The Indiana Fever are waiting to see if Caitlin Clark plays in Unrivaled this offseason. The player-backed league added Aliyah Boston on Halloween as their 30th player but announced their player pool was expanding to 36. Lexie Hull and Kate Martin were already announced, which creates plenty of reasons for number 22. The biggest draw in the W has several reasons to say yes but has not been announced.
Clark had a whirlwind year. She went directly from leading the University of Iowa to the NCAA finals to the WNBA. The 22-year-old had a historic rookie year and brought millions of new fans. Unrivaled wants those supporters, but what is the latest?
The league’s president Alex Bazzell offered an update on Oct. 31 and cleared up a previous comment he made about players being “under one roof”. Here is the latest Unrivaled news as it impacts the Fever.
Unrivaled has a standing offer to Caitlin Clark
Bazzell made it clear that the league wants Clark, but is giving her space to make a decision. See the full quote below.
“We’re always going to have a roster spot for Caitlin Clark,” Bazzell added. “We’re not applying a full-court press the way people think. We are letting her decompress from basketball. … She knows that we have a spot for her when she’s ready.”
It is Clark’s decision. Some fans want her to avoid the upstart league and others are eager to see her back on the floor. Unrivaled is full-court 3-on-3 with 28-minute contests. It will be a different game that favors Clark’s style of play. She will have more space to operate and a smaller court to sink long-range jumpers.
Adding her three closest fans certainly has to have some impact on Clark’s decision. Is it enough to get her to say yes? Fans will have to wait to find out. Unrivaled wants their rosters set by mid-November, so the decision should come over the next two weeks.
Unrivaled players will not be living in the same house
Bazzell was on the Profluence Sports podcast where he discussed the league. He said the following quote, which ignited social media.
"You know, our players are together, all of them under one roof, for 10 straight weeks.”
Fans immediately jumped to the players living together, and the league creating the ultimate reality series to go along with the basketball, but that is not what Bazzell meant. He later clarified with this Tweet.
To be clear “under one roof” means playing in one arena and utilizing the same practice facility. Happy Halloween 🎃
— Alex Bazzell (@alexbazzell) November 1, 2024
Every team will compete in the same gym and share courts in practice, but players will not be living together. There will be drama and intrigue, but it won’t be a 24-7 thing like some speculated. Unrivaled will give fans unique access. It just won’t come with everyone staying in one place for the entire season.
Caitlin Clark will be paid handsomely if she joins Unrivaled. They inked two teammates and her former college running mate. Will the Indiana Fever’s superstar be next? Stay tuned to find out.