Saga Ström
 Art by Nasuella | |
| No. 77 – Retired | |
|---|---|
| Position | Swingfur |
| Species | Howler Monkey ( Atelidae ) |
| Gender | Female |
| Nickname(s) | |
| Silver Screen | |
| Spoilsport | |
| Personal information | |
| Born |
December 24, 1990 Umeå, Sweden |
| Nationality | Swedish |
| Listed height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Listed weight | 200 lb (91 kg) |
| Shoots | Right |
| Career information | |
| School | Umeålfisk Universitet (Sweden) |
| FBA draft | 2015 / Round: 2 / Pick: 42nd overall |
| Selected by the Pittsburgh Keystones | |
| Pro playing career | 2015–2017 |
| Career history | |
| 2015-2017 | Pittsburgh Keystones |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Contract information | |
| Contract year | 2015 |
| Player Contacts | |
| (IC) Agent | None |
| (OOC) Creator | Nasuella |
| (OOC) Actor | Nasuella |
| (OOC) Usage | Ask me before any use |
Eva Saga Ström (pronounced stroom) is a Swedish player who used to play in the national Swedish league, before being thrown out due to her involvement in a controversial incident. She now plays for the Pittsburgh Keystones.
Biography
Growing up in the Swedish municipality of Umeå, Saga was introduced to basketball at a young age by her relatives, as part of an attempt to deal with behavioral problems (caused in part by neglectful parents). Though craving some sort of order in her life and a way to vent her frustrations, she was reluctant to play at first, only accepting the offer once the rules had been explained to her. Once she got the hang of how it worked, she embraced it. To this day, Saga credits those early years for helping her learn self-discipline and keeping her cool -- lessons she has forever taken to heart.
She kept playing over the years, and while she was never captain or the most athletic player on the team, Saga made up for it by being strongly disciplined, cool-headed, analytical and having a steadily-growing game IQ. By the time she graduated from comprehensive school at the age of 16, she'd developed a knack for recognizing a surprising variety of plays and quickly reacting to them. She had also turned into a perfectionist, and combined with a lengthy stubborn streak and her intelligence, it frequently led to her arguing with her coaches and team-mates endlessly about what tactics would work, what wouldn't, whether this player or that player was good or bad, and so on and so forth. This, combined her attitude (cynical, melancholy and seemingly aloof), lead to her gaining the nickname "Spoilsport", which she at least found amusing enough to start using herself.
During secondary school and her earlier years in Umeålfisk Universitet, Saga juggled playing in U-18 and U-21 tournaments with her coursework. Once she was too old for both categories, she simply played with the university's team instead. It was during this time she earned her other nickname of "Silver Screen", a pun on her name, her keen interest in film and the basketball term (even though she does not use screens herself). In time she graduated with a degree in film, having made a short parody of sports films as her final project. She was picked up by a team in the national Swedish league not long after.
For most of her rookie year she was a bench player, and it turned out that that was where she worked best. She was regarded as a solid rookie; she never excelled in any particular stat, but was knowledgeable, versatile and resilient enough that she could help cover her team-mates when needed, despite her short height for the 3. There was even a moment where she crashed into a large moose of a centre and walked away with only a bruise (even she isn't entirely sure how she managed that one).
It looked as though she was set to have a good career... but then, late in 2014, she was arrested for assaulting another player on her team. During the resulting fallout it emerged that this player had been constantly harassing her, culminating in breaking into her apartment and attempting to steal her personal belongings; Saga had thus, in an uncharacteristic moment of panic, attacked to try and drive him off.
The charges against Saga were eventually cleared on grounds of self-defence, but the damage had already been done: the controversy surrounding the case (as there were those who sided against her, to her lack of surprise) had effectively killed both of their careers, with both of their contracts terminated. Thus, she has entered her name into the FBA draft, with her reputation and career prospects at stake. Plus, in her mind, she desperately wants to prove to the world -- and herself -- that all of her work wasn't in vain, and that yes, she is good enough to be able to play against some of the best in the world. Too bad she isn't too fond of the USA itself...
In terms of personality, Saga is not known for her charisma (often being regarded as ugly due to having a crooked face doesn't help), nor for being particularly friendly or outgoing. This isn't out of shyness or being anti-social; Saga would describe herself as 'melancholy in the classical sense'. That is to say, she is cynical, analytical, introspective, and a serious perfectionist. She's also slow to make friends, often saying that her team-mates are co-workers and not friends. All that said, though, her self-discipline means that she's difficult to rattle, and for the most part can stay calm and think rationally under pressure. To sum up in her own words: "I'm no leader... I'm more of an adviser or mediator; a second-in-command, at the most."
