"I didn't know how to handle my emotions when she died," says Holdsclaw. "At the time, it was like I was in a box and had closed myself in. It was the one time I needed help and I wasn't letting anybody in."

In Words Can Work, Holdsclaw talks about hitting bottom when she envisioned herself getting into a car and driving off the road. "That was my low point," she says. "I had things going through my head. But seeking therapy and talking to people is how I learned to handle those thoughts. I don't feel that way anymore."

The stigma surrounding depression was another reason Holdsclaw decided to participate in the video.

"Depression in the African-American community isn't really accepted," she says. "Sometimes people think you're achievements are a kind of strength. They think that because you're an MVP you're untouchable. They think they know you."

In 2004, it was Summitt who convinced Holdsclaw to return to basketball, determined to see the top scorer in the school's history -- male or female -- and the player who had led the Lady Vols to three national titles, get back on track. Holdsclaw did return, but asked to be traded. Washington held too many memories of June.

The Sparks were no doubt thrilled to add Holdsclaw to a lineup that already included center Lisa Leslie, a three-time WNBA MVP and the league's all-time leading scorer with 5,412 career points. But with L.A. losing the 2006 conference final and Leslie's maternity leave last season, the "spark" team owners Kathy Goodman and Carla Christofferson hoped to light up their franchise never fully ignited. Holdsclaw admits that not ever winning a WNBA title is her only regret.

This one missing link in the long chain of Holdsclaw's career isn't enough, however, for her to come back and play in the U.S. "Those were a lot of great years, but now it's something I'd rather sit back and watch from afar," she says. "I don't see myself suiting up again for the WNBA."

It's no secret that women's basketball players earn more in the Euroleague. The salary cap for a WNBA player is $93,000 a year. Players can make three times that much playing overseas, which is a large part of why WNBA players end up playing year-round. And women's basketball players still earn well below the amount in endorsement deals than their female counterparts in sports like tennis and golf. So speculation over Holdsclaw's true motives for scrapping the Sparks and then picking up the ball four months later overseas wouldn't be unfounded. But Holdsclaw, who signed a six-figure deal with Nike in 1999, doesn't mention money -- not once. She's just enjoying the European lifestyle.

"I like going to the supermarkets here in Poland and not understanding anything, having to find things to cook and ask around," Holdsclaw says. "It's something I want to embrace. I enjoy the culture here."

But Poland isn't her final destination. Holdsclaw, who was just settling into her new house in Atlanta when she packed up to play for Lotos, says she wants to buy a condo in Barcelona one day. She's looking forward to having her family visit her in Europe over the holidays, and is so set on the European lifestyle that she's planning on giving her first home in Atlanta to her brother.

As hard as it is to imagine the WNBA without Holdsclaw, it's even harder to imagine the sport without her, which might be enough for basketball fans. "Basketball is in my life," says Holdsclaw. "I don't want to cheat myself. God blessed me with a gift, a way to reach people, and I'm doing that." Just, of course, 5,000 miles away.

After her playing days are over, Holdsclaw hopes to coach, maybe at Tennessee, where anybody driving close to campus can take a turn on to Chamique Holdsclaw Drive (not far from Pat Summitt Street). "Me and coach Summitt, we keep in contact. I'm a proud alumni of that program, and I was glad we won last year," says Holdsclaw. "It's rich with history, and if the opportunity came about to coach there, of course I would."

Summitt, who also appears in Words Can Work, says in the video that the first time she saw Holdsclaw play she thought, "Whoever signs Chamique Holdsclaw will win championships, because she's the best player in the game."

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