The Dallas Wings veteran opens up to PEOPLE in an exclusive interview about how her father was her biggest supporter
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NEED TO KNOW
- Alysha Clark has written a children’s book about grief following the death of her father
- The WNBA star lost her father, Duane Clark, in 2022
- The musician was his daughter’s biggest fan
Add first-time author to Dallas Wings veteran Alysha Clark’s list of accomplishments.
The three-time WNBA champion is opening up to PEOPLE exclusively about her new children’s book Paw Paw’s Playlist. The book, which tells the story of a young boy learning to keep his late grandfather’s memory alive, conveys how kids grieve the loss of a loved one, something Clark, 39, experienced in 2022 when her father, Duane Clark, died unexpectedly.
“It was hard after losing him, just in terms of, like, what does this mean now without him, you know?” Clark tells PEOPLE. “That was such a huge void to fill.”
Credit: Be The Good Publishing
Duane, a musician who once opened for Al Wilson and B.B. King, was Clark’s biggest fan — and her loudest.
“He would be booing the opposing team, and I would just be sitting there like, ‘No way,’” Clark recalls. “And, you know, back in the day in the league, like, some arenas that you went to, there weren’t many people.”
She continues with a laugh, “So, like, it’s an away game, we’re playing, they’re at the free-throw line, and all you hear is my dad booing. You just see everyone in the crowd, turning around, like, ‘Who is this man booing?’ But he didn’t care. He was ride or die for me and whatever team I was on.”
Credit: Tim Heitman/NBAE/Getty
Selected by the San Antonio Silver Stars as the 17th overall pick in the 2010 WNBA Draft, Clark failed to make the roster. But the Middle Tennessee standout found her way into the league two years later with the Seattle Storm.
After nine seasons in Seattle, the small forward joined the Washington Mystics in 2022. She then teamed up with the Las Vegas Aces, winning a title with the club in 2023.
The 2023 WNBA Sixth Player of the Year winner signed with the Wings this season, taking on a new role on a roster filled with youngsters, including reigning Rookie of the Year Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd, the No. 1 pick of the 2026 WNBA Draft.
Credit: Be The Good Publishing
When she’s not trolling Bueckers, 24, about her deficiencies in the kitchen — as she did recently on Instagram — Clark (who counts banana bread as a specialty) finds time to be a sounding board for the younger players.
“There’s a lot of give and take,” Clark tells PEOPLE. “I learn a lot from them because the game is changing. And so, you know, we learn a lot from each other.”
She adds, “It’s just finding ways to insert little bits of knowledge because, you know, I watch a ton of film.”
Currently in her 13th season in the league, Clark has felt her father’s impact as she’s developed her game.
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“It’s been a really special journey to be able to go through, and I’m just happy that he got to experience the high of the highs with me,” she says.
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