Jordin Canada speaks on success back home with Los Angeles Sparks, Nipsey Hussle influence

"My value comes from who I am, not from what I do."

That's what Jordin Canada was instructed to write in her journal at UCLA every day after practice. The mantra has stuck with her through her six-year WNBA career. This season, the Los Angeles Sparks guard is averaging a career-best 13.3 points, 6.0 assists and 3.4 rebounds per game. She also has 1.9 steals per outing, second only to her 2.3 steals from 2019 when she was named to the First Team All-Defensive squad.

"I carry that with me every day. That is something that I will always hold value to, especially learning that at UCLA that it's not always about basketball," she told USA TODAY. "That doesn't define me, that it's just something that I do. The values that I carry as a person, my personality, the things that I love off the court are what's important, most important."

The guard, who celebrated her 28th birthday on Friday, won two WNBA championships in her time with the Seattle Storm, where she was drafted in 2018 and played behind future Hall of Famer Sue Bird. She knew she wanted a chance to shine on her own, so she joined the Sparks in free agency in the 2022 offseason, returning to her hometown team.

"Trusting my process, trusting the work that I put in and getting my confidence back and, you know, psychologically getting to where I used to be," she said of the reason for her success this season. "I'm just very blessed and grateful right now that I have been able to get back to that space that I once was in."

Part of her process was staying stateside instead of playing overseas in the offseason (she's previously played in Turkey, Poland and Hungary) and did a stint with Athletes Unlimited, a fast-paced women's professional league.

"Just being able to play freely, play my game and not have to think about you know the X's and O's, but just having fun," she said, "and I think that's what I needed to get back to is enjoying the game and the love for it, loving the grind and loving the process in the offseason. I think that's what really helped me and propelled me for this season that I'm having."

Jordin Canada debuts Jordan Brand sneaker paying tribute to Ronald McDonald House

Something else she learned early in her playing career was the importance of giving back. After serving as the starting point guard for four years at Windward School, she participated in the 2014 McDonald's All-American Game, where she set the record for assists and also built a special connection with the Ronald McDonald House.

"I just got really impacted by those kids," she said. "... I've been really intentional about partnering with them and you know, doing some of the events that they have or just volunteering."

She will debut a PE sneaker with Jordan Brand paying tribute to the charity at the Sparks' home game this Saturday against the Atlanta Dream. She recently spent some time painting with kids at the Los Angeles Ronald McDonald House. The player exclusive colorway incorporates some of the kids' paintings. After the game, the shoes are to go up for auction with proceeds benefitting the non-profit organization, which provides housing for families who travel for their children to receive medical care.

"Honestly, they inspired me... just their positivity and their point of view. You know, always trying to stay positive, always smiling, even through adversity," she said of spending time with the kids. "All of that put it into perspective for me that I'm very blessed and fortunate to do what I do and be in the position that I'm in. I just want to be able to give back as much as possible. Just always having a positive mindset, a positive attitude to life and not taking anything for granted."

Jordin Canada confident in Sparks rebuilding

In Canada's first year with the Sparks, the team fired Derek Fisher, their head coach and general manager, after he started the season 5-7. The team finished 13-23 and missed the playoffs for the second consecutive year.

This season, the team has welcomed rookie Zia Cooke, who the Sparks drafted after she starred at South Carolina, and veterans Layshia Clarendon and Dearica Hamby. They are also bolstered by the dynamic duo of sisters Chiney and Nneka Ogwumike. Los Angeles is currently 11-18 and in ninth place in the WNBA standings, but Canada said the progress is beyond the stat sheet.

"It's all about the process and giving ourselves grace in that we are way better than we were last year," she said, "but also understanding that we still have some growth and improvement that we need to have. But overall, as a team, as a unit, we're still building our chemistry. We get along, everyone loves being around each other and we're still trying to figure it out, you know. But I think when you're doing it with great people and great human beings, it just makes the process so much easier. So that's what I love about this year is that everybody's trying to buy into this new rebuild and understanding that we have ways to go but we're far better than where we were last year."

She said she keeps in touch with former Storm coach and teammate Noelle Quinn, who also went to UCLA and is a fellow Los Angeles native. Canada said she has "been a great mentor."

Canada joined Klutch Sports agency in April 2022 and is a client of Jade-Li English, who had five clients in this year's All-Star Game. The point guard calls English "a lifesaver" who encourages her by attending games and creating a team environment.

"It’s a relationship-driven business for me and I talk to my clients very frequently all day for the most part," English told USA TODAY ahead of the All-Star Game. "Definitely in the group chat, but also just really getting to know what’s important to them and that helps me do my job and that helps me help them show up however they want to. If you’re doing that authentically, then you have no choice but to become close."

Jordin Canada enjoys singing, is inspired by Nipsey Hussle

Canada also enjoys singing. She has dreams of releasing her own album and, for a Players' Tribune feature last year, she went to the studio for the first time with industry veterans — producers J. Valentine and Shawn Holmes and engineer Travis Bruce. She recorded a mellow song whose hook fans couldn't get out of their heads.

"I didn't realize how much work you put into being in the studio," she said, noting she's hopeful to spend more time recording when she has an offseason where she doesn't play overseas. "We were there for maybe like four or five hours and I didn't even get to finish the song. That was just simply coming up with the melody and the beat and then putting down the hook and that took four or five hours within itself. But I love the process of learning what it takes to write a song and the ideas that you have in your head just to write down or put it out there on the track and it was a lot of fun."

Music is an escape for Canada, whose father was in a music group and toured the world. She found her own passion for it in middle school when she joined school choir.

"Anything outside of basketball, just to get away from it and refresh and do something else. I do it as much as I can," she said. "So you know, singing has been my go to for the most part if I'm not doing anything else."

Music from other people motivates her in life and basketball as well, including Los Angeles rapper and entrepreneur Nipsey Hussle, who was shot and killed in front of his store in March 2019. She has paid tribute to him on Instagram, using his lyrics and the "TMC" tag, which stands for "The Marathon Continues" in her captions.

"I listen to him almost every day, just the message that he represents of just no matter the ups and downs, just keep your eye on the prize and be intentional about the things that you do," she said. "And not only that, but just giving back the knowledge and everything that you've learned and experienced over your life you want to pass down and you know, give to others who are not as fortunate as I am.

"Just hearing that message every day in his music is really inspiring for me for basketball to just keep impacting the youth and the next generation and passing down what I've learned over my career and in life, too. Just always wanting to give back and understand there's always levels and you have to pace yourself and you can't get fixated on anyone else's journey. Because I have my own journey to worry about."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jordin Canada speaks on success back home with Los Angeles Sparks