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There’s a long list of WNBA stars who have already publicly committed to joining Unrivaled, a new professional basketball league for the top players in women’s basketball. Which rookies will join them?
Unrivaled Basketball League is set to launch in January, and it’s shaping up to be pretty epic. For the first time, the WNBA’s biggest stars have the option of staying and playing in the U.S during the offseason rather than going overseas, thanks to Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart. The UConn duo is launching a new 3×3 basketball league that will take place in Miami for 8 weeks during the winter, offering a $150,000 base salary, ownership equity, and lots of other unique elements, including a one-on-one tournament with a $250,000 cash prize.
The big question so far has been who’s playing. The league has had some fun with the rollout, teasing the names of participants by providing clues online and revealing a new star every couple of days. That’s helped increase attention and buzz around the league, fueling lots of speculation regarding who’s in and who’s out.
What we do know is that there’s going to be 30 women’s basketball stars partaking in the inaugural year, which will be comprised of six teams made up of five players each. So far, the names of 15 WNBA stars have been revealed: Allisha Gray (Dream), Angel Reese (Sky), Arike Ogunbowale (Wings), Breanna Stewart (Liberty), Chelsea Gray (Aces), Dearica Hamby (Sparks), Jackie Young (Aces), Jewell Loyd (Storm), Kahleah Copper (Mercury), Kayla McBride (Lynx), Kelsey Plum (Aces), Marina Mabrey (Sun), Napheesa Collier (Lynx), Rhyne Howard (Dream), and Satou Sabally (Wings).
Notably absent from that list are 12 All-Stars from the 2024 season: DeWanna Bonner (Sun), Brionna Jones (Sun), Jonquel Jones (Liberty), Kelsey Mitchell (Fever), Nneka Ogwumike (Storm), Brittney Griner (Mercury), Sabrina Ionescu (Liberty), Diana Taurasi (Mercury), Alyssa Thomas (Sun), A’ja Wilson (Aces), Caitlin Clark (Fever), and Aliyah Boston (Fever).
Some of those are likely to play (I’d put my money on A’ja Wilson and Sabrina Ionescu) while others are more likely to use the time to rest (I’d imagine that 42-year-old Diana Taurasi and 37-year-old DeWanna Bonner look at the winter as a chance for offseason recovery).
Will Caitlin Clark, Kate Martin, Cameron Brink play in Unrivaled?
Napheesa Collier, one of the league’s co-founders, has already confirmed that four rookies will participate in Unrivaled. So far, only one — Angel Reese — has been revealed, and earlier this month, she explained why she chose to play.
“Being able to be in Miami from January to March, not having to go overseas,” Reese said. “Nobody wants to go overseas. A lot of us never wanna have to go overseas, but some people do have to go overseas unfortunately, so being able to make six figures within three months, being able to be housed in Miami, just being able to get better.
“Being able to know two great players that are starting something, I think it’s amazing. 3-on-3 is something that I love to do, I haven’t been able to play competitively but I think I can work on some of my individual skills because 3-on-3 exposes everything. So I’m excited for it.”
Needless to say, from a marketing standpoint, Caitlin Clark would be a huge draw alongside Reese. Clark has helped bring unprecedented attention to the WNBA this year, leads the league in jersey sales, and has starred in nearly every game this season that’s topped viewership records. It wouldn’t be surprising if Clark is slated to be the last player announced to be partaking in Unrivaled, and it’d be somewhat of a letdown if the rollout ended without her announcement.
Clark hasn’t indicated whether or not she’s planning on participating, and it’s certainly plausible she’ll want to rest during the WNBA offseason considering how much of a sprint it’s been from college right into the pros.
“Honestly, I’m just focused on this right now,” she told reporters last week at practice. “One thing at a time. Can’t always just be moving on to the next. My focus is right here.”
From a basketball standpoint, the best rookies this season have been Clark and Reese. The next tier of first-year standouts has included Rickea Jackson, Aaliyah Edwards, and Kamilla Cardoso, and Cameron Brink would be up there too, if it weren’t for a season-ending achilles injury. Brink’s likely out of contention to participate in the first year of Unrivaled considering the fact she won’t be recovered in time to play in January.
First-year players Leonie Fiebich, Julie Vanloo, and Sevgi Uzun have all been solid, too, but as international players, they’re much less likely to want to stay in the U.S. year round, and have more loyalty to their international clubs. They also don’t offer the same name recognition as the other players in the field.
So, the three other rookies participating in Unrivaled in its inaugural year are likely going to be some combination of Clark, Jackson, Edwards, and Cardoso. Jackson’s been elite this year and has certainly earned the spot with her on-court play, and Edwards and Cardoso have both steadily improved this season.
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Kate Martin is also a name that should be considered. While Martin has had a smaller on-court role than the other players mentioned, from a marketing standpoint, she’d be a huge get. Her jersey is already the fourth-highest selling jersey in the league this year, and Unrivaled is incentivized to bring in the league’s most popular players as they get the concept off the ground.
Plus, Martin is teammates with Aces guards Chelsea Gray, Jackie Young, and Kelsey Plum, all of whom have been revealed as Unrivaled participants, so it’s very possible they veterans sold her on the idea of participating. The trio of Olympians have all praised Martin for her maturity and well-rounded play this year.
In the coming weeks, as the rollout continues, we’ll learn which rookies we’ll see in Miami in January, and whether Iowa stars Caitlin Clark and Kate Martin make the cut. For now, we’ll have to await more hints from Unrivaled’s official social media accounts.
