🎙️ Season 1, Episode 8: "All About Mo – Monique Billings, our Valkyries Renaissance Woman"

This episode highlights one of the Valkyries’ finest players: Monique Billings, wearing jersey #25. From dominating at UCLA to making her mark in Atlanta, and now rocking black and violet in the Bay, Mo’s journey is all about playing excellent basketball and being a true renaissance woman! 

Tune in as we discuss why she's the best. We 💜 Monique Billings!

P.S. Huge thanks to KPIX and journalist Kelsi Thorud for the tv feature about our podcast—we’re feeling the love and so, so grateful! 🏀💜🔥🖤

Check it out here if you haven’t seen it yet :)

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:00

Okay, there's a super delay because you are across the ocean. This is very special the way we're doing this recording. I

SPEAKER_01 0:20

am. I was going to say I am not in a bunk bed with you.

SPEAKER_02 0:24

We're not in a bunk bed in our recording studio. Where are you, Vanessa, for our listeners? Let them know. Oh,

SPEAKER_01 0:29

okay. All right. First of all, hello, or should I say bonjour? Because I am in the French Alps and I'm standing, I'm not standing, I'm sitting in my childhood bedroom in my grandparents' chalet in this tiny little ski village in the French Alps called Semois.

SPEAKER_02 0:51

Semois.

SPEAKER_01 0:52

Where are you?

SPEAKER_02 0:53

I am. I had to think about it for a second. I'm on my cross country road trip with my family and I am in a hotel in the business center in Cheyenne, Wyoming. I don't know if I'm saying Cheyenne right. I think I am. But yeah, we are day two. So we've traveled about. 20 hours. It's a lot. Yes, it's been a second since we recorded our last episode. A lot has happened. Since you're in Europe, give us a little info on the Eurobasket. Our Valkyries are over there. A few of them. A bunch of them.

SPEAKER_01 1:30

Oh, amazing to be on the continent as Eurobasket was happening. Though, of course... Not exactly, like, close to where the games were happening.

SPEAKER_02 1:40

Yeah, we were a little bit American and are like, let's get you tickets so you can go. And meanwhile, it's like in Finland and Latvia and Poland. Where else was it? Yeah, not near you, but on the same continent. Not near me.

SPEAKER_01 1:56

I know. It was a dream for a hot second. But, all right, so we're just going to go close to home to the motherland first. We, of course, were paying close attention to France. And we made it to the semifinals against Spain with who did you just say?

SPEAKER_02 2:12

Salon.

SPEAKER_01 2:13

Salon and Rupert,

SPEAKER_02 2:14

Mystery Rupert, who's on our roster for the Valkyries. I

SPEAKER_01 2:17

know. We're going to get into this in a little bit because this is going to be nuts post-Eurobasket about what's happening to our roster. I know. Okay, but to Finished with Eurobasket. So France lost by a heart-achingly hard loss of one point to Spain. So nothing is harder, I think, to get over than when you lose by such a close one. So it meant that they then went to the bronze medal match, and they lost the bronze as well. So France is not technically on the podium, but always a gold medal winner. in our hearts.

SPEAKER_02 2:55

Well, in my weird not mathematical calculation, since Spain got the silver, actually France should have gotten a bronze. I mean, they kind of feel like third place if Spain was in second place. So Belgium had an amazing game last night in the last three minutes, made a comeback like crazy. And our girl, Van Loo, had an amazing game. JBL. made the last point, a foul shot. And JPL. Julie Van Loo. Julie Van Loo. So she'll be back now as a champion Eurobasket. And then Kiara Linskins, who we waived, who's no longer on the Valkyries, had also a wonderful game. I was watching her. She was one of my faves when we started the season. And so she had a wonderful game yesterday. And yeah, they won 14 to 0 runs, turned up the defense and won that championship. It was awesome. So you hinted at the drama. I think you called it dramatics when we were having our primary conversation. And what are your thoughts on what's going to happen when all these, I'm calling them Eurobasketeers. When they come back from Europe

SPEAKER_01 4:05

now... I'm nervous. You're nervous. Very nervous. Okay,

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why? I

SPEAKER_01 4:09

think the fans are very nervous. The comments right now are popping off on all social medias. People can't stop talking about the roster, you know, the upcoming roster changes.

SPEAKER_00 4:20

As

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the players return and coach Nakase and her coaching staff are having to decide who stays, who goes, we've seen just some amazing basketball fans from rookie caitlyn chen as well as me here non-rookie shining me here just i mean amazing whether it's like three point style no i was gonna say her i was gonna go into her and then bibby i mean it's just i didn't even i

SPEAKER_02 4:50

just love saying bibby bibby is yeah really amazing as well like um i did not see her coming and then when she gets these these playing minutes in key moments caitlin chen in key moments and me here all over the place like the whole game i feel like she's playing like 25 minutes a game um It's just really going to be hard because listeners, if you don't know, there are only 12 spots on the roster. We have these hardship contracts for these players that are filling in the gaps while the European, the international players went to play Eurobasket. Now they're all coming home. Eurobasket is over. And Coach Nakase has, I'm sure she has a master plan, but for me, it would be really hard decisions.

SPEAKER_01 5:33

Well, the pressure has been on these players, too, because I'm sure in some ways the ones who are on the short-term contracts are playing their hearts out, wondering if maybe if they play a certain way, maybe that's going to change things for their contracts.

