← No Offseason: The Athletic Women's Basketball Show
No Offseason: The Athletic Women's Basketball Show
Unrivaled is Changing Women’s Basketball with Clare Duwelius
00:37:42
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- [00:00]
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Love
Love.
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- [05:14]
Zena Keda
For the athletic I'm Zena Ka and this is the Athletic Women's Basketball. Welcome to the Athletic Women's Basketball show where we are here to talk all things women's hoops. Whether you're a die hard fan that eats, sleeps and breathes the game, or you're a fan looking for a safe space to learn more, you're in the right spot. Make sure you subscribe to this show wherever you get your podcasts and subscribe to the content online because we're covering it all, folks. Wnba, nc, ncaa, and yes, for this show, Unrivaled, let's get into who we've got in the building. I got Ben Pickman alongside me for this special interview. Love the interviews on this podcast because it allows us to get to know some folks within this space and talk about some new cool things that are happening. Our guest today recently made a notable career change in the world of women's basketball. Over the course of the last 11 years, she worked her way up from a basketball ops coordinat to the GM.
- [06:29]
Love
Of the Minnesota Lynx, and now she has just taken on a new role as the GM and executive vice president of Unrivaled. As Zena said, the upstart 3 on 3 winter basketball league featuring tons of WNBA stars. With her a part of the league, Unrivaled is guaranteed to have at least one alum of West Des Moines, Iowa's Dowling Catholic High School in it during its inaugural season. And in doing so, this guest has traded Minnesota winters for a Miami winter. Who could blame her for doing that? Claire dewelious, welcome to the Athletic Women's Basketball Show.
- [07:01]
Claire Dewitt
I appreciate you both. Thanks for having me on. I can't wait to talk to you guys.
- [07:04]
Love
Awesome. Well, the place we wanted to start is just kind of explain for listeners for ourselves, how did all of this kind of come about for you? You know, how did this opportunity come about? What appealed to it and what will the GM and EVP of Unrivaled actually be doing for the league?
- [07:20]
Claire Dewitt
Yeah, well, honest to God, I mean, you guys can probably guess it's been a whirlwind, you know, an incredible WNBA season. And on the tails of that, once that wrapped, I was able to have a couple conversations about this opportunity with Unrivaled. To be honest, everything appealed to me about it because it's a little bit of everything. Like I get to do a lot of, a lot of, you know, like granular type operations stuff, trying to get it up off the ground. It's a really collaborative team. I love all the people I've met so far just because they have the same like hungry energy that I do and wanting to make this really special for the players. And so obviously that is like the most immediate because if you look at the calendar. We're gonna tip off here in like no time. And so it's just, it's like round the clock working. I'm constantly talking to our team and it's really, really exciting. And then, you know, once we're able to kind of catch our breath and look forward to future years, it'll be a lot of negotiating. You know, some stuff that I've been having a lot of experience with with Minnesota and just talking to some really, you know, keep the, keep the level of talent at the most high level, which, you know, we're fortunate and we're so proud of to have that right now. We're going to have, you know, some of the best athletes, best players in the W coming over to the unrivaled league and it's just going to be, you know, constant like great basketball year round. So that's what we're really looking forward to.
- [08:54]
Zena Keda
It is really cool to think of this league as a potential boost for the WNBA as well in terms of evaluating talent. I've covered the G League looking at what it's done for the NBA. The WNBA doesn't really have that right. They've only got the NCAA. Do you think that WNBA talent evaluators, GMs, front offices will be able to use unrivaled in order to look at the next up and coming talent or maybe people they want to trade for and add to their rosters?
- [09:22]
Claire Dewitt
Yeah, I mean we have like the best players that, that are playing in the W featured in our league. And so it's just, it's going to be really natural for head coaches, you know, front office staffs. They're going to be spending a lot of time in Miami, which, which no one will scoff at or you know, resist. So having that, it's, it's natural. Like a ton of my, you know, former counterparts have already been texting, like, can't wait to see you in Miami. Like it's, they're going to be, it's going to be a revolving door just because you can't deny, you know, wanting to see all of the great basketball that's going to be played in our league. And so yeah, it'll be natural. There's going to be a lot of familiar faces around, around when we're, when we tip them up.
- [10:07]
Zena Keda
So it's awesome.
- [10:08]
Love
There's so many interesting and unique aspects to unrivaled. It's a three on three league with kind of a modified full court, half court. Like it's neither full nor half. I Guess in a traditional sense, I think the game is going to be played, you know, all the coaches have talked about it's going to be played with a lot of space and a lot of pace and, you know, it seems like a lot of offense overall. One of the unique aspects from a business standpoint is that this first round of players are all getting equity in the league. And that is something, you know, in your old life you might have been dealing with a WNBPA and WNBA CBA negotiation right now in which, you know, the PA said that one of their key priorities was actually like potentially introducing an equity based model, you know, that grows and evolves as the league's business changes, that league's business changes. I guess for you guys, in the context of unrivaled, how does this league, being owned by the players or having so many players have such an ownership stake in it, how does that change some of your decision making or what you're doing or how you approach the role that you've just walked into?
