Unrivaled is adding another player in the wake of injury, the new 3-on-3 professional women’s basketball league announced Friday afternoon, just hours before gameplay begins. Natisha Hiedeman, a Minnesota Lynx guard and six-year WNBA veteran, will join the Phantom club given the fact that Marina Mabrey is out for 2 to 4 weeks with a right calf strain she suffered in training camp.
Unrivaled announces surprise signing of WNBA guard in wake of injury news
Natisha Hiedeman will join the Phantom with Marina Mabrey sidelined with a calf strain.
Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images
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.
Unrivaled, co-founded by Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart, tips off on Friday night on TNT, and will feature 36 WNBA stars, including Angel Reese, Arike Ogunbowale, and others. Each of the league’s six teams includes six players, but they were down to just five active players given Mabrey’s injury.
Still, there’s no shortage of talent on the Phantom roster, a group that includes Satou Sabally, Brittney Griner, Natasha Cloud, Katie Lou Samuelson, and Sabrina Ionescu. Before Hiedeman’s addition, ESPN ranked the Phantom as second overall in their preseason rankings, projecting that the team will have the best offensive rating in the league.
Hiedeman, who has averaged 6.9 points and 2.9 assists in her career, will temporarily join the Phantom on a relief player contract to help alleviate Mabrey’s absence. The 5’8 guard was one of the top backup guards in the WNBA this past season, oftentimes playing a similar role to Courtney Williams when she sat. Hiedeman is another player who can spread the floor for the Phantom — she’s shot 37.7% from three in her career.
The addition of Hiedeman makes particular sense considering that Ionescu is also not at 100% after having surgery to repair a torn UCL in her right thumb last month. She also revealed at an Unrivaled media availability Thursday that she won’t be at all Unrivaled obligations this season due to prior commitments.
“They’ve been very accommodating knowing that I have obligations I have to be at, being able to work through that with them and knowing I want to be here, fully committed to my teammates and this team,” Ionescu said.
Hiedeman is the first player to sign a relief player contract with Unrivaled this season. Her signing opens the door for other WNBA players to sign temporarily with teams if other unexpected injuries occur. The Lunar Owls are currently the only team with only five active players, given that Cameron Brink will miss the season recovering from an ACL tear.
The Phantom will begin their season against the Laces on Saturday at 2 pm ET on truTV, while Unrivaled gameplay officially begins on Friday night at 7pm on TNT Sports.