SPEAKER_02 5:48

Yeah. Right. So I wish

SPEAKER_01 5:49

we had. I'm sure the ones coming back are also a bit nervous. Right. Because they've been winning. The Valks have been winning without the the initial core folks. Right. And the stadium has been I mean, the energy in the stadium, what we already thought was like wild electricity, I would say just seems to be increasing in terms of. The volume and the star, like the people who are showing up, the stars to come watch. Yeah. I love getting those updates from our friends who are at the games. Showing up. The celebrities. Jumping on the

SPEAKER_02 6:21

bandwagon with us. Yeah. Love it. Last night, Sue Bird was there. Oh, my goodness. Last night was hot. With her wife, Megan Rapinoe. Yes. Megan Rapinoe. I think Megan Rapinoe was down on the court.

SPEAKER_01 6:33

Megan Rapinoe, who was also going nuts on the drum. I saw that, yeah. In the best way, going nuts, like looking like she had such flair, wearing sunglasses and a cool outfit. And I would say really leaning in to banging that drum. We're like, wait, bring that.

SPEAKER_02 6:51

I listen to their podcast and they were calling it Bala Holland, Bala Hollerin or something. I think that it was great. They made it to the storm game. But it was kind of a funny part. Listen to that podcast if you get a chance where they're talking about their way. That's hilarious. They're all of the Valkyries vibe and the fans and filling up the stadium. How many times in a row now? Are we up to like

SPEAKER_01 7:16

eight or ten? Double digits, 10.

SPEAKER_02 7:19

It's crazy. People are just really needing this in their lives so much that they flew down from Seattle to see the game and bang a drum. And then Steph Curry was there last night

SPEAKER_01 7:30

as well. That was awesome. I only saw a little pic of him, but I was like, I...

SPEAKER_02 7:36

Well, he's also conflicted, perhaps, because he's invested in the unrivaled three-on-three women's league. So it's funny that we have these people that are like, oh, maybe I should have invested in the Valkyries, but I'm

SPEAKER_01 7:47

going to show up.

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I need to be

SPEAKER_01 7:48

part of this. Everyone should be like Mina Harris and invest in the Valkyries. Everyone. If you're in the Bay, this is the best thing happening in the Bay. I

SPEAKER_02 7:57

know. $35 a game is worth every little penny, I have to say. Should invest. So awesome. Yeah, last night was a wonderful game. Kind of a blowout. I would say the game before for pride was more exciting for me to watch I

SPEAKER_01 8:09

think last night was also for pride because I'm pretty sure they had like some awesome performances before last night's game too with various like members of the LGBTQ community from San Francisco and drag queens and just like so yeah end of pride month fired up and wait also we didn't mention in terms of celebrities Don Staley Who, I mean, the big buzz right now with her is the question, is she going to be tapped to be the Knicks' new head coach? Oh, yes. I didn't catch that. I know, which would be she'd be the first, like, woman, the first African-American woman. I mean, major news. Of course, the comments, it's, you know, fascinating to read what folks think about that. I prefer to just, when people start getting weird and negative and... machismo and misogynist i prefer to just laugh it off and just be like the trolls keep trolling

SPEAKER_02 9:05

and yes and let's let's just watch what she does with the next um it's not confirmed it's not confirmed this is just okay

SPEAKER_01 9:12

word on the street

SPEAKER_02 9:14

no so we but often when you say things they they are true often uh-huh they you make them true uh-huh

SPEAKER_01 9:21

it's true it's called like it's called manifesting Manifesting. Manifesting.

SPEAKER_02 9:28

What about womanifesting?

SPEAKER_01 9:30

Oh, please. That's way better. Thank you. Womanifesting. Thank you. You're changing my life right now. Womanifesting. I can't believe I've been saying manifesting.

SPEAKER_02 9:40

Maybe it sounds better in French. Womanifesting? Womanfesting. Okay. Let's focus. Let's focus. Fine. Back to the Valks. Back to the Valks. Anything else about the last two games? Oh, KT. Injuries. Taylor Thornton got hurt last night. An injury. Yeah. Yeah. I think she left the game and didn't come back. But the word on the social media and the news is that she's okay. It was a minor injury and she'll be back. It's what her

SPEAKER_01 10:07

dad reported. That's what her dad reported?

UNKNOWN 10:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:10

Do you have an inside scoop of their dad? Well, that's what somebody on the Facebook group for the Valkyries fan club said that her dad said. And I'm like, oh, is that because you're sitting next to her dad and he said this? Or are you pals? Or is this just the news outlet saying this?

SPEAKER_02 10:24

I do hope that she is fine. And she'll be back because she had her career high of 29 points on Friday. Yeah, mama. She was just roaring with positive energy. Just... amazing like just a really cool game to watch non-stop yeah

SPEAKER_01 10:42

non-stop stank

SPEAKER_02 10:43

face vanessa's making the kt face you kind of look like um um also injury report carla late yeah carla late is in street clothes i've been noticing i haven't read much about what's going on with her back She's there, which is a good sign. But I hope she's feeling better soon. Have you seen anything about her on the French side of things?

SPEAKER_01 11:07

Have not seen a timeline. Just heard it was her back. French media not reporting anything we don't know. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 11:14

Yeah, and shout out to KPIX. You saw it live, right? Yeah, thank you to Kelsey. What's Kelsey's last name? Kelsey. Kelsey Thoreau. Yeah, she was the one that got in touch with us for the little KPIX thing. So thank you to her and thank you to KPIX for giving us a little blast. I think KPIX and

SPEAKER_01 11:34

Kelsey did a great job. Yeah,

SPEAKER_02 11:36

it was great. I really liked it.

