(RECAP) ‘Basketball Wives’ Season 9 Premiere Focuses on Fresh Starts and Old Beefs

VH1’s long-running reality show “Basketball Wives” premiered its ninth season last night (Feb. 9), picking up right where the ladies left off—with a whole lot of drama.

Two major themes were prevalent throughout last night’s episode: COVID and colorism.

The VH1 cameras captures the cast’s first reactions to the coronavirus pandemic  and the subsequent lockdowns that began sweeping Los Angeles and other cities in March 2020.

Also, OG and Evelyn rekindled their feud, which reached new heights during the show’s hiatus. What’s more, the newly baptized Evelyn wants Malaysia and Jackie to make up and inserts herself into the situation. And with that, here’s the play-by-play of what went down on season 9, episode 1 of “Basketball Wives.”

The Plaintiff

Evelyn needs a fresh start. (Fresh starts are a recurring theme in this episode) She was recently baptized and has been spending more time with family and her children, and doing more charity work, which we saw more of later in the episode.

She invites little sis Feby over, seemingly to get in her business. Feby reveals that she’s dating retired NFL player Damien Berry (DJ), who she had previously dated.

Feby said she chose not to sign a record contract she was offered and is focused on her personal life. DJ has been making overtures for them to get married, but hasn’t formally asked.

She tells Evelyn she’s scared about getting married, revealing her traditional values and not wanting to divorce. She’s apprehensive about Damien because he was also dating someone else during their first go-around. And Evelyn just feels Feby is running away from her problems.

Evelyn tells Feby that she’s trying to move into a gated community, suggesting she needs the additional security in the wake of public backlash of her ongoing feud with OG.

That rivalry reached new heights in Sept. 2019 when Evelyn took to social media after the Season 8 reunion show and posted a messaged perceived to be directed at OG that included a laughing orangutan gif.

OG and her fans took exception with that post and called Evelyn racist and accused her of bullying. Evelyn denied that racism was her intent.

Evelyn then fired back with a defamation lawsuit against OG, claiming that the accusations caused her to be the target of blogs, causing her to lose deals in the process.

“It really hurt me because people really believing this s**t,” Evelyn tells Feby. She said she was threatened on social media by people and wants to move.

“You’re not going to try to ruin my livelihood because you fucking want attention,” Evelyn said of OG.

VH1

Fresh Starts, Old Beef

Shaunie accompanies her son Shareef, a sophomore at LSU, to get a tattoo of Kobe Bryant, whose tragic death occurred only weeks earlier.

Shaunie, who hails from Wichita Falls, Texas, reveals that she’s moving to Houston to be closer to family, including Shareef and Mimi, who will be in neighboring Louisiana.

She’s unsure how the ladies will take the news.

We cut to OG and Jackie meeting for lunch. Jackie’s son Dougie is going off to college. Her husband, retired NBA player Doug Christie, is a commentator for the Sacramento Kings. The couple is celebrating 25 years of marriage. At last, an appropriate milestone to renew your vows!

OG reveals that she recently bought land and plans to build a house with her “Zaddy”—professional basketball player, Kwame Alexander.

She says she’s cautious about who has her address and phone number. After all, Evelyn has it.

“I don’t know who to trust,” OG confesses. When Jackie inquires about whether it’s Ev, OG simply refers to her as “The Plaintiff.” Move over “Bridgerton,” this sounds like a steamy courtroom drama heading to a streaming service near you.

Jackie then presses OG about her colorism and racism accusations against Evelyn. OG holds her ground.

“I’m stating what I observed,” says the always well-spoken OG. “I said a person is a racist because they exhibited the characteristics that I witnessed. Therefore, I had a right to put that on my personal social media.” Adding “If anybody defamed anyone, it was her defaming herself.”

There you have it— a well prepared legal rebuttal with a back splash of shade.

Jackie presses further. “Was it colorism?” To which OG responds “She definitely encompasses all the qualities of someone with colorist issues.”

Unconvinced, Jackie says Evelyn “didn’t come off” as a racist or colorist. However, Jackie said she respects her opinion. Jackie thinks it’s a good idea to have Shaunie mediate the situation.

‘Fix Your Life’ Evelyn-Style

Evelyn, Malaysia and Feby meet for some cooking lessons with a professional chef, though Feby is the only one getting the lesson.

Evelyn continues to try to fix Feby’s life, saying there is more to her insecurities in relationships. She brings Malaysia in to give Feby some unsolicited advice.

Feby questions if the tuna steak will taste like the steak she likes to eat, we presume she means beef. Feby is adorable in a Cardi B sort of way.

Malaysia has been in Atlanta and begins pressing Feby about her new relationship. Feby admits that Damien cheated on her already.

Evelyn, now a relationship expert, suggests she talk to Damien about their relationship, which Feby concurs with. “Listen, we can’t fix everything today,” Evelyn says with Feby sporting a confused look.

