Who’s that girl from the State Farm commercial? It’s Arike Ogunbowale.


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Arike Ogunbowale leans back in a chair and kicks a pair of Nike Air Force 1s covered in Swarovski crystals onto a desk with Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban standing in front of her. She sports sunglasses and two chains with gleaming diamond pendants — one encrusted with her No. 24. Cuban pitches a pair of outlandish business ideas in a faux Shark Tank production within a State Farm commercial as Ogunbowale shakes her head, unimpressed.

The Dallas Wings star joined the likes of LeBron James, Chris Paul, Aaron Rodgers, Patrick Mahomes and Jonquel Jones featured in the line of commercials. Still, a Google search for athletes in State Farm commercials quickly pops up the headline: Who’s the girl in the State Farm commercial with Mark Cuban?

“I’ve seen comments. … ‘Isn’t that the girl from the commercial?’” Ogunbowale said with a chuckle. “Like the WNBA was my side job and commercials was my first.”

That’s the paradox of Ogunbowale. She’s the type of player who gets labeled your favorite hooper’s favorite hooper. The third-leading scorer in the WNBA (21.6 points per game) is a lightning-quick guard with breathtaking crossovers, step-backs and hesitations that would have been at home on any And1 Mixtape, a style developed in her hometown of Milwaukee. Mystics guard Brittney Sykes, one of the best defenders in the league, labeled Ogunbowale a top-three guard in terms of handle. The résumé is impeccable for a 26-year-old — the No. 5 overall pick who led Notre Dame to a national championship as the tournament’s most outstanding player and will play in her third All-Star Game on Saturday in Las Vegas. In the 2021 showcase event featuring the Olympic team, Ogunbowale scored a game-high 26 points and was named MVP in her first appearance.

All of that style on the court is inseparable from what she emanates away from it. At a Final Four party in Dallas that featured Diana Taurasi, Sue Bird, Sheryl Swoopes and some of the biggest names in women’s basketball, it was Ogunbowale — rocking those chains, sunglasses, Christian Louboutin shoes and a multicolored patchwork jacket that stole the show — who grabbed the microphone and toasted the crowd.

Some, however, still ask, “Who’s that girl?”

“Arike brings just like a cool, smooth vibe,” Wings teammate Odyssey Sims said. “On the court. Off the court. Of course, it’s more dog-ish on the court because she’s such a competitor, and that’s what I love about her.

“But off the court is this, like, her aroma, just how she carries herself. It’s just like you can feel it when she walks past. When she comes in the room, it’s just like, give me some of that. I want to soak up some of that greatness, please. It’s a vibe, an aura that you don’t see or have often.”

Big brother Dare Ogunbowale, a running back for the Houston Texans, has seen it his entire life. While…



Read More: Who’s that girl from the State Farm commercial? It’s Arike Ogunbowale. 2023-07-13 17:30:00

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