Napheesa Collier Doubles Down on Caitlin Clark's Open Unrivaled Invitation
The first season of the Unrivaled 3x3 women's basketball league has gone swimmingly thus far. Despite some minor hiccups (that most likely related to injuries), everything has gone according to schedule for this new league.
Right now, the league's scheduled games are pausing in favor of the one-on-one tournament, which has already captured fan attention and intrigue.
Of course, the league's success would be greatly intensified if Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark had decided to join the league instead of declining to participate in its first season.
However, Unrivaled president Alex Bazzell asserted in a November 29 episode of The Ringer WNBA Show that Clark is welcome in Unrivaled at any time.
"Of course, I've been on record saying that Caitlin will always have a spot in our league," Bazzell said.
— drafts (@drafts95452567) November 30, 2024
Bazzell's wife is Unrivaled co-founder and Minnesota Lynx superstar Napheesa Collier. And during her February 11 appearance on Fanduel TV's Run It Back show, Collier doubled down on what her husband said about Clark's open invitation.
"For Caitlin, I feel like it has just been such a whirlwind coming from college and all that came with that to her first WNBA rookie season, it's just a lot to handle," Collier said.
"There's no break, especially for the rookies. They play for like 18 months straight or something crazy like that, just because going for both seasons," she added. "So I know she needed that little mental break from basketball for a little bit.
"All we can do is show her what we have, and I think what we have here is really special. And of course, we're always going to have a spot for her, and hopefully we can make it work in the future," she concluded.
Will Caitlin Clark be playing in @Unrivaledwbb next season? 👀@PHEEsespieces says the league has a spot with "Clark" written all over it... pic.twitter.com/gZgZwkgQeU
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) February 11, 2025
The thought of Clark competing in Unrivaled next season is enough to get any women's basketball fan excited.
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Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.
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