How does a basketball superstar celebrate a deal that now makes her one of the highest paid Australian female athletes of all time?
For WNBA star Ezi Magbegor, it was enjoying a traditional Nigerian soup cooked by her mother, Patience, and a night in front of the TV with her family, soaking up precious time together, at their suburban Melbourne home.
Humble, understated and family at the heart of her every move, the 26-year-old this week re-signed with Seattle Storm on a guaranteed three-year deal estimated at around $[AU]1.8 million per year, after a groundbreaking new seven-year WNBA collective bargaining agreement was reached last month. It's just reward for the 193cm human shot-blocking machine and four-time All-WNBA defender.
"It was nice to be with my family, they've all been with me this past week (while the deal was being done) They've really helped me, as they have my whole career, and being able to celebrate it with my parents especially, and to be home for this moment, is something I don't take for granted," Magbegor told ESPN.
"It's been my first process going through free agency, having been in Seattle the last six years I knew it was where I wanted to be. To sign a contract with them has been really exciting for my family and I, especially in a time where women's basketball is on such a high, so I feel really, really blessed."
From the day she was drafted - she watched the live broadcast with just her parents, this writer, her agent and his staff in his Melbourne office back in 2019 -- it's been a whirlwind for Magbegor who was raised in Australia by her Nigerian-born parents.
She won a WNBA championship in her rookie season in 2020 and has established herself as key playmaker and elite defender for Seattle while also competing in two Olympics and a home World Cup campaign for the Opals netting two bronze medals.
Magbegor has also shone overseas in Europe and recently, with a rare moment to sit still back home, has finally been able to reflect.
"It's important because as female athletes I think we kind of go on to the next. I've had a lot more downtime the past year so taken the time to reflect a little on what my career has been like so far. I have many incredible people around me who remind me of that as well," she explains.
"(My WNBA career) it's not something I expected for myself but I'm very grateful to have been put in the right environments, right situations and also have the best support system because I definitely would be there without them."
Magbegor is the contemporary Aussie making her mark on Seattle, a franchise where Australia's greatest ever basketballer Lauren Jackson had such a profound impact it retired her iconic No.15 jersey upon her retirement.
To put the new collective bargaining agreement into perspective, Bruce Kaider manages Magbegor and represented Jackson. He says at the peak of her powers Jackson, a 3x MVP, 2x champion and 7x all-star, was earning $120,000 a season in the WNBA.
Kaider, who also has a plethora of Matildas players on his books, says Magbegor is one of the faces of an evolution.
"This is now a game changer for women's sport and I think other codes are going to see this and go 'OK, you know what? We now need to find ways to grow our game to put ourselves in a position to offer this to our athletes'," he said.
While Magbegor is a current beneficiary of the deal the athletes and their players union fought for, she is delighted for next wave of Aussies coming through including Saffron Shiels, Charlise Dunn, Amelia Hassett and Manuela Puoch who were selected in this week's WNBA draft.
On top of that, Alana Smith and Sami Whitcomb have been rewarded with multi-year deals, Jade Melbourne has committed to Seattle, and three Australians have rookie scale contracts with a further six on training camp deals.
"It's a reflection of Australian basketball and it stems from the greats who led the way but to see it continue on, I'm so excited for all of these players," she said.
"With the expansion of the league as well there's more roster spots and opportunities for Australian players."
The Storm's colours are akin to green and gold and will feel even more homely with news this week that fellow Opal Melbourne is returning after a stint in Washington.
"The Storm believed in me from such a young age and to be able to grow in that role, grow as a person in Seattle and the fans have helped me do that win or loss," Magbegor says.
"We changed venues after a few years and the way the city shows up for women's sports and women's basketball is really special and I'm excited to be around that again.
"I played with Jade in her rookie WNBL year and I'm so excited to have her back in Seattle. We love her, the fans love her and it's exciting I get to play with her for Seattle but the Opals as well."
It's shaping up to be a huge year for Magbegor with a FIBA World Cup in Germany in September; but first comes season 7 with the Storm. She will head to the US this weekend in preparation of the new WNBA season which tips on May 9.
"Just continue to grow, that's always been my biggest goal - be better than I was the day before, week before, year before," she says.
"Having more of a leadership approach because I have been there for six years, going into my seventh, so I think as a lead-by-example player looking to be me, play my game and do what I can to win and help the team."