Alexis Prince - Episode #30 - Winning the Journey Within

What does it really take to leave your home country, build a career on the other side of the world, and still find yourself in the process?

In this episode, I sit down with Alexis Prince - American professional basketball player and one of the most decorated performers in recent European women's basketball.

Most recently playing for Athinaikos in Greece, Alexis claimed MVP of the Greek League, MVP of the Greek Cup, and reached the EuroCup Final - performances that speak for themselves.

But this conversation goes far beyond the court.

We talk about what it means to carry the pressure of expectations when you are far from everything familiar.

About identity - who you are when the jersey comes off.

About the mental battles that never make the highlight reel. About what it costs to chase greatness, and what it gives back.

Alexis is honest, courageous, and deeply human in this conversation and I think you will feel that from the very first minute.

This is the kind of episode that reminds you why sport is about so much more than winning.

📢 Guest: Alexis Prince
🎧 Host: Milica Jovanović

👉 Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more episodes where we explore the minds of top performers and the strategies that drive success in sports.


This video is for entertainment purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. The content shared in this video is based on general information and personal experience, and should not be considered a substitute for professional sports psychology guidance or treatment. Always seek the advice of a qualified sports psychologist or mental health professional for personalized advice and support.


#WinningTheJourneyWithin #SportsPsychology #MentalGame #AthleteMindset #HealingJourney #BasketballLife

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:15

Welcome to Winning the Journey Within on our 30th episode. My today's guest has lived the kind of basketball journey that takes you to places you never imagined. Alexis Prince is an American professional basketball player who has competed at the highest levels of this game. Most recently, playing for Atinaikos in Greece, she didn't just show up, she dominated from MVP of the Greek League, MVP of the Greek Cup, and the EuroCup Finals. The kind of performances that make people stop and pay attention. But behind the trophies and the highlights is a story of love, pressure, identity, and what it really costs to chase greatness at home and far away from home. Today we talk about all of it the wins, the weight, and everything in between.

SPEAKER_02 1:10

Lex, hello. Welcome to Winning the Journey Within podcast. Thank you for accepting my invitation. It's an honor for me to have you here today.

SPEAKER_03 1:19

Thank you for having me.

SPEAKER_02 1:21

As you may know, I start all of my episodes with one specific question, and that's to tell me who are you without basketball?

SPEAKER_03 1:30

Yeah, so I would say I'm just a chill person. I like to be around my family all the time. Whenever you see me, I'm with my nephews and my nieces. That's pretty much me just I just be chilling for real.

SPEAKER_02 1:43

Yeah, nice. And how is that when your family is so far away for most of the time?

SPEAKER_03 1:50

Yeah, it's tough. So FaceTime, you know, we FaceTime all the time. It's late nights because of the time difference. But yeah, my nephews will call me just randomly, like, when are you coming back? Are you back? Are you home? Which home are you in? Are you in Greece or Israel or whatever? But I mean it's tough. The most tough part is like birthdays, you know, uh, because I I feel like I miss them growing up, like at a young age tonight. So uh that's the toughest part, and of course, holidays, but I've been able to go home for Christmas like the last few times, so that was pretty good. But before that, I wasn't able to. But yeah, you just adjust, I guess.

SPEAKER_02 2:30

Yeah, you have to, at least for this period of time.

SPEAKER_03 2:33

For sure.

SPEAKER_02 2:33

And um, did family play a role in um you starting basketball? How did you begin playing?

SPEAKER_03 2:42

Um, I would say just I always just watched it when I was younger. Um, my sister, my older sister, she actually played basketball a little bit, but not not like for real. She mostly played in like high school, and I just used to try to always be around her. Like we go outside to the court, she'd be with her friends, and I would just play really. I don't know really how I picked it up. I would just used to run after her, and I just fell in love with it for real. I don't really know how I started. That's enough, you know.

SPEAKER_02 3:15

As long as you fell in love with the the game. Um, and you've uh become pretty good very fast. You've excelled in in your high school uh career too, and uh won all those awards. I don't even I cannot even name them all, but that's pretty awesome. And um how how was that like did you realize in high school how good you were and how far you could go?

SPEAKER_03 3:39

In high school, uh I don't think I did. I think at that time I I was still just green to everything everything. I really just was playing for fun. And the accolades just came came with it. But my friends and everyone tell me, like, when we look back at it, they like, did you even notice this? Like, do you remember this? This and I'm like, I really don't for real. Like when they bring up certain instances or certain games, I'm like, yeah, I don't even remember that. But I just really just play because I love you for real.

