There is also an experience factor - while people decry the need for WNBA players to play overseas in their off-season, players like Sue and DT developed significantly during their overseas play - they also learned the international game which is different from the US game, international officiating which is different, and developed a large data base of styles of play and of international players that is valuable in the NT competitions. It is great that some WNBA players have developed income sources during the off season that preclude their need to play overseas, but I think it may have hurt their development and specifically their development as potential NT players.
In almost all sports there is a balance between youth and experience - the older an athlete gets the greater their knowledge of the sport, at the same time the older they get the more their body breaks down. The experience that Sue and DT and others have developed over their careers is an asset to any team they play on - their bodies may not allow them to do everything they could do a decade ago, but their experience may allow them to do better than their inexperience allowed them to do a decade ago - and their ability to share that knowledge and experience with younger teammates can be a valuable resource, just as it was for them to learn from Dawn and others earlier in their careers.
