On the latest audio edition of “Listen In With KNN” sports talk podcast and radio show with host Kelsey Nicole Nelson, special guest Analyss Benally joined the show to talk about sports, culture, and life growing up on a Navajo reservation.
Benally recently appeared in the new film “Rez Ball” airing on Netflix. The 2016 graduate of Wichita Heights High School in Park City, Kan. is also a former Division 1 basketball player who starred at San Jose State University from 2016-2021. ZToday, Benally plays professional basketball in Europe.
Nelson began by asking how Benally ended up making her acting debut and becoming part of the Sydney Freeland directed and Lebron James produced “Rez Ball.”
“Yeah, so I was actually overseas. I was in my third year as a professional in Europe. I was in my second year and we had, my family and I, we had seen a casting call for the area. We just saw LeBron James producing the film, Rez Ball. And I was like, ooh, I have to do it. Like they needed Native American players that knew how to play. And I was like, check and check. Like I have to try to figure this out,” Benally said.
Nelson then asked Benally, who is an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, if she thought the film correctly portrayed Native American and Navajo culture in today’s reality.
“I think it showed a realistic view that maybe people from the area aren’t necessarily proud of, but it’s realistic,” Benally said.
Speaking about the reservation, Nelson asked Benally what the communal view on women’s basketball was like when she was growing up on the Navajo reservation in Shiprock, New Mexico.
“Women’s basketball on the rez has always been a huge thing, like basketball itself, of course, for the boys teams, but for the women’s team, it’s more traditionally to have championship after championship after championship with certain schools in the area,” Benally said.
Nelson and Benally also spoke about the surreality of the film debuting in the Netflix top 10 among other accolades such as a 94% critic rating according to Rotten Tomatoes.
“Like you said, it’s surreal. It’s just really cool and for it to just happen in days, you know, like I had no idea it was going to happen. And yeah, I’m just thankful. I was just thankful that I was somewhat prepared because they just threw it at me,” Benally said.
Nelson then shifted the conversation to Benally’s college career, specifically how she ended up going to San Jose State after her family moved to Wichita, Kansas.
“I remember San Jose State just, they were so personable with me, like they were texting me, calling me, sending me handwritten letters, like taking their time. They came out and saw me in a couple of the tournaments. And I would get on phone calls with them and just kind of, you know, have just a normal conversation,” Benally said.
Bennally would eventually become one of the top 3-point shooters in the Mountain West Conference during her time with the SJSU Spartans.
The duo eventually moved the conversation from college basketball to professional and talked about the current state of the WNBA with so much attention around women’s sports.
“You really just watch the talent and you’re like, wow, I mean, it’s been right there and we just get to watch it and more people are appreciating it, a wider view. I just think it’s really cool,” Benally said.
Benally herself has played three seasons of professional basketball in Europe among other countries across the Atlantic ocean.
Nelson finished the conversation by asking what Benally’s next chapter will look like.
“I’m ready to get back over to Europe… and like you said, like WNBA is on the screens everywhere. And I’m hoping one of these days, one of these seasons, I’m able to be on that screen with them,” Benally said.
