Unrivaled has announced Player No. 35, and it’s Indiana Fever guard Katie Lue Samuelson.
Samuelson, a five-year WNBA veteran, has averaged 5.9 points and 3.5 rebounds per game since being drafted 4th overall by the Chicago Sky in 2019. She was a standout player at the University of Connecticut, where she averaged 16.7 points across four seasons and shot 41.5% from three.
The 3-on-3 professional women’s basketball league, which has been rolling out names of participating WNBA players for months, is set to officially tip-off on January 17th in Miami, with games taking place on Fridays, Saturdays, and Mondays for 9 weeks. Several of Samuelson’s Fever teammates, including Lexie Hull and Aliyah Boston, will participate in the league. In college, Samuelson was also teammates with Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier, the league’s co-founders.
Samuelson had a difficult 2024 campaign after missing the 2023 season due to pregnancy. She averaged just 4.3 points in 18.2 minutes per night for Indiana after averaging 9.7 points in 29.5 minutes per night on the Sparks in 2022. Still, at her best, she’s an elite forward who can stretch the floor and do a little bit of everything.
Why Unrivaled?
Unrivaled has the potential to transform women’s basketball in many ways. For one, the league’s total salary pool is $8 million, so on average, players will earn $222,222. (In contrast, the average WNBA salary is less than $148,000, despite the season being more than twice as long).
Additionally, the league is centered around player development, with all six head coaches — Nola Henry, Adam Harrington, DJ Sackmann, Andrew Wade, Teresa Weatherspoon, and Phil Handy — boasting a strong background in player development.
“I’ve been a part of women’s basketball for a long time,” Handy said. “But, once me and my team had a chance to really dive into Unrivaled and really pull back the layers of what they were trying to accomplish, I was really fascinated by the whole concept.”
Initially, the league was only going to include 30 players, but after surpassing initial financial projections, Unrivaled added additional spots. Those went to Alyssa Thomas (Connecticut Sun), Stef Dolson (Washington Mystics), Jordin Canada (Atlanta Dream), Cameron Brink (Los Angeles Sparks), Rae Burrell (Los Angeles Sparks), and ____.
“I think it just shows the level of excitement and how much women’s sports is on the rise —that we were able to expand in year one, that we’re having these amazing partnerships,” Napheesa Collier told SB Nation.
One final spot will be revealed between now and tip-off.
The full list of confirmed Unrivaled players:
Every WNBA team has at least one player participating in Unrivaled.
Aaliyah Edwards (Mystics)
Alyssa Thomas (Sun)
Aliyah Boston (Fever)
Allisha Gray (Dream)
Angel Reese (Sky)
Arike Ogunbowale (Wings)
Azura Stevens (Sparks)
Breanna Stewart (Liberty)
Brittney Sykes (Mystics)
Brittney Griner (Mercury)
Cameron Brink (Sparks)
Chelsea Gray (Aces)
Courtney Vandersloot (Liberty)
Courtney Williams (Lynx)
Dearica Hamby (Sparks)
DiJonai Carrington (Sun)
Jackie Young (Aces)
Jewell Loyd (Storm)
Jordin Canada (Dream)
Kahleah Copper (Mercury)
Kate Martin (Valkyries)
Katie Lue Samuelson (Fever)
Kayla McBride (Lynx)
Lexie Hull (Fever)
Marina Mabrey (Sun)
Napheesa Collier (Lynx)
Natasha Cloud (Mercury)
Rae Burrell (Sparks)
Rhyne Howard (Dream)
Rickea Jackson (Sparks)
Satou Sabally (Wings)
Skylar Diggins-Smith (Storm)
Shakira Austin (Mystics)
Stefanie Dolson (Mystics)
Tiffany Hayes (Aces)
https://www.sbnation.com/wnba/2024/12/20/24326001/unrivaled-katie-lue-samuelson-indiana-fever-womens-basketball-wnba
