Sport

JUST IN; We’re not applying a full-court press the way people think.

Published

2 months ago

November 20, 2024

Matthew

Indiana Fever starchas announced an upcoming event after rumours of her joining the Unrivaled 3v3 basketball league ahead of the WNBA season

WNBA sensation Caitlin Clark has revealed her off-season plans following speculation that she might join Unrivaled. Fresh from her Rookie of the Year season, Clark has added another event to her busy schedule.

After guiding the Indiana Fever to the playoffs, the 22-year-old decided to take some time away from the sport and recently participated in The Annika pro-am golf tournament. While Clark focused on improving her swing alongside top golf pros, rumours that she might join the inaugural Unrivaled 3v3 basketball league continued.

The new organisation, co-founded by WNBA icons Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart, has signed many stars to its 36-player roster, with club selection to be announced on Wednesday. However, basketball superstar Clark has added a different event to her offseason schedule.

The Fever guard has accepted an offer to be the featured guest at the Women’s Sports Awards, which will take place on February 4 at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City. Organised by WIN for KC, the event is touted as “the nation’s largest luncheon celebrating National Girls and Women in Sports Day,” and Clark expressed her excitement about being part of it.

“Sports have played a pivotal role in my life, helping develop critical skills like teamwork, resiliency and confidence that serve me on and off the court,” Clark said as part of the announcement on Tuesday. “WIN for KC are incredible champions for creating opportunity for girls and women through sports and I’m excited to join them to celebrate those that are making an impact.”

That has not slowed down the theories about Clark signing with Unrivaled, with the team secelction process scheduled between 11 and 11:22am ET, which could be a cryptic nod to Clark’s shirt number. It has been reported that the former Iowa Hawkeye has been offered $1million to join the new league, dwarfing her $76,535 rookie salary.

Having spent time on the golf course following the WNBA season, Clark remained coy about her future when asked about joining Unrivaled earlier this month, telling IndyStar: “We’ll see,” and “I don’t know. Just taking it as it goes, and see if I want to play eventually.”

Unrivalled has grown from 30 to 36 players, each guaranteed a minimum $250k salary for the eight-week season. With two spots remaining on the roster, the organisation’s president, Alex Bazzell, has revealed they’re holding a place for Clark.

“We’re not applying a full-court press the way people think. We are letting her decompress from basketball,” he told netsport. “She knows that we have a spot for her when she’s ready. We have an obligation to continuously add the best of the best wherever we can.”

Indiana duo Aliyah Boston and Lexie Hull have already committed to the new league, while Clark’s ex-Hawkeyes team-mate Kate Martin has also been signed up. The Unrivaled season is set to start on January 17.