Chicago Sky star Angel Reese is one of 36 WNBA standouts playing in Unrivaled this winter, and her first impressions of the new professional 3-on-3 basketball league couldn’t be more positive.
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Noa Dalzell is a senior writer covering the WNBA and all of women’s basketball for Breakaway, SB Nation’s women’s sports vertical, as well as the Celtics for CelticsBlog.
“I would stay here forever,” Reese said in her first Unrivaled media availability. “Everything I need is here — from massages to cold tubs, to being able to have resources, to workouts and everything.”
That was the goal of league leadership from the jump: to allow players to train in world-class facilities, with everything that could possibly assist their training at their fingertips.
The venue itself aims to provide all Unrivaled athletes the amenities and services that they need — including mothers who choose to bring their kids with them to the 9-week league. The venue includes a hair and makeup room, a childcare center, aestheticians, and more.
“We’re going to provide daycare servicing for the mothers on arrival,” league president Alex Bazzell told SB Nation. “It’s everything that the athletes need under one roof when it comes to anything and everything — on-court or off-court for them.”
Reese, fresh off an All-Star rookie season with the Sky, is one of the league’s biggest names. But, she’s joined by a slew of other stars, including Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier (the league’s two co-founders), Sabrina Ionescu, and dozens of others.
Angel Reese is eager to learn from Rose Club veterans
On the Rose Club, Reese will becomes teammates with Chelsea Gray (Las Vegas Aces), Kahleah Copper (Phoenix Mercury), Brittney Sykes (Washington Mystics), Lexie Hull (Indiana Fever), and Azura Stevens (Los Angeles Sparks). That team — one of six clubs in the 3-on-3 league — is led by Nola Henry, who was an assistant coach on the Sparks last season.
Reese expressed how much she valued the opportunity to learn from her new teammates. Two of her teammates — Copper (30 years old) and Gray (32 years old) — have Finals MVPs under their belt and are well-regarded as two of the league’s top veterans.
“I was so excited to join this crew,” Reese said. “I feel like I can pull from everyone on this team. If it’s coming from leadership, veteran leadership. Lexie brings a lot of defense, I’ve been playing against Lexie for a while.”
“Kah, obviously, she’s won a championship, she’s done a lot. I’ve been watching these players since I was in college, and obviously, I have one year under my belt, but being able to get as much information as I can while I’m here. They’ve been a sponge to me, I’ve been really good with them.”
Copper said she was impressed by Reese’s genuine interest in learning from the veterans.
“There’s a lot of young players in the league that’s like ‘I want to learn from the greats, I want to learn,’” Copper said. “And you get with them, and they don’t listen — they do what they want to do. She communicates, she listens — she really wants to learn. I see her growth every single day.”
Reese, who set a WNBA rebounding record in her rookie season with a 13.1 rebounds per game average, said she wants to make the most of the unique opportunity.
“I told them to coach me hard and get on me what they need to get on me,” Reese said of her veteran teammates. “I really enjoy this. When I leave this, I know I’m going to take a lot.”
At the Rose Club’s first media availability, Reese and Copper sat side-by-side, and when asked about their newfound friendship, the Sky star said that them both being from the East Coast initially helped spark a connection.
“Just being able to see her greatness, being able to see everything that she’s done, obviously she won a championship in Chicago... it motivates me every day just to see her put her head down and grind,” Reese said.
In addition to the on-campus resources and veteran leadership, Reese discussed the exposure and pay as two additional components that have impressed her about Unrivaled. Games, which will officially begin on Jan. 17, with be broadcast on TNT and TruTV thanks to a media partnership with TNT Sports.
“This is the exposure we deserve – being on TNT every night, being able to have access to watch our games, this is something that we deserve for a long time,” Reese said.
Reese said that from a financial standpoint, the most important thing is that all inaugural players have equity: “Five years from now, this thing is going to be bigger than ever.”
