In 500 feet, turn left onto East 165th Street.
It was the all-too common sound of a GPS giving instructions. When you’re on the go as much as Lexie Hull is, you rely on the assistance of a GPS.
On this day, October 29, 2024, Hull was in New York City for a quick stop to go to Game 4 of the World Series at Yankee Stadium.
After the Yankees trounced the Dodgers, 11-4, to win their first game of the series, Hull was back on the road again as she prepared to announce her plans for playing this offseason, and wait to hear who her new coach would be.
Now, we know that Hull is playing for Unrivaled, as she was the 29th announcement for the new three-on-three league that will be playing in Miami beginning in January, but at the time, Hull was coming off back-to-back years playing for Athletes Unlimited.
But at the time – a day before, Hull was non-committal about where she would be playing, offering a “TBD” and saying she was “still figuring it out” when I asked her about it.
But the majority of our discussion was looking backward, not forward, as Hull enjoyed a second-half breakout in 2024, helping the Indiana Fever clinch their first playoff berth since 2016.
While Hull was on her way to the World Series, she squeezed in some time to chat with me about the 2024 season, the Olympic Break, coming off of the bench to start the season, her makeup brand, and yes, Caitlin Clark.
Michael Waterloo: Thanks for taking some time to chat today, Lexie, especially after a long season with the Olympic Break. How’s your offseason been so far?
Lexie Hull: It’s been great. I was expecting the offseason to start and be able to chill and relax, but it’s been busier than expected. It’s been great to take a step back from basketball but keep myself busy still.
MW: It was an interesting season for you. It started with the Fever shuffling their rotations and lineups. It wasn’t until July that you started playing 20 minutes per night consistently. What was the adjustment like for you early on after starting the majority of the 2023 season?
LH: Honestly, it was difficult. Everyone on the team wants to play and contribute and feel like they have a role. It took me a second to realize that it’s a process and that my time will come. It’s basketball, so roles change, and I was making sure that I was putting the work in during the first couple of months when I didn’t see the floor as much as I hoped I would, but I was excited for the second half of the season.
MW: I wrote an article during the Olympic Break about each team’s second-half key. Not just a player, but an overall key. For Indiana, it was your play down the stretch. During that month-long break for the Olympics, were you in the gym, or did you take space from the game? What did you do to come out the way you did in the second half?
LH: That break was great. We got a week and half, two weeks off. I went to Mexico with some teammates and then went home to spend time with my family. I headed back to Indiana for the rest of the month, and our coaches really pushed us and got us in the gym. It was nice because we worked on team building for the first few minutes of practice. We gelled, got to know each other, and enjoyed it. It definitely helped us prepare for the second half of the season.
MW: What kind of team building? I think of Phoenix during the preseason and Chicago recently both holding talent shows with their players. Was that what the Fever did, too?
LH: (Laughs) No, no talent shows. I did see Phoenix’s, though, and it was great. All of ours were 10 minutes before practice with different games. We played wiffleball games, pickleball, and it was great seeing that competitiveness. You have a bunch of competitive people taking part in an activity outside of basketball, so you know that it goes up a different notch.
MW: Speaking of competitiveness, let’s switch back to hoops and talk about your breakout game for a lot of people against Seattle. You had a +17 rating – the third-highest mark of your career at that point – with 22 points and 6-of-7 from downtown. Was that a confidence booster for you, and how did it feel to see the outpouring from fans?
LH: I’m grateful for that and for that support. It’s hard in a career like this with the ups and downs and wondering who is out there and who has your back. Having that game and people talking positively means a lot. My sister and grandma were there, and it meant a lot to me to have that kind of performance with them there. It was a special moment of the season.
MW: When you have that kind of game, as a competitor at the highest level, do you know that it’s going to be one of those nights before the game or during it?
LH: Going into it, no. But when that fifth three goes down, it feels like everything I’m shooting is going in. And really, everyone talks about me in that game, but everyone hit a lot of shots. The fans were into it, and we all were able to feed off of positive energy and grew from there. When you’re feeling it and knowing your shots are falling, you build off of it.
MW: Let’s talk about the threes, Lexie. You shot 60.4 percent from behind the arc in the last 14 games of the season. Was it something with the offense, your role changing, or just feeling confident?
LH: Honestly, it’s being able to play with more freedom. When you’re not getting minutes, it’s hard to go in and not feel the pressure to go in and try to get a good look to stay on the court. You feel pressure that you have to get one shot and make it. I take that as it comes. Caitlin (Clark) finds people who are open, and I know that the shots will come. I just have to take advantage of them when they do. I put the work in, and I’m always trusting that the shot will come.
MW: The offense gets the headlines, but I always looked at you as a perimeter defensive stopper. Is that something you talked to Coach Sides about and is that what you’ll encourage with Coach White, too, to give you the top defensive assignment each game?
LH: Yeah, I definitely feel like I really got that opportunity as the season went on. Christie (Sides) and I had that convo. That’s a role that I can thrive in – especially since it helps with taking the load off the players who are doing the offensive work each night. I’m excited about taking on that assignment during every game.
