How a family bond is helping drive Fever star NaLyssa Smith forward

INDIANAPOLIS — The Fever returned to the court tonight after the Olympic break, and the push for the playoffs is on.

“She can’t beat me yet. I’m going to say it, if we play one-on-one, she might get me,” Rodney Smith, Indiana Fever star NaLyssa Smith's dad, told WRTV.

Provided by family

The bond between a family can be seen everywhere you look when it comes to the Smith family.

“We have our own little chat where we will go around and talk trash to each other and send videos,” Rodney Smith said.

Provided by family

For NaLyssa Smith, being an athlete is something that you can say she was born to do.

“My husband played basketball at UTSA and then went overseas and played,” Nikki Smith, NaLyssa’s mom, said.

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That family bond between mother, father and daughter has helped mold her into the player she is today.

“We have always instilled in her to prove people wrong, don’t ever let people doubt you. Don’t let people think that you’re not better or you are not competing,” Nikki Smith said.

Provided by family

It’s that confidence that the Smith’s say will help get her through every obstacle life throws her way.

“She can score on any end of the basketball court. She can hit you with a layup, she can hit you with a J, and she will,” Nikki Smith said.