By Mark Moschetti, Seattle Storm
SEATTLE – By the time she was 19, Ivana Dojkić had been playing basketball at the highest level in Europe for half a decade.
In some ways, that helped make her mature beyond her years.
In other ways, she was … well …
… she was still just 19.
And for the first time in her life, she was on her own. By herself. Alone …
… in Moscow, the 11th-largest city on the entire planet, inside the largest country on the entire planet.
“That was my first experience alone, and it was tough, very tough,” said Dojkić, who up until then often had her mom following her (and following her brother, as well) on their hoop journeys. “My first time in my apartment alone, it was like, ‘What do I do now, in such a big county and a big city such as Moscow and having so many obstacles on the way of what I wanted to achieve.’”
Dojkić (pronounced JOY-kitch) considered her options – and in essence, there were just two:
Quit
Or keep going.
“I had tough, tough moments, where I felt like, ‘I can’t do it,’ so just pack my stuff and go home (to her native Croatia) and figure out what I’m going to do next – just find another way in basketball to take the easier way,” she recalled.
“But that’s not me. It was just going day by day, and that was the most important way to finding motivation,” she added. “Because you never know what it’s going to be like in a couple months. So just go day by day, and then you’re going to make it. It’s the right way.”
Dojkić made it. She kept going. And today, 19 seems like it was so long ago.
That’s because she’s now 25. She’s some 5,200 miles away from Moscow, some 5,500 away from her hometown of Poreč, Croatia, and quickly making herself at home in Seattle as the “rookie” starting point guard for the Storm.
“My mindset was just to have one experience: that I’m going to be able to show myself in the best way,” Dojkić said. “In Europe, I’ve played almost seven or eight years at a high level. Everybody knows each other, and you’re in your comfort zone.
“I come here, and it was suddenly like most of the people don’t know me, and I don’t know people. I was just trying to bring myself and show myself in the best possible way on the court, but also outside of the court as a person,” Dojkić continued, “because that’s important today in this world.”
As a brand-new Storm player on what essentially is a brand-new Storm team, the 5-foot-11 Dojkić, who has been the starting point guard since June 13, certainly has shown what she can do through the nearly-complete first half of what has been a rocky, rebuilding kind of season.
“I think she’s very confident in who she is,” head coach Noelle Quinn said. “She knew there was going to be an opportunity, and the opportunities she has gotten, she has taken advantage of those. She has come into games and hit big shots, made big plays.”
THREE DIFFERENT SPORTS … UNTIL THERE WAS ONE
Growing up in Croatia, which is surrounded by five countries in southeastern Europe (Slovenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Hungary, Serbia, and Montenegro), and is about the size of West Virginia or South Carolina, Dojkić played “every sport that was in my hometown.” Volleyball was a natural fit since her mom had played it and her dad coached it. But there was also tennis, and of course, basketball.
“I had three practices of three different sports during the day,” she said with a laugh. “I was hyperactive and full of energy.”
At age 12, when she, her brother and mom moved about 155 miles northeast to the capital city of Zagreb, Dojkić eventually got to a point where she had to make a choice between volleyball and basketball, since competitions in both sports often had simultaneous schedules.
“If I didn’t go to the volleyball game, they would be upset and mad at me,” Dojkić said. “If I didn’t go to the basketball game, it would be the same.
“At that moment, I think I was even better at volleyball,” she said. “But basketball was more fitting to my personality and my characteristics because I like to create, I like to run, and I like to be physical. Volleyball was more static, more depending on others. Basketball, you can have some moments to yourself creating and just going up and down (the court).”
So, basketball it was. Dojkić played with two different Zagreb teams, then joined Slovenia’s Athlete Celje from 2016-19.
“They pushed me really young,” she said. “When I was 14, I was with the senior team (Novi Zagreb), which was the Euroleague team. Most games, I didn’t even play. I had a chance to practice against some WNBA players, and that was a great experience when I was young.”
From Athlete Celje, Dojkić eventually moved on to WBC Sparta&k in from 2016-19, then KSC Szekszard in Hungary from 2019-21,and finally Virtus Bologna from 2021.23.
Playing for Croatia during the 2021 EuroBasket Tournament, she averaged 20.3 points per game, ranking No. 3 behind only Jonquel Jones (then with Connecticut, now with New York) and Emma Meesseman (originally with Washington, now with Chicago). In fact, Dojkić had even signed a contract with the Liberty that summer, but it never went any further than that because EuroBasket and the start of the WNBA season overlapped.
WAITING FOR THE RIGHT MOMENT
While things ultimately didn’t work out with New York, Dojkić was still intrigued by the possibility of playing in the United States especially after having gone against WNBA players in practice and in EuroLeague games.
“When I was younger, that was somewhere that I wanted to try, just to experience basketball here and to be part of this huge league and huge environment, the arenas, and the media following,” she said. “I think it’s just another world from Europe. I’d always thought about it, but I never put pressure on myself, like, ‘Oh, I need to do this,’ or ‘This is the year.’
“I just wanted to have the right moment.”
