8 Incredible Photos of WNBA All-Star Skylar Diggins-Smith in Guana Island

The athlete posed for photographer Adam Franzino for the 2014 SI Swimsuit Issue.

Cara O’Bleness | Jan 12, 2023

Six-time WNBA All-Star Skylar Diggins-Smith was featured in the 2014 SI Swimsuit Issue when Adam Franzino photographed her on Guana Island.

The Phoenix Mercury guard announced in October that she and her husband, Daniel, are expecting their second child. Diggins-Smith famously made headlines with her first pregnancy, announcing that she had played the entire 2018 WNBA season while pregnant. (Her son, Seven, will turn 4 in April.) She said that she didn’t feel supported by the Dallas Wings organization about the decision to start a family at the time (this hopefully will not be the case this time around). She sat out the 2019 season and moved to Phoenix the next year.

In 2020, the WNBA and its players adopted a new collective bargaining agreement. Diggins-Smith played an essential role in shaping the section on mothers and maternity leave. Now, WNBA players are guaranteed maternity leave and a stipend for child care.

Diggins-Smith spends her offseason as an analyst on Phoenix Suns broadcasts. Last month she earned the Rocky Mountain Regional Emmy Award for her TV work.

On her SI Swimsuit photo shoot, Diggins-Smith said, “I was absolutely pleasantly surprised to [be] asked to come out here and be a part of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. I didn’t really know how I was going to approach modeling swimsuits, I had never modeled in a swimsuit before, but I think I was really just wanting to get in and kind of get comfortable and I think as the shoot went along, I got more and more comfortable.”

Part of the British Virgin Islands, the Caribbean setting of Guana Island provided a lush and serene backdrop for Diggins’s photo shoot. Below are eight of our favorite photos from her gorgeous ‘14 feature.

Skylar Diggins — Adam Franzino/Sports Illustrated

Published Jan 12, 2023

CARA O’BLENESS

Cara is a trending news writer/editor for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit. A passionate writer and editor with more than 10 years of experience in print and online media, she loves storytelling and believes that words have the power to change the world. Prior to joining the team, Cara worked as a writer and editor across a number of content verticals, including food, lifestyle, health and wellness, and small business and entrepreneurship. In her free time, Cara loves reading, spending time with her family and making her way through Michigan’s many microbreweries. She is a graduate of Michigan State University's School of Journalism.