MW: When I talk with players, the convo always turns into one direction – fashion. It’s not the W without the fits. What goes into your tunnel fits for game days?
LH: (Laughs) For me, I enjoy doing the TikTok videos each gameday. It’s my pregame routine at this point. I don’t put a lot of thought into it, though. I know that some players will hire stylists, but for me, it’s just my personal style with clothes in my closet. I take my pregame nap and then pick out my outfit out of my closet. I enjoy it, and it’s fun to look across the league and see all of the players doing their thing with their own styles.
MW: OK, Lexie, we have to talk about the green hair incident. Walk me through the feelings you had the night before the photoshoot?
LH: Oh my god. There was absolute panic. I didn’t realize my hair was green. We were in Mexico during the Olympic Break, and I got out of the shower, came up the stairs, and Katie Lou (Samuelson) said “LEXIE, YOUR HAIR IS GREEN.” I was freaking out. I knew that I had to go to LA the next day for a photoshoot. I was researching what other people did and seeing what I should do. I went to Ulta and washed my hair six times. I even put ketchup in it. We still don’t know what happened, but maybe it was the PH of the pool.But my hair is back to normal now, but it was a very stressful time.
MW: Bear with me, because I also have to ask about shoes. I’m a huge sneakerhead, and it’s something I look at during each game – which shoes players are wearing. With more and more players getting a signature shoe in the league, is there an unwritten rule about wearing an opponents shoe when you face them? Like, you wore a pair of Sabrina 1s a couple of times this year, but if you were wearing them regularly as your go-to shoe, would you switch to, say, the Book 1 for games against the Liberty?
LH: (Laughs) I don’t know about a true unwritten rule, but I think it’s great. I love the Sabrinas and supporting her by wearing them. I do think there are convos in the WNBA and the NBA where you don’t want to give them the confidence boost of repping them when guarding them. There’s definitely convos that take place about that.
MW: We’re outside of the basketball season, so let’s talk about outside ventures. I’ve heard you started your own venture with your college roommate called Forta. Can you tell me a little bit about it?
@lexiehulll So excited to share what I’ve been working on the last several months and to apply to The Catalysts competition! #Jointhecatalysts #contest #niv_elc
LH: Yeah, I’m really excited about it. Sarah Guller was my roommate at Stanford. She was working in Boston for this investor group. She came to me and said that there’s a gap that’s not being addressed as there are not any products that fit in the intersection for performance and beauty. I wear makeup when I play, and she thought I was a perfect partner for her. It allows athletes to maintain their look even when they’re playing sports or going to a concert or anything like that. We went with that idea, ran with it, and we are launching in Q1 of 2025. We are working on building out the product line and building out the brand. It’s something to do in offtime and something that I’m super passionate about. When it initially releases, you can get Forta on its website as it’ll be Direct to Consumer, as well as on TikTok. Eventually, when we get more money raised, we are hoping to get it into Ulta and Sephora.
MW: People always reference DiJonai Carrington and how her makeup looks fantastic at the end of each game still. Have any athletes reached out about their interest in being brand ambassadors?
LH: Yeah, for sure. I’m hoping to leverage some of those relationships within sports. DiJonai is a great friend, and I played with her at Stanford. I’d love to bring her to the brand down the line, I hope.
MW: Let’s play a game, Lexie. Instead of F, Marry, Kill, we are going to do Start, Bench, Cut. The topic: Caitlin Clark’s off-court ventures: Food critic, golfer, baseball commentator.
LH: (Laughs) Oh man. She’s good at all of them. Don’t tell her that I said that. I would say Cut as a food critic.
@lexiehulll going to be back everyday with our golden mugs!! #swig #fyp #soda #momtok @Caitlin Clark @Swig
We don’t have the same taste. She will argue with that, but I’m cutting her as that.
This is tough. I’ll bench her as a commentator.
@lexiehulll
She’s good, but I think she has a real career as a golfer. So I’ll start her as a golfer.
@caitlin.clark22 So close to my first hole in one 😭⛳️@lexiehull
She gets super angry after each slice. She’s so competitive at it.
MW: I’ve seen the videos of you golfing with her, but I’ve also seen the videos of Grace Berger, who is a fantastic golfer, as well. Has Caitlin surpassed Grace as the best golfer on the team?
LH: (Laughs) Grace is really good. Really, really good. I’ve golfed with both of them. Caitlin is playing a lot more, but I’d love to see them on the course together.
MW: Back in the day, ESPN would do a showdown between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson on primetime. Maybe we can find out how to set that up for Grace and Caitlin.
LH: Oh, that would be amazing. I’d love to see that happen.
MW: OK, as we wrap up here and you get ready for the rest of your offseason and Unrivaled, what would you say your outlook is for the Fever next year and what you are hoping to improve on?
LH: I think that I definitely want to continue building out my role. Finishing the year shooting well was great, but I want to be more consistent throughout the season. Finishing is something that I can improve on, and it’s something that I’m working on now. In terms of the team outlook, the goal is to improve as a group. I’d love to see us win a playoff game. Getting there was great, but getting there and winning is the goal. It’s always the goal.
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