SPEAKER_01 11:38

Because they were with us for an hour and a half and somehow managed to condense, you know, everything that we shared with them into a two minute segment that was just so compact and pretty. Very cute. Yeah. It's incredible. That

SPEAKER_02 11:56

was very cute. Yes. So let's get into Monique Billings. Let's get into it. Mo Billings, number 25. Yeah. So, yeah, the Valks are now nine and seven. She's been a huge part of this. What is your what's your vibe with Mo Billings, Monique Billings?

SPEAKER_01 12:13

All right. Here we go again. I love her so much. I just didn't know enough about her. And so it's like I loved all the other ones, you know, maybe a tiny bit more because I hadn't done my research yet. I get into her and I am totally just blown away. Renaissance woman does everything. Does everything. Like, I can't believe, like, the level of, like, expertise as a player. Mm-hmm. as a sportscaster, as a vlogger, as a beauty-style influencer, as a family and faith woman. Like, this is unbelievable. Like, Mo Billings has her own website.

SPEAKER_02 13:00

Right. Well, yes, and wrote her own first book while playing in Europe, while playing in Russia in a cold Russian winter. Yes, yes. Wrote her own book. And so her first book is out. A wellness book. And it's sold out. I want to tell you. Moe Billings reminds me a lot of you. And so I reached out because it's sold out. And I am trying to get you a copy. of her book because I think you two are kindred spirits. So I sent a little email off trying to figure out, at least get the info. I didn't actually ask for a free book because that's not my personality, but I asked when they would have more because I'm trying to buy you a book. And when they would have more in stock and when she's going to do book readings at Green Apple Books and... so we can support her project I said in the off season I'm not trying to push her she is a renaissance woman but she needs to do what she up to like five hour practices a day she's a warrior I don't think she has time for a book tour right now but maybe in the off season that'd be fun to have in the off season when she's not when she's not playing overseas yeah The second edition will come out. So her book is called Finding Balance, Playbook for Wellness. What's your take on that? How do you connect to that? I

SPEAKER_01 14:25

just laugh. I was like, wait, did I try and write this book, but I am not Moby Lynx? So it doesn't translate the same way, because I'm not drawing from my extensive experience at all. Well, I

SPEAKER_02 14:41

don't think you knew about this book where in a couple episodes ago, you were mentioning the connection between being an athlete and maintaining mental health. health and mental wellness and spiritual wellness. I don't know if you're getting into that, but with your meditation. I would

SPEAKER_01 15:02

love to read her tips and tools and to try and apply them.

SPEAKER_02 15:06

It is on Kindle, but I thought that would be a little forward of me to buy you a Kindle book. But if you just can't wait, you can get it on Amazon. I'm also kind of boycotting Amazon. So I would like the money all to go to Monique Billings. But if you really can't wait, you could get it on there if you have a Kindle. Okay, should we get into our game? Yeah, so our game today is it's a hot topic in the teacher world. In the world, I would even say. In the world. But also just as a teacher, we had a big year with learning how to use AI and how to spot AI and

SPEAKER_01 15:45

there's a lot of opinions there's also a lot of fear and there's basically a lot of like non-practicing I feel like I wish there was more time built into professional developments where teachers were given different sites to check out but really just to play and talk to each other about like what AI options exist and like how can they use it it's not going away so it's like

SPEAKER_02 16:04

you're

SPEAKER_01 16:05

either you know leaning in or leaning out and And then be able to talk about it from a place of knowledge versus... Of knowledge. Just opinions.

SPEAKER_02 16:15

Yeah, there's a lot of policing of students, I feel, is like a big stressor, a negative stressor of like, how do we control this? Sort of like when students had access to Google and we went through that as teachers of like, oh my gosh, they're just going to cheat all the time. Yeah. But yeah, I think if we use it as a tool... then perhaps life is easier, right? That's the goal, that robots make life easier, and then we can all have a three-day work week. Is that the end goal?

SPEAKER_01 16:47

Well, it also, it's just like you can use it to do things to free that are more mundane, and then it frees up your time to spend on creating stuff that robots can't do.

SPEAKER_02 17:01

Okay, so we are taking advantage of of the robot today in our busy life. We've both been traveling, so I thought this was a great time to take advantage of AI. Thank you. I made a little game on Claude, which is the AI tool that my school has sort of said is less risky and more high school age appropriate. And it actually created a game for us, and the game is called Monique Billings Trivia, the ultimate Monique Billings quiz. So we're going to press click on that in your notes over in France. Can you start your quiz? I did. We're going to see how

SPEAKER_01 17:42

AI did for us. I'm on question one already. So question one, I'm going to read it to you. What is Monique Billings' birth date? Wow. May 2nd, 1996, June 15th, 1995, April 8th, 1997, March 20th, 1996. Which one, Raina? I have no idea. I'm going to go closest to, I'm going to say June 15th, 1995. Wrong. What is it? It's May 2nd, 1996. I didn't even have to click on that. You know how I remembered? How? Mo B is a Taurus like myself. Okay. She's a May baby.

SPEAKER_02 18:14

I don't know why. Another thing I lack is knowledge of horoscopes.

