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The 2022 Atlanta Dream were a very interesting team indeed. Even though they missed the playoffs, I really enjoyed watching many of the players on this team who I believe will help them be contenders for years to come.
One player in particular that I enjoyed watching was Christy Wallace. I remember watching her at a few Dream home games I attended and being impressed by how much grit and quickness she always had on both ends of the court.
I was able to talk to Wallace one day after practice last month and learn more about her. This interview has been edited for clarity.
Swish Appeal: That person you were talking to. Was that Ben King or Steve Hawkins? Who was that?
Christy Wallace: They’re guys, so they’re Australian. They helped me recover from my injuries, so Steve Hawkins is a physical therapist.
Is that Steve Hawkins? is that him
Steve Hawkins, he’s a trainer, like a physical therapist, and Ben King was my weight trainer. Really good relationship with these two.
Was that him we just saw there? Who was leaving?
Oh no, that was Paul Gorris. This is our assistant coach. They’re in Australia, these two: Steve and Ben.
What kind of training did you do?
I did three years of rehab with these guys.
Was it exhausting?
It was very exhausting. It was long. I didn’t know if I would come back. I didn’t know if I would be able to get back to basketball, but these two helped me get in shape and ready for work.
Did you really not think you were going to come back to play basketball?
No, I thought I should retire. I couldn’t move without pain for a long time, so I’m glad to be back.
Suffering not one but two ACL tears, what was that?
Yes, rude person. So I did my first one in 2018 in America while I was at Baylor in college, and then as soon as I got back, I did the nine-month recovery, and then, in my second game, I broke it again, and then I had more two complications that came back so I had two more surgeries just to get some cartilage out and stuff so yeah man three year process it was really hard but I had a good support team around me that helped me come back everything.
What was it like going through a three-year recovery process?
Yes, really hard. It felt endless because I had to have repeat operations too and it was frustrating, but again having a good support team around me to help me come back was really good.
This support team, how did it help you get back?
Yeah, so I’ve done a lot of mental health work. Psychology.
Mental health?
Yes, it can be quite isolating and very difficult mentally when you get hurt, so I’ve done a lot of work around that.
What about your teammates? Your coaches? Weren’t they there?
I wasn’t with a team for a while so I was with a team the first two years and then the last year I didn’t have a team because nobody wanted me because I was injured so I was doing it on my own.
How does it feel now that you’re not alone?
So good. I especially love being part of this team. Everyone is such a nice person. It’s a really good organization. I’m really lucky to be here.
Are you really lucky to be here? How so?
Oh dude. Well, I personally didn’t know if I was going to come back to play and the fact that they gave me a chance to come, even after my injury history, and be a part of such a cool organization that wants to grow and also get better, yeah, I’m very happy to be a part of it.
Let’s go back to the teams you played for. You played for Baylor. What was it like being there?
Cool person. So I was there for four years. It was different because Texas is different.
Oh, Texas is different?
Coming from Australia to Texas is different.
Oh yeah. It’s a big cultural change.
Yes, quite a cultural change, but I really enjoyed my four years. Yes, it was hard, it was really hard and I had to get used to the American system.
How so?
Well, first of all, everyone here is much more athletic, but also, just like the college system, being a freshman, sophomore, junior, senior, what does each year entail.
How does the Australian system differ from the American one?
Yes, we do it differently. We really don’t like college basketball. We have, but it’s not like here. There’s no money in it and it’s not competitive like it is here.
No money in it? In Australia?
For the college system, for college sports is what I mean.
How is there no money in this?
It’s just not that big.
Don’t go to games?
Yes, no, they don’t. It’s just not that big, so we have professional teams that people come into, so I played in the WNBL, which is an Australian basketball league, so I played in that for a couple of years and I’m coming back this off-season to play for them.
Are you coming back?
Yes, I’m coming back to play the Open and I’m really looking forward to it.
Kim Mulkey? What was she like?
Yes, tough coach. Really high expectations but really knows the game. I learned a lot from her, but it was difficult. I won’t lie, it was really hard. She had very high standards for her players, which is a good thing. If you want to win championships, this is what you have to have.
What made you want to play basketball? Of all the sports: cricket, rugby, football, what made you want to play basketball?
Literally my older siblings played and so I played. I probably would never have played unless they did. So I played that, but I also played a lot of other sports. I played football, rugby, AFL (Australian Football League), swimming, athletics, all sorts of things.
So what made you realize that basketball was what you were best at?
I loved all the sports, but I think my parents wanted me to narrow it down because it was getting too expensive to do all the other sports, so they were like “narrow down time.”
What do you hope to do in your career in WNBA?
I just want to be part of a good team. Like these aren’t necessarily personal accolades for me, but I just want to be part of a good organization, a really good team, just be around good people. That’s my goal.
How often do you talk to your family?
It’s different for each of them, but my brother just had a baby, so I’m very excited to meet my little niece.
How proud is your family of you?
Oh, they’re proud, they’re proud. I am very lucky to have a supportive family.
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