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Portland Fire's Megan Gustafson embodies the story of a WNBA expansion team originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The WNBA's roster crunch every year is always a tough one. There are so many talented women's basketball players, but in what is still a relatively small professional league, some of them don't get much of a chance.
That's part of what makes expansion so special. Besides just bringing the sport to more cities, it also opens the doors to more players, like this season with the two new teams, the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo.
On Saturday night, it was the Fire showing off what an expansion team can do, picking up a 100-84 win over the Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark.
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And one of the key pickups, Megan Gustafson, pretty much stole the show.
"We're a bunch of overlooked players," Gustafson told reporters after the game, with tears in her eyes.
Her postgame interview came after a game-high 22 points. She shot a perfect 8-for-8 from the floor, including one 3-pointer, and was 5-for-6 from the line.
Gustafson added a single rebound and a single block in 28 minutes, and she was a plus-15.
"I've never really been respected as a basketball player until I've gotten here," Gustafson said afterward.
She was a college star at Iowa (in the pre-Clark days), but as a more traditional frontcourt player, she didn't necessarily fit the modern game.
She had to grind just to stay in the WNBA at all, and Portland marks the fifth team she's suiting up for in the league.
Gustafson was given her first start of the season on Saturday, and only the 14th start of her career, and she didn't disappoint.
"I'm thankful for this team, this organization," she told reporters. "They believe in me."
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The Fire are now 6-4, continuing to contend with strong opponents. And each night, it feels like it's someone different.
This is a talented group featuring players getting much more opportunity thanks to the WNBA expansion. They know what it's like to be doubted. Now, they're trying to make believers.
And with each passing night that the Portland Fire take the court, and players like Gustafson put on shows like this, it's easier and easier to believe.
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- Sophie Cunningham: 'I look like Harry Potter'
- Caitlin Clark's injury may trace to a dirty play in 2025
- Azzi Fudd ties Caitlin Clark record with incredible outburst
- Sky freed Kamilla Cardoso from Angel Reese, and they're being proven right
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