After signing a seven-day hardship contract with Indiana on Thursday to help aid the Fever’s continued patchwork point guard depth, Kyra Lambert spoke on what she plans to bring to the team and how she is blessed to be given a new opportunity to further her professional basketball career.
Lambert expressed gratitude towards the Fever for presenting the opportunity to finally fulfill her dream of playing in the WNBA after a long and winding basketball journey.
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“This means everything,” Lambert said. “I’m super excited. It’s a blessing, you know, having the journey that I’ve had,” she continued. “I’ve just been remaining faithful, trusting God and doing the work. To see it all come back around and pay off with this opportunity is awesome. … I’m really excited to be here.”
The 5-foot-9 point guard, who overcame two ACL injuries during her five-year run at Duke, before transferring to Texas to close out her six-year collegiate averaged 6.8 points per game on 39.3% shooting from the field and 35.1% from 3-point territory in college. Lambert also averaged 3.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.3 steals per game through 124 contests with both the Blue Devils and Longhorns.
Following college, Lambert headed overseas, playing professionally in France (Toulouse), Latvia (TTT Riga), New Zealand (Whai), Slovakia (Slavia Banska Bystrica), and Turkey, before her most recent stint in Greece, where she won the Greek A1 League with Olympiacos.
When asked about her familiarity with the league’s constantly evolving style of play, Lambert said she has been watching the WNBA for years and understands what it’ll take to quickly catch up to speed with the rest of her new Indiana teammates.
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“Yeah, I’ve been watching the W for years. It’s the best basketball (league) in the world. So, I’ve been watching and I’ve been studying,” Lambert answered. “You know, to be able to watch it and see it from a professional point of view just helps the transition. The girls and the organization have been great in welcoming me here and just got me up to speed quickly, so I’m really excited to join the team.”
In terms of her first impressions gathered regarding the organization’s culture during Thursday’s practice, Lambert praised the team’s welcoming nature and how each member provides uplifting support with the collective goal of securing wins and eventually another championship.
The team was able to sign Lambert with a hardship waiver after season-ending injuries to Sydney Colson and Aari McDonald.
With Odyssey Sims signing a regular hardship contract with Indiana last Sunday and the potential return of Clark generally estimated to occur sometime over the next 10 days, Lambert’s stay with the Fever could be short-lived as the team must release either her or Sims upon Clark’s return in order to comply with the WNBA’s CBA.
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Obviously, Lambert could sign an additional seven-day contract with Indiana if Clark is unable to return by next Thursday, but the same scenario on the roster cuts would be an issue.
Despite Lambert not playing in the team’s disappointing 88-84 Friday night loss against the Washington Mystics, hopefully Lambert will be able to provide an impact in the Fever’s next game versus the Connecticut Sun on Sunday from Uncasville, Conn.
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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Opportunity with Indiana Fever ‘means everything’ to Kyra Lambert