FBA Career
2015 Draft, Strike, and Preseason
Saga finished 3rd overall in the Combine Ironfur's Intelligence trials, tying with Misha Maxwell and Ginovani Bartolini. Despite her high showing, she was reportedly disappointed in herself for scoring so low. She finished the Ironfur Combine events with a 24th overall ranking, but was not included in any reporter's top 24, a decision which some reportedly found baffling. Saga herself was more baffled with some of FSPN's actual choices.
On the 28th of August, she was featured by reporter Zane Donovan.
| Now we're taking a look at a Swedish export... No not the loud one, we are referring to miss Ström here.
Easily one of the most determined in the draft, maybe to the point of an unhealthy perfection complex, the fact she has been overlooked by the league so far kind of baffles me. While she hasn't been a standout on the court, and is of the reserved type, a look at her style and potential is really meant to set precedence in this league. Studious like no one else, there's little doubt she lives and breathes the game 24/7. It's uncommon when trainers advise you to get your head OUT of the game but, as reports back from her home country have said, but teams here would kill for that dedication. Sure she has had some tiffs in the past, but all in all, not impossible to work with. Very capable of being a solid bench player on her first year and rising up the ranks with a sure rhythm. We're hoping her not boyfriend Axe Okkonen keeps her on the right track so her skills can be used at her best.~Z. Donovan |
As mentioned above, it was also around this time that her relationship with Axe Okkonen (the brother of Otto Okkonen) came to light, although they both openly deny that the relationship is romantic in nature.
On the day of the draft itself, Saga fell seriously ill with what turned out to be a cold, likely caused in part by stress. Despite her constant fits of coughing, she attended along with Axe, and her persistence paid off when she was drafted in the second round by the Pittsburgh Keystones. She was unusually emotional, even making a sarcastic comment the following day about being bedridden due to her illness: "This is not a good (re-)start to pro life." She did not, however, make any comments about the fact that she, a fan of Ferdinand Bengtzing, had been drafted to a team that had infamously treated him poorly - nor that some folks in Sweden now hated her even more for that very reason.
As the FBA Player's Association was on strike at the time, Saga and Axe were largely on their own during the move to Pittsburgh. It was during this time that Saga was selected to play for Sweden in the 2015 World Jam, alongside Sterling Bengtzing and Hedvin Eklund. Despite her clear lack of enthusiasm for "World Streetball" (as she referred to it) and a dislike for "Bengtzingsson", she did not turn down the offer - not that it mattered, as the team was eliminated in the preliminaries by the Indian team led by Mathiyazhagan Balasubramaniam. Rumour has it that Sterling and Saga blame each other for the loss, but she has remained silent on the matter.
For the remainder of the strike, she became involved with the official Keystones fan club, and frequently trained with fellow draftee Erik Kijani. It is suspected that this training made it easier for the two to transition into life as pro players once the strike ended.
Pittsburgh Keystones (2015-present)
(coming soon)
Personal Life
Not many details are known about Saga's private life, as she prefers it to stay, well, private. Nonetheless, it is widely known that she lives with Axe Okkonen, and the two may be romantically involved. Axe himself has gained some notoriety for his pranks, with Saga being his favourite target, though he usually keeps them minor enough to be irritating at most. One notable exception was giving her a surprise kiss after PIT's game against the Queens Pride on Valentine's Day; whatever fallout resulted from this, it led to the two spending a week living apart before they quietly reconciled.
Aside from basketball her primary interest is film; her tastes are eclectic, but she particularly prefers martial arts films. Favourites cited include House of Flying Claws (the FBA universe's version of House of Flying Daggers) and Big Trouble in Little Chinatown (ditto for Big Trouble in Little China).
She defines herself as straight edge, "in the sense that I do not drink, smoke or do drugs". She also gave up caffeine during the 2015 strike, and as such does not drink coffee; however, she is a surprisingly keen tea drinker.
Late in the 2015-2016 season, Saga revealed that she had been diagnosed with a mental illness. So far she has yet to reveal what the diagnosis was (saying that she would do so "in due time"), but assured fans that in the meantime, this would not have much of an effect on her efforts with the Keystones. Both the team and her teammates have stood by her and voiced their support; days later she revealed that this was a more positive reaction than she had been expecting.
On a more trivia-centric note, Saga is a black howler monkey. Only the males of that species have black fur, however, so she simply writes "howler monkey" to avoid confusing those who don't know about that particular trait.
Illustrations
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2015 Selfie by Nasuella -
Saga's "Swim Suit" by Adabune -
A Typical Breakfast by Adabune
2015 - 2016 Regular Season Stats
2016 - 2017 Regular Season Stats
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