SPEAKER_01 18:18

Making a connection. Okay. Okay, I'm just going to click on May 2nd, 1996. Submit answer.

SPEAKER_02 18:23

Okay. Next. Question number two. In which city was Monique Billings born and raised? Los Angeles, California, Corona, California, San Diego, California, Riverside, California. Clearly down south. She's a Southern Cali girl. Do you know the answer? Corona. Corona is correct.

SPEAKER_01 18:40

Yeah, Corona. SoCal. She's a Cali girl. She loves that LA vibe. Okay, question three. What elementary school... Did Monique Billings attend Corona Elementary, St. Edward Catholic School, Riverside Elementary, Santiago Elementary?

SPEAKER_02 18:57

My dad's name, I remember. Edward, St. Edward Catholic School. Totally. I was worried for a second. I don't remember her being Catholic. I didn't realize I had that connection with her. I was raised Catholic as well. Well, maybe she's not Catholic. She went to a Catholic school.

SPEAKER_01 19:11

Connections. All right, question four. I guess the thing to note about this quiz also is that we actually are not finding out the answers as we do it. We're going to find it out at the end.

SPEAKER_02 19:21

No, it gives you a green. No, it gives you green. If it's wrong, it's red. Oh, it does? Yeah. Okay. So I got one wrong, so I know it's red. You got it. I got the birthday one wrong. All right, you read the next one. How tall is Moe Billings? 6'2", 6'3", 6'4", 6'5". Oh,

SPEAKER_01 19:35

okay. I was hesitating between 6'2 and 6'4". I'm going to say 6'2". No, it was 6'4". Forwards are usually taller. Next question. Which high school did Monique Billings attend? Corona High School, Santiago, Riverside, or Norco? I have no idea. Corona or Riverside. I'm going with Corona.

SPEAKER_02 19:55

It was Santiago. It

SPEAKER_01 19:57

was Santiago. Okay. Question six. Besides basketball... Wait, since we're on the... Since we're on the question about high school, is there anything that you want to say about what you learned about her in high school?

SPEAKER_02 20:08

Thank you for pointing out that we were getting sucked into the computer game and not doing our podcast. But yeah, let's talk about her childhood. So we mentioned that she went to Catholic school, St. Edward's Catholic School, from Corona, Cali girl. Her dad played recreationally and then introduced her to basketball at age five. And she's very self-declared girly girl and was just like, no, basketball is too... tomboy for me, but fell in love with it. And then basically was raised with her dad as her workout buddy, she calls him. Yeah, she did well in high school. Do you have any high school info? She did track and field also, right? Oh, yeah. I just called out. I was teasing Kayla Thornton for not doing high jump. Monique Billings was a high jumper. I couldn't find her PR, her personal record, but she said she had some good ones.

SPEAKER_01 20:59

So what's, okay, go back to what's question six.

SPEAKER_02 21:02

Besides basketball, what other sports did Monique participate in during high school? Just did that, track and field. Submit answer. Correct.

SPEAKER_01 21:10

Question seven. How many years was Monique Billings a letterman in basketball at Santiago High School? I'm

SPEAKER_02 21:17

going to say four. I

SPEAKER_01 21:18

would assume. I want to say four, too.

SPEAKER_02 21:20

She's been playing since she was five years old, right? So, yes, I think that makes sense. Yes, four years. She played four years of high school basketball. Wow, AI really likes high school. I didn't do a lot of research, so let's see. What was Monique Billing's recruiting ranking coming out of high school? Top 10, top 20, top 30, or top 40? All right.

SPEAKER_01 21:39

I feel like it was 25, so it would be top 30.

SPEAKER_02 21:42

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 21:43

Okay. Top 30. Wow, that's a good

SPEAKER_02 21:45

memory. I'm not sure.

SPEAKER_01 21:46

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 21:47

Yes, you're correct. Top 30. I womanifested it. You say it. You womanifested it. Okay. Question nine. Which college did Monique Billings attend? Easy.

SPEAKER_01 21:58

Eucla, as we say in France. UCLA. She is... Okay, so talking a little bit about UCLA. Two of the four years, she started every single game of that season.

UNKNOWN 22:12

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_01 22:13

So sophomore, junior year. The other two years, so I guess freshman and senior, she started in like 95% of the games. So she basically was a key player for UCLA, all-around American key player. And two times UCLA made it to the Sweet 16, sophomore, junior year. Last year, her senior year, made it to the Elite Eight. And she's credited for being a key player in that.

SPEAKER_02 22:41

She started vlogging while she was in college, when she was a junior in college. Vlogging, is that term still used? Video blogging. Video blogging, yeah. So she was a vlogger, and I think that's where she realized her love of being a personality on the camera. Her childhood role model, that's not in the AI. Do you know that one? Oh, wait. It's not Michelle Obama. It's not Cheryl Swoops.

SPEAKER_01 23:10

Wait, she's on a famous TV show, isn't she?

SPEAKER_02 23:12

It was Tyra Banks.

SPEAKER_01 23:13

That's it.

SPEAKER_02 23:14

That's

SPEAKER_01 23:15

it.

SPEAKER_02 23:16

Which I think is really funny. But it's in line with her. She has this passion or this ambition to be on TV. She said she wanted to be on Dancing with the Stars. Oh, my

SPEAKER_01 23:25

goodness. I love this.

