Dawn Staley has accomplished nearly everything in basketball, from winning Olympic gold medals to coaching the South Carolina Gamecocks to multiple national championships. Now, she is stepping into a different arena: publishing.
Dawn Staley Expands Her Legacy With a New Book
On Friday morning, she announced the release of her first book, Uncommon Favor: Basketball, North Philly, My Mother, and the Life Lessons I Learned from All Three, which will be available on May 20.
Staley’s journey from growing up in the projects of North Philadelphia to becoming a five-time WNBA All-Star and three-time NCAA champion has been well documented.
However, fans have long urged her to put her story into a book, and she finally decided the time was right. In a video shared by Matt Dowell, Staley explained her reasoning.
“One, I just got tired of people asking me. Two, I had to do it before I forgot everything. Three, I think the season that we had last year made me really thankful of what I describe as an uncommon favor career,” she said.
Dawn Staley on her new book and why now was the time to write one:
“One, I just got tired of people asking me. Two, I had to do it before I forgot everything. Three, I think the season that we had last year made me really thankful of what I describe as an uncommon favor career.” pic.twitter.com/CVpk61o2hF
— Matt Dowell (@MattDowellTV) February 21, 2025
During another interview, she expanded on why she felt this was the right time to write her book.
“I think it was just only fitting to just kind of put that in context of my life and share it with people,” she said.
Staley’s career reached new heights last season when South Carolina completed an undefeated 38-0 run and secured its third national championship. The Gamecocks are currently 24-3 after defeating Arkansas on Thursday and will face Vanderbilt on Sunday.
Despite her extensive experience handling pressure as a coach and player, Staley admitted that writing a book presented a different kind of challenge. She joked with the media that the process left her feeling “mentally exhausted,” a state she typically associates with winning games.
“Writing the book, you got to think about a lot of things, who were the characters that played, and sometimes you lose that in just getting older,” she explained.
Staley made sure to include the most meaningful parts of her life.
“But the good stuff is in it. The stuff that I really think was impactful to my life. Just starting out growing up in North Philly in the projects. Everything has a correlation back to that, everything has a correlation back to my mother. Everything has a correlation to the successes just because of the foundation that I’ve had.”
Staley Joins Tamia for a Surprise Performance
The book is being published by Black Privilege Publishing, an imprint of Atria Books. Jonathan Karp, CEO of Simon & Schuster, expressed his excitement about the project.
“Beyond her extraordinary accomplishments as a player and a coach, she is known as an inspiring and exemplary leader. The same winning insights that have produced championship teams will benefit generations of readers.”
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In addition to announcing her book, Staley gave South Carolina fans an unexpected moment on Friday night. She joined R&B singer Tamia on stage during her concert at Colonial Life Arena, adding another memorable event to an already exciting weekend.
Meanwhile, the Gamecocks continue to focus on their final three games of the regular season. Their upcoming matchup against Vanderbilt will test their ability to maintain momentum as they prepare for postseason play.
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