This interview by former WNBA (and fellow UCONN alum) Sue Bird from late June with WNBA’s Kaitlyn Chen of the Golden State Valkyries appeared in my YouTube feed recently. I think this is the longest interview I’ve seen ever with Chen since she’s been playing in the WNBA:
“In this episode, Sue chats with Golden State Valkyries guard Kaitlyn Chen (who happened to be calling in using her backcourt partner Veronica Burton’s iPad!). Entering her second WNBA season, Kaitlyn reflects on her unique path to the pros—from anchoring a dominant program at Princeton to playing a more strategic role on UConn’s championship team alongside Paige and Azzi, and navigating the emotional roller coaster of her rookie WNBA season. Kaitlyn shares what it means to be the first Taiwanese-American player in the WNBA, playing under the league’s first Japanese-American head coach, Natalie Nakase, while embracing the passionate Bay Area fan base. She also breaks down how she handles the fast-changing business of the league, finding her voice as a leader, and maintaining an aggressive edge on the court against the “talls.”
I’ve seen Chen play since her debut with the Golden State Valkyries but have yet to meet her one-on-one to interview her. The Taiwanese American community is pretty small and well connected. It didn’t surpirse me to find out when Chen was starting off in the WNBA that a Love Boat friend of mine actually went to medical school with her mom.