SPEAKER_02 23:27

She's such a

SPEAKER_01 23:27

personality. And we need people like her to be the people that we watch on TV. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 23:33

Anything else in UCLA that we should mention? I think I saw one more thing.

SPEAKER_01 23:37

Well, okay, this question is question 10. What conference did UCLA compete in during Monique's college career? Pac-10, Pac-12, West Coast, Mountain West. I'm pretty sure I know.

SPEAKER_02 23:53

Pac-12.

SPEAKER_01 23:54

I think it's the Pac-12.

SPEAKER_02 23:55

I get all those things mixed up. Are we right? Yes. Oh, look at us being little sportscasters. Yeah. We're studying up. Oh, oh, the other thing in college that she is another, like, high IQ, very Coach Nakase's type, that she studied sociology in college and her favorite classes were African American studies. So, yeah, bring that to Dancing with the Stars. Love it. Mm-hmm. Okay, question 11. What was Monique Billing's career average for rebounds per game at UCLA? I don't know. Yeah, I mean, 7.1, 8.2, 9.5, 6.8. Let's say 8.2. I'm not sure. Is this? Yeah. No,

SPEAKER_01 24:40

we're getting to know AI. I'm going to say 8.2, but I'm really guessing here. I didn't remember. Good

SPEAKER_02 24:48

job. All right. 8.2. No outliers there. It had to be somewhere in the middle. Question 12. Where does Monique Billings rank in UCLA program history for blocked shots? I think I know this one.

SPEAKER_01 25:02

God, I want her to be first. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 25:05

Yes. Score.

SPEAKER_01 25:07

First

SPEAKER_02 25:08

in blocked shots. Awesome. Record

SPEAKER_01 25:11

holder there. Okay, just to make a connection with Monique. Yes, go. I was not a shot blocker. i think my limited height my limited height may have contributed i'm like how tall are you you're five two i'm not yeah yeah i'm not six four but i i love watching yeah like the athletes block shots there was an amazing one in the last valx game i think by leticia that was like All arms just swooping that ball out of Valhalla. Yes, love it. And I love when it's nice and clean.

SPEAKER_02 25:50

So clean. But yeah, there's some heavy-duty blocking going on on the Valks. So cool. Monique Billings. Let's see. Question 13.

SPEAKER_01 26:00

Question 13. As a senior at UCLA, Monique ranked first in the Pac-12 in which statistical category? Scoring, blocked shots, rebounding, field goal percentage.

SPEAKER_02 26:13

Was this a trick question? I feel like AI doesn't really give a lot of trick questions. Is it blocked shots again? I mean, we just talked about blocked shots. No, it's rebounding. Ooh, throwing us a

SPEAKER_01 26:23

whammy. Okay, as a senior. Good job, AI. Okay, well, this is another example of the Valks are becoming known for their defense in the league. Yeah,

SPEAKER_02 26:35

we are becoming one of the best defenses in the league. I think that's Coach Nakase's goal is to just... Dissect what the other team is going to do and then create these amazing matchups like we saw with Caitlin

SPEAKER_01 26:49

Clark. And win the championship. And

SPEAKER_02 26:50

win the championship. Which team drafted Monique Billings in 2018? We kind of hinted at this one. LA Sparks, Atlanta Dream, Phoenix Mercury, Seattle Storm. Which one is it, Vanessa? Atlanta... Atlanta dream. So off from no longer living in Cali, she was drafted to Atlanta. How long was she there? That's not in the AI question. I want to say five years. How long?

SPEAKER_01 27:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 27:23

Is that true? I think she played five seasons there. My notes are written in the backseat of a Prius, so... They're little all over the place. But she was drafted straight out of UCLA to the dream. Oh, Atlanta's where she bought her first home. Like, what a grown-up moment. So she really loves Atlanta. She's lived in different parts of Atlanta, bought her first home in Mableton. I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 27:48

She was there from 2018 to 2023. Thank you. And she was drafted 15th overall.

SPEAKER_02 27:56

She played power forward there. At Atlanta. And then in the offseason, another player, international, she played in 10 different countries in five years. So Greece, Turkey, Russia, Korea, to name a few. I

SPEAKER_01 28:14

know. It's amazing the number of countries that have women basketball leagues. Actually, that's... You know, it's inspiring.

SPEAKER_02 28:22

Let's see. Okay. Go back to our quiz. Question 15. What overall pick was Monique Billings in the 2018 WNBA draft? We just said this. We just said it. 15th. Yep. 15th overall. Okay. Okay. Which team selected Monique Billings in the 2025 WNBA expansion draft? Hello.

SPEAKER_01 28:41

Oh,

SPEAKER_02 28:41

duh. The Valks. All right. So, see, this is where AI doesn't know the student. We know this so easily. Okay. Oh, look at them. They put AI. Look at them. AI is a team. AI put Toronto Tempo there. Oh, and Portland Fire. Is that the name of the Portland team?

SPEAKER_01 28:58

Well, they filed a trademark, but it's very controversial. People are not happy. That's what they used to be called. And now that there have been so many highly destructive fires in Oregon, there's quite an uproar by some folks saying it's lazy of them to just rename them the name that they had before. Why don't they start afresh? Portland's having some problems. I don't know if you've been following. They fired after three months the president of the WNBA Portland team But they just instated an interim person, which was she was head of Nike before. So I think they're going through some growing pains and part of that might have to do. They're

SPEAKER_02 29:38

still going to be part of the draft, though. Yeah,

SPEAKER_01 29:43

Portland and Toronto are the two teams for next year.