SPEAKER_02 4:10

Yeah, and then you got uh invited to play for a few colleges, you had that decision to make, and you decided, as I read online, to play for Kim Malki, and that was the the biggest influence on where you're gonna go, right?

SPEAKER_03 4:27

Yeah, uh Baylor University. Um yeah, Kim, she was uh Kim and the other coaches there, they were a big influence uh on me, and I felt like that was the best decision for me at the time.

SPEAKER_02 4:40

So do you feel like the uh that you grew in these years in college that your game changed?

SPEAKER_03 4:47

Oh yeah, for sure. Um that's where it all started, honestly, because you know when you're younger, when you in high school, you don't really know for real what you're doing, especially back then. And when you get there, it's more structured and it's more disciplined, and that's when you learn everything about your body, what you can and can't do for real. And yeah, I mean, I feel like that's where I grew up at for real.

SPEAKER_02 5:10

Yeah, and uh in those years of of playing for college, I remember your first year, you were great, you had uh good minutes and everything, and the second year got injured. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. And do you remember even?

SPEAKER_03 5:24

Yeah, for sure. I for sure remember that because when I got injured, I was out for about two years because I was out the whole summer, and then I had hurt my other foot. So I got hurt like rehabbing, I think, like compensating on the other foot. So that was a big part of my journey too. I feel like that kind of set me back a little bit, and people kind of was like giving up on me because I had got hurt, but I really didn't get hurt a lot. It was kind of the same injury for real. But yeah, so they was telling me like I wouldn't be able to play again or because they ain't really know what was wrong with it with my foot. So I ended up getting surgery, and like I said, I just recovered for like two, two years for real. And I felt I really ain't feel like myself until my senior year, because I had a fifth year. So that year is when I really like kind of got back to myself, but like I said, I was kind of late because I missed like the other years. I played, but I wasn't like me for real until then.

SPEAKER_02 6:25

So how was uh the mental process in these years? Like I hear you say you got injured, and people are like, okay, we're we're giving up. Is she ever gonna be herself again? How did that feel emotionally, mentally?

SPEAKER_03 6:38

Uh honestly, I can say it was tough, but I was like positive for real with it. Like a lot of people used to always come up to me because I was riding around in a scooter. I couldn't walk for real because I had both of my feet was messed up.

SPEAKER_02 6:52

On the campus and everything. Yeah, I was just riding around.

SPEAKER_03 6:54

They would come up to me and they'll like be to like, oh, can I pray for you? Can I do this? I'm like, Yeah, of course. Because I went to uh a Baptist school. So they would just be like, How are you always smiling? Like, why are you so positive? And I'm like, I just used to be like, I mean, I'm gonna be cool, like this is just a part of my journey, and I feel like everything happens for a reason. So I just I honestly was very positive during that time. I just I don't know, that just me.

SPEAKER_02 7:18

But that's a good uh mental tool, you know, like that just to see everything.

SPEAKER_03 7:23

Because then I'll be angry every day, and it's like, you know, I can't be mad at nobody. That's just what it is, that's just part of my journey.

SPEAKER_02 7:31

Yeah, and um during your career going forward, did uh did you ever have another injury? Did anything set you back in in the similar way?

SPEAKER_03 7:41

Uh I mean, yeah, I hurt my knee a little bit, but not really. That one I was done, I was better after like six weeks. So the only major injury I had was that first one on my foot. Yeah. Yeah, other than that, I've been healthy for real. And like they said, they didn't think I was gonna be able to play basketball, and I'm still playing like, what is it, eight eight years since college? So I'm cool.

SPEAKER_02 8:03

You proved them wrong. I love that for you. So I'm gonna continue with uh your you getting drafted. So you were the the second uh player from uh Baylor who got drafted to Phoenix after Britney Griner. You forgot about that too. Um how did I feel? How was it going to Phoenix after college?

SPEAKER_03 8:28

Um It was exciting, of course, because like I said, they um they just kept saying like things about my injury, and I'm like, still I haven't really been hurt in a while. So I don't know, but it was exciting to start that next journey.

SPEAKER_02 8:46

Yeah. And um what is the mental process going from from college to to another level, going to WNBA or just going pro, reaching um another level of your professional career?

SPEAKER_03 8:59

Um I think the it was just tough, just trying to learn like different ways to play because I feel like in college we we pretty much played like a specific way. And when you go to the next level, like it's just totally different. But for me it wasn't it wasn't super hard. It was just like I said, just getting once I understood that and what they wanted, then it was pretty, it was pretty easy for real.