Hello and Goodbye

Before she departs, Shaunie plans to tell Jackie. Only Ev knows at this point. Shaunie says telling Jackie is stressing her out.

Jackie tells Shaunie that her son Dougie, who is 19, doesn’t drive. And Shaunie asks the question we’re all thinking: “why not?”

Shaunie reveals that her 17-year-old son Shaquir (who drives), is now living with his father, Shaquille O’Neal–we presume in Atlanta where his dad’s TNT analyst duties are. Shaunie says it’s has been good for Shaquir to live with his father.

Jackie takes the news of Shaunie’s move well, and cries, saying they have to celebrate.

Surviving Lamar Odom

Liza is one of the new cast members and is looking for a fresh start now that her sons are out of high school. Liza is sad about how Lamar’s drama has played out in the media, and how that has affected the kids.

“I see them hurt and it affects me,” Liza said in her confessional. “His issues with addiction. He’s been through a lot, and fuck, I have been through a lot.”

That’s right Liza, take back your power!

Overall, Liza came across as sweet and humble.

Shaunie introduces Liza to Evelyn because she wants her to have some friends while she’s in Houston. Liza tells the ladies that she’s been looking for places and likes the Glendale, Ca area—to which Ev gives her the “Not Glendale” look. These women are the queens of non-verbal shade.

Evelyn says that Liza has an underlying innocence about her. With that, we have no idea why Liza will want to join this group. However dealing with Lamar all those years and his drama, we know Liza can hold her own.

Let’s Settle Some Beefs

OG and Kwame go shopping for a new mattress, which, by the way, is becoming an overused reality show storyline. Ever go buy a rug? That can be time-consuming.

They’re still boyfriend/girlfriend, but yet are building a dream home. “Being at home is the only safe space right now,” OG says.

She confides in Kwame about the anxiety she’s experienced as the result of Evelyn’s lawsuit. “To disturb my peace is not okay,” she says

Kwame offers a few words of encouragement. We love how he’s been a great support system for her throughout the last season. Taking on Evelyn and crew is tough by yourself.

Evelyn goes to a laundromat as part of her post-baptism efforts to do more charity work.

She brings along Malaysia and Liza. Here, we get a window into the first reactions of the ladies to the seriousness of COVID-19, which will soon force Los Angeles County to shut down.

Hindsight is 20/20, as evidenced by nobody wearing a mask at the time. They discuss Shaunie’s going away party that Jackie is hosting.

Malaysia gives Ev the biggest eyeroll. Spoiler alert: there’s going to be a lot of eye-rolling from Malaysia this season.

Ev asks Malaysia if she would be willing to have an one-on-one with Jackie so that they can hash out their issues. Malaysia admits that she doesn’t hate Jackie, but rather dislikes the stuff she does. Malaysia says she’s more disappointed at Jackie.

Once a Cheater

DJ is in town and goes to a batting cage of all places to go in LA. They appear to have chemistry and he hits it out of the park, especially when helping fix the cap over her hair. “You know it’s real when your man helps you with your wig piece,” Feby says.

Feby says she doesn’t want to get married, bringing up the fact that when they dated nine years ago, he still had other women. DJ said he didn’t want to go too deep into the situation with her, as she was still “talking” to her ex, retired NBA player Lance Stephenson. What are we in high school? These non-committal labels are played.

Feby isn’t quite buying it, but says she’s will to try (for a storyline). Actually, her instincts may be correct as he comes off as an opportunist. Like where did he come from? We digress.

The Sitdown That Never Was

The sitdown between Jackie and Malaysia was a non-event.

Jackie walked in without greeting Malaysia, who then checks her phone with this “is this happening?” look.

Malaysia then gets up and leaves. What a waste of an outfit and lashes.

She said Jackie came in with a “stank ass” attitude and chastised her in her confessional for not “coming in with your tail between your legs.”

This reconciliation was definitely rushed on Evelyn’s part. These women aren’t even ready to be in the same room.

Jackie’s hurt because Malaysia hasn’t given her a chance to apologize. Guess walking in there like a bull in a China shop didn’t help.

Cornavirus Get Real

In the final scene, Jackie is riding in the back of a SUV and gets a call from a caterer, who is cancelling the food order for Shaunie’s going-away party. It’s the third vendor that has canceled on the event.

The scene provided great insight into what was happening during the first moments of the COVID lockdown in California, one of the first states to go on lockdown.

Due to all the issues surrounding the coronavirus, OG says she will table her issues with Evelyn as there are more serious concerns.

Nothing crushes a petty beef like a pandemic.

The ladies return for episode 2 of Season 9 of Basketball Wives on Feb. Feb. 16.

Check back to Human Nature for our recaps and follow us on Instagram and Twitter @humannaturemag

Side Notes

-No Jennifer Williams this episode. The fan favorite will however be on the show’s later episodes, as revealed in the season preview shown after the first episode.

-Also missing from this episode was Nia and Noria Dorsey. As shown in the season preview, the sisters are certain to stir the pot this season.

(Images courtesy of VH1)