SPEAKER_02 29:46

And I love Bay Area Breakers. If you're not from the Bay Area, there's a run. It's a very silly run where you get in a costume and you run from the Bay out to the Breakers, the waves of Ocean Beach. So that would be a funny name for it. Maybe we'll have an ABA, a WABA team or a minor league that we could have Bay Area Breakers.

SPEAKER_01 30:05

Oh, wait, but hold on, because I wanted to say between the Dream and GSV. Where else did she play? Let's expand this for the listeners. Because she's played in four WNBA teams. So she played five seasons, 2018 to 2023 with Atlanta. And she joined Golden State in 25. So between 23 and 25, where did she play?

SPEAKER_02 30:30

Well, these are sort of hiccups in her life, I would say. She had a hardship contract with the Dallas Wings in 2024. Um, but then she was released. She was waived. And then she went to Mercury for seven days, a seven day contract. She loves traveling. So hitting up Dallas and Phoenix on, on the, on the way to the Valks.

SPEAKER_01 30:53

All right. What Jersey number? Question 17. What Jersey number does Monique Billings wear with the date of

SPEAKER_02 30:58

most birth? 25.

SPEAKER_01 30:59

Easy.

SPEAKER_02 31:00

That's easy to remember.

SPEAKER_01 31:01

Yeah. All right. Question 18. Ooh, this is a good one for us. What is Monique Billings' primary position?

SPEAKER_02 31:11

Well, let's see what AI scans. So AI goes through the whole internet, right? I think she's historically been a power forward. I'm going to click on that. Nope. Oh my gosh. Just a regular forward. But she said she's a power forward. She says that. AI should listen to the person.

SPEAKER_01 31:25

Well, this is where...

SPEAKER_02 31:26

This is where the internet...

SPEAKER_01 31:28

Also, Raina, do you want to break down the difference between power forward and forward? Sure. Power

SPEAKER_02 31:33

forward? Power forward, I mean, it's in the name. You're just maybe a little taller or stronger. You're relied upon for offensive and defensive rebounds. Maybe you're not running around the wings as much. You're sort of hanging out in the paint or near the basket. The paint, the key, under the basket, that's all the same stuff. So power forward, yeah, you're throwing elbows. Or using your forearm. That was my dad's.

SPEAKER_01 32:02

What about small forward for using this as an educational moment?

SPEAKER_02 32:09

Small forward and swing guard are sort of the same. I mean, the NBA and the WNBA have changed so much that small forwards are kind of like guards now in my mind. Like they're pulling up for threes if they want to. They're setting screens outside of the paint. I don't know. What's the difference between a small forward and a swing guard? I don't know. Okay. A swingman, also known as a guard forward, is a player who can play both shooting guard and small forward positions. All right. Next question. Small forward is a versatile player. I mean, the classic Nakase just wants somebody that can do it all.

SPEAKER_01 32:54

Classic Nakase.

UNKNOWN 32:55

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 32:56

So while small forwards are often described as versatile, the term swingman specifically highlights their ability to play both shooting guard and small forward positions. Okay, so swingman is sort of in between a guard and a small forward. I don't know. Okay. I feel like everyone just needs to be a guard. If you're going to go professional, you need to be able to dribble and take a three-pointer because that's how the game is evolving.

SPEAKER_01 33:25

Yes, I guess I just, yeah, I assume, yeah, everyone has to do those. Those are like basic skills. The guards are the ones who are calling the plays and like leading us into the play, which is the difference between them and the forwards and centers. But I assume in terms of skills, everyone needs to be able to shoot also at all ranges, except that the folks who are taller and closer to the basket really need to be able to muscle their way in on a more regular basis. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 33:57

It's just, when we were growing up, the forwards, I wasn't expected to practice three-point shots as a forward. Like, old-school basketball is like, you camp out, and you do mic and drills, and you make your layups, basically. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then you set good screens as a big person, but then you basically are camping out. Yeah. I don't know. The game has changed. The game has changed. We're getting old. Question 19, almost done with our game. In the... 2024 season, Monique was one of only seven WNBA players to average at least 1.1 steals and how many blocks per game? That's a wordy question, AI. So in 2024, how many blocks per game, basically? I'm going with the highest

SPEAKER_01 34:44

one that is offered, 1.5. I'm going to do 1.0.

SPEAKER_02 34:50

It's in the middle.

SPEAKER_04 34:52

You

SPEAKER_02 34:52

are right. I'm right. I think this is just me getting to know AI. Okay, so one block. This is a silly question. The last question, what is Monique Billings' Instagram handle? I

SPEAKER_01 35:07

mean, I feel like we should know this because we're following her. I think it's mbillings25. I think so.

SPEAKER_02 35:14

I think so. I'm going to click on it.

SPEAKER_01 35:15

It's not.

SPEAKER_02 35:16

Oh, she owns monique.billings. Awesome. Yeah. Well, I got a score of 70%. What was your score? Same. So as a teacher, how do you think this quiz works for you? Is this quality education?

SPEAKER_01 35:32

Well, I mean, I think it's an entryway into being able to talk about her because it breaks down what we know about her into different categories. And it's like an opening, like a launch pad.

SPEAKER_03 35:47

I

SPEAKER_01 35:48

would say if you just did this Not enough, but I guess if you were like, hey kids, go research and then do this quiz.

