Is Unrivaled Helping WNBA Free Agents Find Their Next Team?

Miami hasn't seen this much heat around free agency since LeBron James took his talents to South Beach.

But thanks to the new Unrivaled Basketball League, the WNBA now has its own hub for the formation of possible superteams.

Unrivaled is packed with some of this offseason's top unrestricted free agents. Thus, the new 3-on-3 league out of Miami offers a chance for free agents to not only build relationships on the court with peers but off the court as well. Which provides for the possibility of superstars laying the foundation for future WNBA team ups.

Sue Bird was prescient about the impact Unrivaled could have in this regard. On her podcast 'A Touch More with Sue Bird & Megan Rapinoe', Bird was quick to realize how big it could be when it comes to recruiting.

“The WNBA free agency chatter that must be happening in the training room, when they’re out shopping, when they're getting some coffee, has got to be next level," Bird said. "It used to be what we did during USA basketball camps because that was really one of the few times where the top talent was in the same place at the same time for consecutive days. And now they're together for two months during WNBA free agency," she continued.

"The level of recruiting, I can only imagine for some people," Bird added.

This point was backed up by Satou Sabally, who affirmed Bird's stance in saying players are being given insight into how WNBA teams are prioritized by respective team owners.

Sabally made waves at Unrivaled by announcing that she had already played her final game with the Dallas Wings. The only way that Sabally can leave Dallas is via sign-and-trade since she has been cored by the Wings, but that certainly hasn't stopped players from attempting to sway her preferences about her future landing spot.

Rumors are swirling about her rejoining her former Oregon (and current Phantom BC) teammate Sabrina Ionescu in New York. Sabally's sister Nyara is also on the Liberty. Sabally being added to the Liberty would certainly meet the aforementioned superteam qualification.

I asked Satou Sabally today about her future in Dallas.

“I’m working with them together to find a next home for me,” she said. “I’ve already played my last game in Dallas.”

Here’s here full answer along with whether she’d want to join forces with her younger sister Nyara: pic.twitter.com/00CNFrPQ7e
— Madeline Kenney (@madkenney) January 9, 2025

Courtney Vandersloot, who is at Unrivaled and is a free agent coming off a WNBA championship with the Liberty, also added to this chatter. Vandersloot is reportedly taking meetings with suitors in Miami and declared the league a great place for players looking for a new home. She has expressed the enjoyment she has found in being able to talk freely with other free agents and added that she is looking to be valued.

Brittney Griner was more blunt about the opportunity the league affords players on the open market.

"I want to show off my skills for free agency," Griner said about her time at Unrivaled per Doug Feinberg of the Associated Press.

The co-founder of Unrivaled Breanna Stewart probably put it best. "There's a ton of free agents here," Stewart said. "It's like a one-stop shop to kind of do everything," she added.

How said shop is utilized is up to the individual, but it does appear Unrivaled offers an unprecedented free agent opportunity.

WNBA free agency negotiations are officially underway and players can begin to sign contracts starting Feb. 1.

Therefore, we'll probably know just how much influence Unrivaled had on free agent decisions and if the seeds were planted for future superteams in a couple weeks.