That “right moment” came this past January when Quinn saw her play for Italian team Virtus Bologna during a scouting trip to Europe. Dojkić ultimately was invited to training camp, guaranteed nothing more than just an opportunity to try winning a roster spot and a contract.
“It as a very short conversation – very, very short,” Dojkić said. “But sometimes, you just hear someone, and by saying to each other, ‘What is my reason?’ and ‘What is their reason?’ and they just come together. That was the thing that made me feel, ‘OK, that’s it. It’s a good opportunity, the right moment.’”
Dojkić arrived about a week into training camp. Not only was it her first time in Seattle (“It was a sunny day!” she recalled with a laugh), it was her first time in America.
“My first day here, a lot of things were overwhelming because everything was brand-new,” Dojkić said. “It was like, “OK, is this real life or is it a movie?’ I was just trying to stay focused on what’s next. I was putting all my energy into practice so I could show myself in the best way.”
That was driven in large part by the initial conversations Dojkić had with Quinn and general manager Talisa Rhea.
“When I talked with the coach and talked with the GM, I felt like they wanted me,” she said. “I also made them feel like if I’m coming, I want to contribute. I’m not just coming to town. I’m ready to play and be a part of that.”
ADJUSTING TO THE AMERICAN GAME
On May 18, the Storm made their final preseason cut – and it wasn’t Dojkić. She was officially on the roster for the season opener against defending champion Las Vegas.
After playing just a combined 23 minutes off the bench in the first two games of the season, not seeing any action in the next two, then coming off the bench again for the following three games, Dojkić earned her first start on June 13 in Phoenix. She got the nod from head coach Noelle Quinn after a solid performance in 23 minutes as a reserve on June 11 against Washington. In that Mystics game, she had 12 points on perfect shooting (3 of 3 from the floor, including a 3-pointer, 5 of 5 from the foul line) along with four assists and one steal.
“She’s continuing to grow and understand how we want to play and what we want to do, and how she can be successful in this league,” Quinn said. “I know she’s a (WNBA) rookie, but she has played professional basketball for a long time, and think that experience has helped her in the ‘W’.”
Dojkić’s maturity from all of her previous years of pro experience have helped her make the necessary adjustments to the American game compared to its European counterpart.
“As a point guard, I like to create a lot, and that is also a very good thing here,” she said. “But I need to be sharp and aggressive all the time. I like to do that, too. I was struggling to find the right balance of when to create and when to do stuff for myself. Both things are very important here because I can’t just create and then (not be) attacking and being a threat for the defense if we’re going to make it easier for our other players to have more space in the paint.”
In the nine games since taking over the starting role on June 13 at Phoenix, Dojkić is averaging 9.9 points, 5.0 assists, and 3.1 rebounds per game. With nine assists at Minnesota on June 27 and then 10 against the Lynx two nights later in Seattle, she became the first Seattle rookie since Sue Bird with back-to-back games of 9-plus.
Bird also was the last Storm rookie with double-digit assists, having done that on Aug. 1, 2002.
“I don’t want to compare myself to her. People write what they want to write, but I’m thankful to even be in the same sentence with her,” Dojkić said. “We all know who she is. I’m just proud to be wearing the same jersey. For me, it’s more like focusing on what I can do and what I can bring to this team here.”
FITTING IN ON AND OFF THE COURT
Dojkić’s new Seattle teammates already are enjoying having her onboard.
“It just speaks to the quality of the gems you find overseas that people don’t know about,” guard Sami Whitcomb said. “It’s really exciting that we get an opportunity to see Ivey thrive when she’s given more of an opportunity, because she’s really good. It’s awesome to see someone step into it the way she has really confidently.”
Added guard Kia Nurse, a veteran but also in her first year with the Storm, “Playing in transition with an understanding of the pace we want to play at, for her to come in and kind of lead that charge has been awesome. I think when you come into the league and have the experience that Ivey has had and the ability to play against some really incredible players overseas, that helps you coming in just because you see the kind of skillset that is the WNBA.”
While she’s far away from home, a bit of Croatia is nearby in the form of a family friend, Bojana, who is from Dojkić ’s hometown and in fact grew up with her parents, but has been in Seattle for a good number of years.
“She heard I was coming, so she was helping me to adjust here,” said Dojkić, who is fluent in English and Italian as well as her native Croatian. “It was easier than how I would do without her. When I had a couple moments of freedom, she was showing me things. I was very lucky to have her here, and of course all the great teammates.”
Whether she’s exploring the city, or seeking out an open teammate upcourt, Dojkić is just trying to make the most of every moment – and, more important, stay in the moment.
“If you’re starting or getting in on the court later, you’re always on the court. It doesn’t matter if it’s the first minute, the last minute, or the middle of the game,” she said. “You always want to play the same game, a high-level game – always focused, always sharp, every possession like it’s the last one.”
With that kind of a mindset, Ivana Dojkić will never have to worry about being alone – especially when it comes to basketball.
Some team, somewhere – just like the Storm – is always going want her on their court.