SPEAKER_02 9:23

Yeah. And um, how did you make decision to come overseas and um show us who you are, specifically us fours?

SPEAKER_03 9:32

Yeah, I mean, I feel like it was an easy uh decision. Uh I wanted to continue to play basketball, and you know the W is short, it's not that long, so this is like a longer season, and this is really what I wanted to do for real. So it was an easy decision.

SPEAKER_02 9:48

Yeah, and you went to quite a few places, yeah. Um, a few countries. How did you adapt to the cultures and and the systems, languages, and all of that? What does it take?

SPEAKER_03 9:58

Yeah, for sure. It that was tough when I first left. My first place was Spain, and it was a big culture shock. Um well, growing up in Florida, like everybody speaks Spanish for real, so it wasn't really the language barrier, it was more so because I kind of could understand some things, I just couldn't really speak it. But like going to the store, I knew how to read, like everything, all that. But as far as living-wise and being away, being by myself that far, uh learning how to even get my phone to work, like it was just little things that was like different for me. But once I got past that um and just started going different places and noticing that each team is different, that every experience is different, and just embracing the culture and you know, trying to be open-minded and learn about um little things in different places, then it was uh easy to adapt, and now I enjoy actually going to different places.

SPEAKER_02 10:58

Um, and your role obviously changes, you know, from going um from going from college and having your role in in the WNBA team at the beginning, and then you're coming overseas and you are a foreigner, you're somebody that everybody expects to to perform every single night. Um do you like that pressure?

SPEAKER_03 11:17

Oh yeah, I love it.

SPEAKER_02 11:18

I it feels like you do.

SPEAKER_03 11:20

I love it. The biggest change for me though was change of positions because I never played the four or the post. I always played like either the two or the three. So coming over here and them having me do that, that was probably my biggest change for real. Um well, like you said, and also being like more of the uh main player. But um, yeah, that once I embraced that as well, that's because when I first actually when I first started playing, I played the three. I don't think I played the four probably until maybe my third year overseas. The first two I think I played the three, and then when I got to Turkey, they started playing me in that role, but I was able to still play like kind of like myself. It wasn't like you know, back to the basket or whatever.

SPEAKER_02 12:07

Yeah, that's what I was asking. Like you adjust your way of playing to the position that they bring you um to play, and yeah. And how's Turkey for you? Like we played there at the same time, I I remember exactly. And um, my experience is there, I've played there for five years, so my experiences are like woo. I uh went through a lot of different uh emotions, motions, and all of that. Um, how was your experience in Turkey?

SPEAKER_03 12:33

My experience in Turkey, I like Turkey. Uh it was probably one of the best places I think I played so far. Like, I've I've liked Turkey. Um, competition was good every night. Um, I've had good teams. Um, like I said, I feel like I play really well each each season, so I guess that helps you know your experience be better. But for Turkey for me was was pretty cool.

SPEAKER_02 12:57

And what about Euroleague? You've had your opportunity um to play for Euroleague teams. Can you uh compare EuroLeague to WNBA and to this level of the city?

SPEAKER_03 13:09

Yeah, I'm gonna say Euro League would probably be um Euroleague in Euro Cup too. I would say it would be more like like the W. It's more competitive and it has a deeper meaning, I guess, than just the regular season games. They really like take those games very serious, but yeah.

SPEAKER_02 13:29

And it's kind of better like to play two games a week, and yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_03 13:32

Playing two games a week make the season go way faster. The one game a week, just practicing every day, kinda it kind of can get, you know, stagnant or whatever, but yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_02 13:47

Is there something that you use as your like anchor, is something that grounds you where you are here uh overseas, away from your family, knowing how important your family is to you. Is there something that you do, some type of routine um that you use to just keep on uh uh showing up and keep on focusing on where you are and what you uh have to do?

SPEAKER_03 14:10

Uh I would probably just say I would probably just say just knowing that just being away is I'm already experiencing things that people back home or in my family haven't seen or haven't done. Like like from where I'm from, it's not too many people with passports. So just having a passport is is big. So I just like I said, I just know that um I don't look at it as like a bad thing, it's like a good thing. Um I'm getting to do what I love and explore the world and do different things because then I have to think about if I go back home, then it's like what am I gonna do there? Like, you know, so I have to think about that as well. So I just look at it as a positive for real.

SPEAKER_02 15:02

Yeah. And I've heard that uh you're somebody who works very hard and who works extra even even coming here. Yeah. Um how do you keep that uh motivation up?

