Like many WNBA players, Atlanta Dream Forward Monique Billings spends her offseasons playing overseas. On March 1st, she headed to Hatay, Turkey to play for two months for the Turkish Women’s Basketball League (TKBL). Less than two weeks later sports leagues around the world were postponing seasons and some cancelling all together. Billings was in Hatay, Turkey when the State Department urged Americans "in countries where commercial departure options remain available" to "arrange for immediate return to the United States, unless they are prepared to remain abroad for an indefinite period."

With her entire family in California, she didn’t want to risk not being able to come home.

Billings took a direct flight from Istanbul to Los Angeles where airports were nearly empty. She boarded a flight from Istanbul to Los Angeles and saw some familiar faces from the NBA and WNBA. “There were probably 10-15 other hoopers on my flight. It was like a reunion.”

When they reached LAX the enhanced screening was hit or miss. “When I got to LAX I was so irritated because I got pulled to the side and questioned for maybe 5 mins, and my 2 WNBA friends were able just to slide by, and I was like those 2 over there are coming from the exact same place lol.”

Billings plans on taking the necessary precautions and social distancing guidelines set by the State Department for travelers returning abroad. As for the WNBA season, the league announced in a statement a “scenario plan” around upcoming events and season including the 2020 WNBA Draft scheduled for April 17, the start of training camp on April 26 and the tip of the WNBA season on May 15 which will most likely be postponed.