Radio silence isn’t a sign that nothing is happening. In fact, it is more likely that when someone you expect to make noise stays quiet for a long while, there is something brewing in the background. And now that she’s ready, Nika Muhl has broken her long silence on Instagram.
She shared a deeply emotional update as she inches toward her return to basketball. “Played my first 10 minutes after 355 days,” she wrote. “All worth it. State of gratitude.”
Missing almost an entire season after suffering a torn ACL and meniscus while playing overseas for Beşiktaş, Nika Muhl’s path back has been steep. She followed up that first post with another short but hopeful message: “Soon….”
Nika Muhl plied her trade with the WNBA previously. The Seattle Storm got her in 2024, but due to having other players chosen ahead of her, she didn’t have much outings. A measly 57 minutes in 16 games which is not a lot for an entire season. And now that she’s back, she may finally start racking in those minutes.
It was an ACL tear that really put her on the sidelines for so long. And just like plenty of athletes who rely on their legs and feet to be good at the sport, the road to recovery was tough. But right now she is starting to see the minutes, and perhaps see more of the ball moving forward. The fight to keep yourself in the competition and in the team is one thing. Now the next challenge is on, staying on the court.
Nika Muhl Might See Game Time in Hungary
As an athlete, to keep yourself on top of your game, constant practice and application is key. Without practice, the skill is never learned, and without competition, what’s learned is never used.
While her WNBA outings are short, few and far in between, Hungary and Eurobasket may be something to keep Nika Muhl’s weapons sharp. Since recovering from her ACL injury, it has been a big question mark as to where she would end up. The answer, apparently, is Sopron Basket.
In a recent interview, Nika Muhl expressed her excitement for returning overseas. She called European basketball “the number one goal” she imagined growing up, before the WNBA became an option. She also shared her long-standing connection with Sopron: “if I was gonna go pro, I was gonna go to Sopron … I visited Sopron when I was 16 or 17 … I practiced with the first team.”
That experience could give her room to ease back into competition, gain needed minutes, and rebuild confidence ahead of a WNBA return.
For more basketball content, click on Hardwood Heroics. Sabel Reyes can be reached through sabelreyes22@gmail.com. Other websites under the Sports Heroics umbrella are Gridiron Heroics and Wisconsin Heroics.
Sabel has been working as a field reporter for People’s Television Network (PTV), mainly about the Philippine Basketball Association since 2016 and has been elevated to Executive Producer for sports in 2022. Aside from being on top of the Philippine sports scene, she is also a running enthusiast. You can also follow her on X at @SabelReyes2 and Instagram at @msabelreyes.