SPEAKER_03 15:14

Yeah, I think that's that's just me. It don't matter if I go home for a couple days, I'm in the gym, I'm working out. Uh over here, if I gotta get up at eight o'clock every day, I'm gonna go get extra shots up. Um I feel like that keeps me into it. Like, I don't know. I just that's I just always feel like I gotta work out.

SPEAKER_02 15:39

Like that's just who you are.

SPEAKER_03 15:41

Yeah, like I I just I just wanna play good all the time. And I just feel like I don't wanna does that help with your confidence? Yeah, for sure. Like like if I know I do this every day, then when you get in the game, it should be easy. Like, that's just how I be.

SPEAKER_02 15:58

Yeah. And what is something that you like to do before the games, especially like uh big games that that come in uh EuroCup, Euro League?

SPEAKER_03 16:07

Um something that I do?

SPEAKER_02 16:09

Yeah, some type of routine that you have to cover.

SPEAKER_03 16:11

I do a lot, I don't really do much for the yeah, I don't really do anything. Like I don't do the same things, like I'm not superstitious at all. Like it's it's whatever. Like I change my shoes there almost each week, each day. I can get a new pair and wear it tomorrow. Like, I don't really do like all that.

SPEAKER_02 16:30

I think that's probably a good thing, you know.

SPEAKER_03 16:33

Yeah, I don't stress too much about nothing. I don't like like I said, I take every day, every day everything is is the same, it's it's neutral with me. I'm here every time.

SPEAKER_02 16:44

That's a really good thing because I feel like when I used to do all of these things and have my other teams and superstitions, I was limiting myself, literally. Like I that's how I felt. Um but uh what I wanted to ask, um I think I forgot. But um tell me um tell me about this journey in Europe, um, everything that you had to go uh through all these years, eight years uh playing professionally. Uh what did this journey bring out in you, in your character? How did it make you uh as a person? What is something that you know that basketball brought to you as a person?

SPEAKER_03 17:25

That's a good question. Um I would say probably just being uh able to adapt to different situations and nothing really I guess bothers me for real or scares me because I'd have been in so many crazy situations being overseas, like for example, in high tide or earthquake. Oh yeah, that's when you were there, yeah, and then Israel, the war last year, that was pretty scary. So you go back home, you don't really when I go back home really see things that crazy. So just just for those kind of things, I'm like, yeah, no, I done been through it.

SPEAKER_02 18:10

How how did you manage to um come out of these situations like earthquake? I remember now like what happened, like your season got cancelled. Did you you left to another theme after that?

SPEAKER_03 18:23

Yeah, I left. Um we we didn't we actually went home. It was like right before the national team break. So but I had left like all my stuff, so I didn't really like our apartment and stuff, like everything like got destroyed or whatever. So we wasn't able to go back and get our stuff, of course, but so they said, but um how did it feel?

SPEAKER_02 18:44

Like, did you dwell on it like you uh nah not really? You just kept on going.

SPEAKER_03 18:49

Yeah, I just kept going. Like I said, uh we waited probably like a month and then I was able to go to another team, and that's when I was able to go to Avenida. So I mean, it's it's I think more people thought it was took it harder than I did, I think. I don't think I ever really like dwelled on it that deep, but when you look back at it, I'm like, damn, yeah, I really went through some stuff.

SPEAKER_02 19:17

Do you dwell on those uh moments in your teams when um you don't get the playing time and uh you don't feel like you get the respect that you deserve? Um how do you deal with those situations? Uh let's not name them, but uh when you feel like the the trust is lacking and like why am I here? Why did you bring me?

SPEAKER_03 19:38

What is something that you do? Talk to my mom. Me and my mom chat. We be chatting like for hours on the phone. That's like my best friend. I I call her like every day, and we just talk about it, and she try to keep me like up, like level-headed, and she'll tell me some things like like I said, um, it's part of your journey. You done been through a lot. Um, it's just God putting you through situations that he know you can handle for real. So she always just keep me up for real. It's really my mom for real.

SPEAKER_02 20:12

Yeah. Oh, that's beautiful. Yeah, yeah. And uh what kind of role does um God have in in your life now that you mentioned him?

SPEAKER_03 20:21

Yeah, uh, he plays a big part in everything that I do. I mean, that's why I'm here. He he looked over me. Like I said, I've been through the the different situations with the war, the earthquake, the injuries, just anything in life. Like, just the reason why I am how I am now.

SPEAKER_02 20:39

That's awesome. Yeah. Um, and what is uh something that you uh have uh as a goal in front of you right now, today? What is something that you would like to reach looking forward in your career?

