Nika Mühl, who just finished her rookie season with the Seattle Storm, suffered a torn ACL while playing overseas in Turkey. Mühl sustained the injury during her first game with Turkish basketball team Besiktas during the FIBA Women’s Super Cup against Fenerbahce Opet on Thursday.
In the third quarter of the game, Mühl grabbed a loose ball and fell to the ground, clutching her left knee while screaming in pain. She was later stretchered off of the court.
In a post on X written in Turkish, Besiktas CEO Özkan Arseven said that an MRI confirmed that the 23-year-old guard had suffered an ACL tear, and that her season has come to an end.
“Today, Nika’s injury has ruined all our morale,” Arseven wrote. “I wish her a speedy recovery.”
Kızlarımızı mücadeleleri için tebrik ediyorum.
Bugün Nika’nın sakatlığı ile tüm morallerimiz bozuldu. Çekilen Mr ve yapılan kontrollerde çapraz bağlarında kopma meydana geldiğini öğrenmiş bulunmaktayız. Oyuncumuz maalesef sezonu kapattı. Kendisine şifalar diliyorum.
Bundan… https://t.co/NhxgPNsktl
— Özkan Arseven (@ozkanarseven) October 3, 2024
The game, which was supposed to take place on Wednesday, was postponed after fans threw firecrackers onto the court.
Mühl’s Storm teammate Gabby Williams, who plays for Fenerbahce, stayed with Mühl while they waited for the stretcher and consoled her. Williams went on to win MVP of the game, after helping Fenerbahce to the 79-63 win and its second-straight SuperCup title.
Paige Bueckers, Mühl’s former UConn teammate and close friend, wrote a message of support for Mühl on social media.
“Nothing my twin can’t overcome. Gonna destroy this comeback journey! God speed,” Bueckers wrote in a post on X.
Despite the growth that the WNBA has seen this year, salaries in the league are still comparatively low, prompting many players to play overseas during the WNBA offseason. Overseas leagues tend to pay significantly more than the WNBA, giving players an incentive to join them during the offseason months.
Mühl, who was the 14th overall pick in the 2024 Draft, only earned $69,267 in her rookie season under the current WNBA base salary. (For context, the average annual salary in the United States is $59,384; the 14th overall NBA pick in 2023, meanwhile, earned $3,591,300 during his rookie year.) The Croatian-born guard is set to earn $305,957 over her first four years in the league.
Mühl had limited minutes in her rookie season with Seattle, grabbing her first career WNBA points in the final regular-season game of the year. It is unclear what the timeline will be for Mühl’s injury, or whether it will affect her return to the Storm when the 2025 WNBA season begins next spring.