SPEAKER_02 35:57

It's kind of a fun way to check in, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 35:59

Also, it doesn't allow for you to make an ode. Yeah, I

SPEAKER_02 36:04

think if you see it as a jumping board into conversation. then it's, it's worth it. I'm not afraid of being replaced by a robot though. When I see that that's the type of teaching that an AI can do, like we're, we're not going to be replaced anytime soon.

SPEAKER_01 36:21

Oh no, no one, no one can, no one can replace this vibe.

SPEAKER_02 36:23

Because it obsessed with it, like with tedious things, like who cares about our Instagram handle or, and like kind of obsessed with UCLA. Well,

SPEAKER_01 36:31

since you're the one who created it though. Since you're the one who created it, were you able to look at the questions?

SPEAKER_02 36:39

So I received some training on how to do prompts. The more you give AI, the more structure you give it, the more confines you give it, the better it does. So maybe in my prompt, maybe I made the mistake of saying college twice, and then it really emphasized college. But I thought I said her college career, her professional career, her international career. But it asked no questions about her international career. And I also asked about her social media and made no questions about her thrifting or her music that she sings. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It really

SPEAKER_01 37:12

didn't get

SPEAKER_02 37:12

in.

SPEAKER_01 37:13

Or her broadcasting. No, it didn't get into any juicy details, any fun tidbits. Right. It didn't ask about her book. Yeah, she's a global keynote speaker. This woman is major. Mm-hmm. I'm like, do we want Mo Billings for president? Yes. Is she capable? Absolutely. Or

SPEAKER_02 37:36

maybe president of the Players Association. Can she take some leadership role there? Because the collective bargaining agreement is coming up for the WNBA's Players Association where they're going to renegotiate caps, how much players can get paid, and look at things like I think if you look at NBA history, the MNBA, the men history, there's a lot of really cool moments where people stepped up in a way that reminds me of Monique Billings' personality, where she's out there saying, like, we get paid more in Europe, and 90% of these players, of WNBA players, have to play in Europe to make ends meet. If you look back at, like, Oscar Robinson had a really cool antitrust case against the NBA. Yeah. Kareem had a case. And so it took people standing up to create change that would provide security for player. The men's league really is one of the strongest unions in the world. You know, if you look at the 1968 All-Star game, did you see that history? Like, can't you just picture Monique in that conference room being like, we're not going to play. Yeah. Unless you... fill our demands, right? They spent the whole day kind of going back and forth with the ownership, which is a weird word to me, the ownership. And they were saying, no, maybe later we'll talk about these demands. And then the players went into the office, Oscar Robinson, Jerry West, Elgin Baylor. And so there's like a standoff. And then they finally, the ownership finally conceded. Caved. Caved. Thank you. Yeah. To the demands. Yeah. To the demands, and they played the game. They played the all-star game. But it took those all-stars... In the final moments. Yeah, to say, like, we need more security. We need more financial security. We need more

SPEAKER_01 39:33

respect. Well, I think the attention that the W is bringing with, you know, we have several... key players that are involved in that. But the fanship is increasing. We are going for number one in merch selling, the Valks, in the entire league. We're possibly going to be the top merch sellers, which is crazy as an expansion team. Maybe only with the Fever going neck-to-neck with us. However, all of this, there's a lot of money coming in. And that wasn't always the case with the W. But obviously... It is just ripe. Like, the time is now. And it's important that the players receive the benefit of the financial magic that is happening.

UNKNOWN 40:19

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_01 40:19

Mm-hmm. So... Yeah. Okay. All right. And that

SPEAKER_02 40:21

money goes... The money that has the player's name and likeness goes straight to the players, right? I wish it did. Is that true? Yeah. Well, that's how my mom's getting money from my dad being in a video game. That they get a cut? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 40:40

I mean, I hope that they're getting it. I wouldn't have been surprised if they weren't.

SPEAKER_02 40:45

I mean, the renaissance, we're seeing this in all the women, and also in the rules that they have to finish college. That there's sort of this demand that in order to provide security, it's on the player. That these people have to provide their own security by everyone being a Renaissance woman. You have to get educated, you know, go to college for four years and

SPEAKER_01 41:07

then you have to have a social media following.

SPEAKER_02 41:09

Right.

SPEAKER_01 41:11

And you have to have some, and you have to have a bunch of side hustles, but

SPEAKER_02 41:13

ideally it's like you can play in the WNBA and then rest and, and recuperate. And that's enough after in the off season and not have to travel. And like, you know, if you want to have kids, like there's just all this, these, these players are just, And a pension, I think the pension needs to be able to take care of you after you give your body over to this intense practice.

SPEAKER_01 41:39

I'm curious if there's going to be changes regarding the roster size as well as number of games played. Because currently the W plays about half the games of the NBA, of the MNBA, the non-W.

UNKNOWN 41:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 41:55

And has a roster size of 12 versus 15. So

SPEAKER_02 41:59

look at learning from the men. It took a couple times to go to the owners to make those changes. And so I think this is a wonderful moment when you're looking at $500 million for the Valkyries. There's a lot of leverage there to say, nope, you've got to pay us more. All right. As we wrap up. Okay. So what did AI miss? Yeah, what did AI miss for us? What didn't we get to talk about with Monique Billings?