SPEAKER_03 20:53

Um try to win this Euro Cup and the Cup for the Greek League and then the championship for the regular season Greek League as well. So because I haven't in my career I haven't won anything as a pro. So at least getting one championship, I gotta do that, man. I gotta give away.

SPEAKER_02 21:18

I'm gonna be the thing for you.

unknown 21:20

Thank you.

SPEAKER_02 21:22

Oh, that's really nice. That's really but do you go into your season setting uh goals for yourself or for the team? And uh how does that process go?

SPEAKER_03 21:33

I think, yeah, I set some goals each season. Um I talked to uh Kelvin and he me and him discuss like um what I should aim for throughout the season. But um, yeah, I haven't written down like some goals that I want to uh accomplish each year. I don't really want to like say what they are, but I have like maybe like two or three things that I try to reach so that keep me consistent. Like I just want to stay consistent. Whatever I do, stay consistent. I mean, if it's a bad consistent, nah, like you don't want to be good, like be here for real. That's why I like I gotta go to the gym, keep myself here, because I'm like, I'm sorry, like for example, let's say you shoot free throws, try to shoot 90%, something like that. You know what I'm saying? So it's I I keep uh just to keep me motivated for real.

SPEAKER_02 22:24

And uh was WNBA on your goal list again?

SPEAKER_03 22:27

Uh yeah, for sure. Yeah. I feel like that's something that I feel like anybody will want to do to finish their career out or at least have that opportunity for real. So yeah, that too.

SPEAKER_02 22:39

How was uh going back to to Phoenix last year?

SPEAKER_03 22:42

It was fun, I enjoyed it. Um I was glad for that opportunity. Um to go back there I didn't expect, but it was cool, it got cut short, but yeah, like I said, can't dwell on it. It's life, you know. It's some things you don't understand, but like I said, can't really dwell on it. That's their decision, and just keep it pushing.

SPEAKER_02 23:04

Yeah, control what you can control.

SPEAKER_03 23:06

Yeah, exactly. Control what I can control because I know deep down, I know myself, and I know what I work hard for, and I know the type of player I am and what I can do. So long as I know that and my people know that, like, I'm cool. Yeah, love that for you.

SPEAKER_02 23:21

That's a good mindset too. Yeah, um, and now I want to ask you what are some of the hardest lessons that you learned through basketball, through your journey?

SPEAKER_03 23:32

I would say the hardest lesson I probably learned was being patient. Um, not everything is gonna happen on your time. Um being willing to listen, being willing to be open-minded, and like you said, because being with um different people each year is gonna be different. People are gonna be different. So you have to learn different people and learn how to not judge people and adapt to people because they probably grew up a different way that you didn't grow up. So I feel like it has taught me a lot of like things outside of basketball, like stuff like that.

SPEAKER_02 24:14

Yeah. And what is um some skill set or something that basketball has taught you? Some some good stuff, you know, that uh this life uh is teaching us that you think is gonna be valuable for the life after?

SPEAKER_03 24:28

Um I would say discipline for real. Uh you have to be disciplined in everything that you do, and patience is a big one. Like I said, I feel like with things not going your way and you having no control over it, you can't be mad. How are you going to react to it? Like, you can't just go crazy because there's consequences in life. So I feel like that's probably the biggest.

SPEAKER_02 24:59

That's a that's a good one too. And um, to conclude my interviews, I always ask one question, and that is what does winning the journey within mean to you?

SPEAKER_03 25:10

When you say winning the journey within, I would say like it's it's a battle within yourself. Like you set goals, um you set goals like each season, so you you break it down into different parts. Alright. Uh this month I want to do this, next week I want to do this. Because if you I feel like if you live like that, it like you said, keep you motivated, it keeps you on track, and it just like if you just focus on basketball and life could be like you don't even focus on life for real. You just you just worried about basketball. But when you think about within and yourself, you set goals for yourself and how you want to do because like I said, you can't control what this person is saying or what this coach is gonna do or what's gonna happen. You can't even control tomorrow for real. But you can control the controllables, and so when you say within, I just feel like whatever you um strive to do that week, just just make that your goal for real.

SPEAKER_02 26:13

That's a good one.

SPEAKER_03 26:14

That's how I look at it.

SPEAKER_02 26:16

Thank you for your interpretation. Thank you for coming and being a guest on my podcast, and good luck with your season, good luck with all the goals that you've set for yourself. I'll I'll be cheering you on. Nah, thank you for having me, for real.