WNBA's Dearica Hamby Opens Up About Returning to Court Postpartum and Pumping on the Go (Exclusive)

Dearica Hamby has had quite a ride as a mom of two already.

The Los Angeles Sparks forward, 29, is returning to the WNBA's 2023-2024 season on a new team with a new addition to her family. In March, the mom of two welcomed son Legend after a tough pregnancy that saw Hamby traded from the Las Vegas Aces, with a subsequent battle with the WNBA regarding her treatment leading up to the decision.

Speaking with PEOPLE about her decision to jump right back into basketball, with the season kicking off just eight weeks after welcoming her baby boy, Hamby credits her "big support system" — which includes 6-year-old daughter Amaya — with making it possible.

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"Between my mom and Amaya, they've been very helpful in letting me come back to basketball," she tells PEOPLE. "I went back and forth with myself for the longest time about if I wanted to actually play this season or wait it out. As much as I enjoy being a mom, as I sat around, I got bored. I was like, 'There's no way I can sit out a whole season.' I haven't missed a season yet, thankfully, even with both pregnancies."

"I honestly have just been kind of winging it," she says of her decision to head back to the court. "I called my team four days before training camp and said that I wanted to play, then showed up to camp and got started. I was practicing non-contact in the morning time and by the afternoon, I was in a full-fledged practice. I've really been going based on how my body feels."

As a mom who is pumping, she's relied on Willow as her pump of choice to help her keep up with her demanding schedule.

"I nursed my daughter for 11 months but Legend's journey has been a little different. I'm still nursing and doing what I can with the supply that I have," she shares. "I struggled a little bit more with him, I would say, due to the stress. There's a lot of moving parts, so I reached out to Willow after researching brands I wanted to pump with this go around.

"The flexibility these little pumps have allowed for me and my life is awesome. To be able to grab and be in the car and be able to pump while I take phone calls is amazing. The flexibility wasn't necessarily there with my first child, with whom I had to kind of manually pump."

"Back then they didn't have the quality of pumps that they have now. So I reached out to Willow and felt aligned in purpose. I wanted to speak up about what they already were in the works of doing, with the PUMP Act."

The PUMP Act, passed in late April, expands on the 2010 Fair Labor Standards Act to protect nearly 9 million nursing mothers who previously weren't entitled to break time and a space to pump. It also gives employees the ability to go after financial compensation and other remedies if their employers aren't complying and clarifies that time spent pumping counts as time worked for minimum wage and overtime calculations. It additionally reinforces that women need both sufficient time to pump as well as a clean and private space.

"Willow was naturally aligned with my goals and very supportive in helping me, but also finding ways to support this league, which is also very important to me."

In a lengthy message to fans and friends in January, Hamby said she "genuinely" loves the city of Las Vegas and Aces fans after spending the majority of her career with the team, but could not move on from "disgusting comments" made towards her by an unnamed member of the Aces organization.

Hamby said her "character and work ethic" were attacked, and she was "promised things" by the organization that were "not followed through on," in the post. "I was accused of signing my extension knowingly pregnant. This is false."

Today, Hamby says that speaking out for herself was a "good opportunity" that taught her "a lot about myself and the people around me."

"I always talk about how my first child, she taught me to appreciate life more and to not take things for granted. My personality has been very people-pleasing my entire life. I feel like this situation during my second pregnancy, and my son himself, have taught me to stick up for myself," she tells PEOPLE. 

"Overall I think working moms in our field, in my profession, aren't so common. It's a humbling experience but I'm taking on trying to help women embrace the role of being a mom and being able to work and be successful at both."

Last month, the WNBA announced that Aces coach Becky Hammon, 46, was found guilty of "violating league rules regarding impermissible player benefits" and had violated the WNBA's Respect in the Workplace rules based on comments she made toward Hamby.

Hamby says that although there have been "some outcomes so far" the situation is "still in flux."

"I think it's a start with the verdict so to say, but I think it shows that there's a long way to go for this world and this league itself. "We know we're at the forefront of a lot of the things in the world of women's sports. So we have to lead by example, And as I said before, the WBA has done a good job protecting player moms, but this just continues to show that we have a long way to go."

As she pushes ahead, Hamby is excited for both her kids to enjoy her career.

"Legend doesn't even understand why he's here quite yet, but my daughter has been part of my career since my second year, so she's been along this journey with me and she's obviously a big part of my brand," Hamby says. "It's encouraging to me and moms all over to see moms in the league."

"A lot of women in this league want kids, and they're afraid to for different reasons, whether it be fear or just thinking that by not, it's prolonging their career. I think it means a lot to my peers to see that you can do both and it means a lot to me to be able to prove that to myself, that I can still aspire."

"I want more kids, I want to be able to do that and still continue to play basketball and a high level. And I am, which is pretty cool."

Calling her little boy a "chill" baby with a "good personality," she can't wait to bring him into the family fold of basketball.

"I'm just excited to be back playing basketball and to have Legend be a part of it," she says of the season ahead. "I'm excited to be in L.A. and have a fresh start. Throughout my career, I've taken a backseat and put other people's priorities above mine. As a teammate, you should do that, but for the first time in my career, I'm going to be able to put my priorities first. L.A. is embracing me and my kids and I'm excited to be here."