SPEAKER_01 42:23

Well, one of the things that we both wrote down as quotes that we really liked from her and that we didn't talk about, I feel like, enough, is that she said that the ocean and sunshine are like her medicine. And I was like, what a awesome statement from a SoCal girl who loves being from California, from Southern California, chose UCLA for also, like, the LA vibe, and now is up north and is talking about how much she loves, like, the Bay. Back in Cali. Yeah, and she is, again.

SPEAKER_02 42:54

She might need a

SPEAKER_01 42:55

wetsuit. Totally. She's surrounded by ocean.

SPEAKER_02 42:56

Let's design a Valkyries wetsuit.

SPEAKER_01 42:59

A little less sunshine. Dun, dun, dun. But, you know, hopefully she's going out to some of our favorite beaches. China Beach. I know. I

SPEAKER_02 43:09

saw a tip. Tiffany Hayes was down on our beach that we go to with her dogs. And also Carla Late was on a picnic at our favorite beach. Sometimes this feels like a little bit of, like, I want to respect your privacy. But, yeah, they're putting it

SPEAKER_01 43:27

out there. They're putting it on social media. My goal in life. Mm-hmm. is to see them in the wild, to see our Valks players outside of Valhalla and to be able to like... To hand

SPEAKER_02 43:40

them a mini flyer? Are you going to go up to them and... Here's our

SPEAKER_01 43:44

podcast. Here's our podcast. You have so many followers that maybe you aren't aware yet. No, I just want to give them props in the wild because I want them to feel also like they are recognized.

SPEAKER_03 43:57

Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_01 43:57

like outside of the arena right like these women are are very symbolic these valkyries these warrior women warriors like we we see you yeah we love you we love you we're gonna give you a high five high five anything else you want to say

SPEAKER_02 44:13

um also thrift storing that thing thrifting that was another one that came up i just saw that mobile links was over at the real real and which is a pretty more...

SPEAKER_01 44:24

Oh, cool. I saw that. I didn't realize the real, real was thrifting. I thought it was just, like, fancy. That's

SPEAKER_02 44:29

fun. It's, yeah, top luxury resale marketplace. It sounds like your jam. Oh, my gosh. You and Mobility need to be best friends with shopping. Yeah, yes. And so, yeah, she just did a... a little collab where RealReal had her over to the Montgomery Street brick and mortar, and she walked out with all those bags. Yeah. And it was super, super cool.

SPEAKER_01 44:54

For her tunnel fit.

SPEAKER_02 44:55

For her tunnel fit. Yeah, I didn't see which one she decided to wear. I really liked the white dress that she had. I wonder if that won. Azleta did a beautiful... One of the other things that Mobiling does is model, right? And I thought I had a beautiful photo shoot of Monique Billings rocking some...

SPEAKER_01 45:15

We love Mo

SPEAKER_02 45:16

Billings. Anything else about Mo Billings that we're not talking about? Her fashion, her style? I would... One thing that stuck out to me is that she is another woman of faith, another Christian player on the Valks. I think this is the third player in a row who in her deep dive would realize that their faith is super important.

SPEAKER_01 45:38

Another quote from her is God is my everything. I am a light. I know that I'm put on this earth to be a light.

SPEAKER_02 45:47

Yeah. She's, she's big into service as well. We didn't mention her father passed away from ALS and she's also a big advocate for bringing attention and funding to research for ALS. Another

SPEAKER_01 46:01

amazing example of the kind of woman she is.

SPEAKER_02 46:04

So that's about all we got on the amazing Mo Billings, Renaissance woman, bringing out her many talents across the globe. And we're looking for a book, Finding Balance Playbook for Wellness. Hopefully it'll be restocked soon. And I'll get you your little gift.

SPEAKER_01 46:25

Yay. Thank you. All right. Well, you know what's next. Our chant. What is our chant? Oh, wait. Before our chant.

SPEAKER_02 46:33

okay oh we have to do one two three who's the next one ready who's the next this is the next the topic for the next episode one two three three Tiffany Hayes yep okay we're on the same page so we didn't plan that and then any tip is next any we need a chant for Monique Billings Mo Billings yes we do of course we do where's your brother when we need him he wants me to organize it with him but obviously that doesn't happen Something with more money, more problems. What about this?

SPEAKER_01 47:07

Monique, ma belle, sont des mots qui vont très bien ensemble, très bien ensemble. I love you, I love you, I love you, Monique.

SPEAKER_02 47:25

That's better than Mo Billings, Mo Problems. That is lovely. I have no idea what you said, but she is a Renaissance woman, so I think that's appropriate. Lovely. It's

SPEAKER_01 47:36

a Beatles song.

SPEAKER_02 47:37

Oh, in French?

SPEAKER_01 47:40

Well, it's the Michelle, ma belle, but instead of Michelle, Monique.

SPEAKER_02 47:46

Lovely. Lovely. Because she is lovely. I'm going to lose some listeners. I'm not a Beatles fan. Sorry. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 47:56

Oh, that's it. They all went away. They're all gone now. Oh,

SPEAKER_02 47:59

no. Okay. Well, have fun at the lake today. Thank you so much for your time and all the patience with the technical difficulties.

SPEAKER_01 48:08

Thank you for waking up early. And

SPEAKER_02 48:10

the lawnmower. Yeah, I found my little business office. So have fun at the lake. Love you. All right. We'll talk to you soon. Okay. See you next episode for Tiffany Hayes. Valkyries. See you next time.

SPEAKER_01 48:27

This is Vanessa. And this is Reina. Thank you for listening to Valkyries Say Less.