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UCLA Star's Dream WNBA Starting Five Turns Heads

UCLA Bruins standout Kiki Rice included some WNBA icons in her dream starting five.
Grant Young|
Mar 30, 2025; Spokane, WA, USA; UCLA Bruins guard Kiki Rice (1) brings the ball up court against the LSU Lady Tigers during the first half of a Elite 8 NCAA Tournament basketball game at Spokane Arena. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-Imagn Images
Mar 30, 2025; Spokane, WA, USA; UCLA Bruins guard Kiki Rice (1) brings the ball up court against the LSU Lady Tigers during the first half of a Elite 8 NCAA Tournament basketball game at Spokane Arena. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-Imagn Images | James Snook-Imagn Images

The women's basketball community is now one day away from the 2025 NCAA Tournament Final Four, with the four best teams in the country facing off to see who will advance to the national championship game on April 6.

After defeating the LSU Tigers in the Elite Eight, the No.1-seeded UCLA Bruins face off against Paige Bueckers and the UConn Huskies on April 4. Given that the Huskies beat the (JuJu Watkins-less) USC Trojans in the Elite Eight and USC beat UCLA in two out of their three showdowns this season, this game should bring a ton of excitement.

If UCLA has any chance of beating UConn, they'll likely need a great performance from star guard Kiki Rice, who will likely be one of the main defenders on Bueckers and Azzi Fudd.

But before this Final Four showdown, Rice caught up with Shannon Sharpe and Chad Ochocinco in an April 2 episode of the Nightcap show. And at one point, Rice discussed what her current starting five of WNBA players would be.

"Let's see. I have A'ja Wilson at the five. Caitlin Clark, one," Rice said, which prompted an 'Ooh!' response from Ochocinco.

Rice then continued with, "I'm putting [Breanna Stewart] at the four, putting Napheesa [Collier] at the three, and then at the two, shoot, I'm going Chelsea Gray."

Despite some of these players playing the same position (such as Clark and Gray both being point guards and Collier and Stewart both being forwards), one has to respect this list from Rice.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

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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