The WNBA season came to a close with the New York Liberty's first championship, but fans won't have to go too long without women's hoops in their lives. Unrivaled—a new 3-on-3 offseason league that will debut in January—has been spending months trying to land the biggest names in the W and become the premier destination for women's basketball outside the standard WNBA schedule. It's done a pretty good job, too; outside of its founders, New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart and Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesia Collier, Unrivaled already boasts a loaded roster filled with All-Stars and Olympic gold medalists.
With how many big names have agreed to play for Unrivaled, fans have been eagerly waiting to see if the league can land Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark. As evidenced by the ratings for the WNBA this season, eyeballs follow the 2024 Rookie of the Year wherever she goes. If Unrivaled got her to sign on, it would enter another stratosphere in terms of publicity and viewership.
In an interview with Sportico on Thursday, Unrivaled president Alex Bazzell gave a statement about potentially adding Clark.
"We’re always going to have a roster spot for Caitlin Clark,” Bazzell said to reporter Eric Jackson. "We’re not applying a full court press the way people think. We are letting her decompress from basketball… She knows that we have a spot for her when she’s ready."
Additionally, Bazell noted that the league is proud of the talent already assembled, but "if (Clark) played, she would take it to another level… She knows we would love to have her."
Clark is a magnet for attention to the extent that her presence wouldn't just benefit the on-court product. Unrivaled could use her stardom as leverage with advertisers and anyone else interested in investing as it gets off the ground. Most importantly, of course, it would be awesome for fans to get more of Clark's electrifying play in their lives.
Unrivaled is clearly interested. The world will soon find out if that interest is mutual with Clark.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Unrivaled President Gives Statement on Possibility of Caitlin Clark Joining League.
