I'm really debating. I

SPEAKER_01: 36:50

know. Okay, I'm ready.

SPEAKER_00: 36:54

One, two, three. Kyla Charles.

SPEAKER_01: 36:56

Okay,

SPEAKER_00: 36:57

why Kyla first? Because she has been playing a lot of minutes and putting up a lot of points and Are we saving Caitlyn

SPEAKER_01: 37:07

Chen for last to just see if she can sell more jerseys?

SPEAKER_00: 37:12

And, like, she has such a great fan base, and I would say Caitlyn Chen has been there longer, maybe? Because she was there from the beginning? Yeah, and a Bay Climax finale.

SPEAKER_01: 37:24

Beautiful. Love that.

SPEAKER_00: 37:26

Okay, what about our

SPEAKER_01: 37:28

song? Um... So because she was my mystery. Okay. Because she started midway through the season. And I was like, you're on the roster, but you're never here. And where are you? And then suddenly she appeared like the fairy godmother and started making threes. So this is the one that I thought was like, she's magical.

SPEAKER_02: 37:49

Okay.

SPEAKER_00: 37:57

So we do it together. So that's

SPEAKER_01: 38:07

Lady Gaga. Do you have one?

SPEAKER_00: 38:09

Well, I have Aya Nakamura, who was the awesome French rapper who was sort of controversial at the Olympics because some folks were like, she is too vulgar in her lyrics. And other people were like, is it because she's black that you're saying that? Right? Versus like she's not Edith Piaf. But she's an amazing rapper. And she has one called Les Copines. And Copines is friends. Female friends.

UNKNOWN: 38:39

Les Copines.

SPEAKER_02: 38:42

so

SPEAKER_00: 38:45

it's like the collective oh

SPEAKER_01: 38:51

the collective

SPEAKER_00: 38:52

shout out to her

SPEAKER_01: 38:53

friends

SPEAKER_00: 38:54

yep okay well thank you

SPEAKER_01: 38:56

listeners you make us do this at really late times of the night you inspire us you motivate us thank you for

SPEAKER_00: 39:05

being a friend um

SPEAKER_01: 39:08

okay that's it All right. This is Raina. And Vanessa. This is Valkyries Say Less.

SPEAKER_00: 39:17

See you at Valhalla. Valkyries.