Myisha Hines-Allen isn’t one to hold onto many hobbies. She likes to play with her dog, Ace, and go out to try new restaurants; those are her staples.
But this overseas season while playing in Turkey, the 27-year-old has added a new skill to her repertoire: disc jockeying
This WNBA offseason Hines-Allen took her talents to Istanbul to play on the EuroCup team Galatasaray Cagdas Factoring. It was a return to overseas competition after missing out on last year’s cycle due to knee surgery. Immediately, she put on a show with the Turkish club. She finished the EuroCup regular season averaging 21.0 points (seventh-best in the league), 13.8 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 2.0 steals per game, all while leading the team to an undefeated record.
It’s there in Istanbul where the forward decided to pick up the new craft.
“Honestly, I think it just popped into my head,” Hines-Allen said during an Instagram Live on the Mystics account. “I was at one restaurant called ‘Celebrity’ here in Istanbul. There was a DJ there and I was just like, ‘Oh, I DJ,’ joking. ‘Yeah I DJ,’ so he was like come here and try. And then after that, I was like yeah I want to try this so like the next day I went onto Amazon and bought a little turntable.”
Of course, there is a notable influence that Hines-Allen has on her. The Mystics’ DJ Heat is well-known for her disc-jockeying skills, providing entertainment during every home game at the Entertainment and Sports Arena. Crafting a unique environment that is second to none, it boosts the team’s homecourt advantage in pivotal contests.
Learning the craft in a foreign country has given Hines-Allen a new appreciation for what DJ Heat does on a nightly basis.
“It’s a lot harder than what you probably think. You have to match the songs perfectly, know when you want to come in with another song. Like you have to know music for real, for real for you to do this,” she said.
Hines-Allen continued: “you really have to be on your game with this. And [DJ Heat] doesn’t play the same songs, that’s like how I know she knows what’s she’s doing over there.”
Up next for Hines-Allen and Galatasaray is the rest of the Turkish Super League regular season and the EuroCup quarterfinals in late February.