- [11:10]
Claire Dewitt
Yeah, no, it's a great question. I mean, number one, it is another reason why this, this league and the opportunity appeal to me is as long as I've been involved in professional sports, something that's been of paramount importance to me is the player experience and also like being player centric. So the fact that it is like run by the players, it is for the players, all of those things are really important to me. And I think, you know, they're the reason why we see all, obviously why we see all the success and kind of the interest boom is because they're spectacular. And so just having that mindset and that, you know, they're first, we put them first in every decision we make, every single conversation we have, every call we're on, it's like, how will this impact the players? And so not that that's any different than my approach, you know, in my former former life. I mean, it's just, it's just, you know, it's nice that it's like a benchmark for us and we, we constantly talk about it.
- [12:13]
Love
Right. I mean, along those lines. Like, Minnesota certainly was well known for having a really good practice facility and being, you know, so player focused and having, you know, a great medical team when necessary and just a support system right behind all your players. And obviously you guys have achieved so much success historically, but now that you're creating something from scratch and involved in that process, is there, I don't know, some detail or some little thing or some part of the like, player experience that you guys are bringing that you're most excited to show off or present to these players and have in this new league.
- [12:47]
Claire Dewitt
I think it's a culmination of everything. You know, I think that something that I'm really proud of and have like, witnessed firsthand in the first two weeks that I've been here is like, we are really great listeners to the players. You know, like, we open the conversation, we say like, we really want their fingerprints all over it as much as ours and more honestly. And so whenever we have an idea or something that we kind of want to jumpstart, we're not afraid to ask the players, like, hey, how do you want this to look, feel like, exist? So we ask all those questions. And also it's integral to who I was and the things that I brought to the links. I always wanted the players to feel like everything top to bottom was first class for them because if you take out all the other stuff that they have to worry about, all they have to focus on is playing the game. And that's something that, that we all unrivaled share that mindset. So every detail has been thought of. And so now it's just the matter of executing, which is the phase we're in right now, which is really exciting.
- [13:49]
Zena Keda
It's cool. Obviously, as a gm, your focal point is making sure that the players are well taken care of, that every single thing that they could possibly ask for is answered for. Now what about the fans, right? Thinking about the people that are listening to this podcast, we know that if players are happy, that usually means a good product. But if you were to make a pitch to the fans that are listening as to why Unrivaled is going to be such a great league and a different league than anything they're watching right now in women's basketball, like what would that be?
- [14:20]
Claire Dewitt
Well, Ben kind of touched on it, you know, like the coaches have a really keen idea on how they want the game to be played. Obviously a high emphasis on, on player development and kind of enhancing their skill as they, as this will bleed right into the WNBA season, which is, that was calculated, right? Like we wanted that to be an emphasis. So that's, that's a big, a big part of it. Like these players are going to be playing really high, you know, fast paced basketball, up and down, lots of, lots of shooting, lots of scoring. But I think because of how you guys saw the rosters kind of play out and how the clubs shaped up yesterday, there's not a bad team, you know, like Every team is sacked. You can make a case for any of them. And I think it's really exciting. New storylines will just inevitably kind of take shape. And, you know, that's. That's another really cool part about this. And equally as the fans, like, I'm really eager to see how those kind of develop over the course of our season. And, yeah, I'm just excited to get to know the players, like, more, you know, up close and personal. I know a lot of them. I've. I've developed a lot of relationships previously, but having that kind of, like, intimate look into how this will all kind of shape up over the next couple months will be really fun.
- [15:37]
Zena Keda
What was the process? I'm happy you mentioned the teams. Like, what was the process to put these teams together? Because every slide we posted at the Athletic, I didn't know who was going to be on, and I was like, ooh, that's going to be a fire team. Like, okay, maybe I'm a Mist fan. And then I see the Phantom, and then I'm like, oh, wait, hold on. Then, you know, every single.
- [15:57]
Claire Dewitt
I'm glad you felt that way.
- [15:59]
Zena Keda
I was shocked in, like, in excitement with every single slide of team that came together. And, you know, of course there's an assortment of guards and bigs and, you know, things of that sort. But, like, what was that process like to put the teams together, who all was involved and, you know, how you think you did?
- [16:15]
Claire Dewitt
Well, I hope everyone agrees. I think we did a great job. Like, the parody is, you know, was obviously the goal. That was the objective. When we sat together, it was Luke, the president of basketball operations. Chloe was kind of moderating the conversation. She has a great knowledge on all the players and everything myself and then the six coaches of the clubs. So we sat down, we had a really pointed focus and objective. Again, like, the. The point of it being that all the. All the clubs have, like, really great parity. They have a good balance. You know, skill set was spread out throughout the league. So that was like, first and foremost, like, what we were trying to achieve. And we sat there for probably like two, two and a half hours and just had great dialogue about, you know, the different players and what. How they could kind of complement each other. And I think we landed in a really, like, great, exciting space for the fans. And, you know, we had great feedback from. From the post yesterday from players and fans alike. You know, the players are super excited to get going. Our coaches are super geeked, like, they can't stop talking about it. And so it's just going to come together, like really beautifully. And it was a, it was an awesome, like, process to be a part of. It was kind of like draft room vibes, like skill sets and everything. But it was really collaborative, which was, which was really, really exciting.
- [17:39]
Zena Keda
When did the players find out that they were on these teams?
- [17:41]
Claire Dewitt
They found out yesterday just like everybody else. Wow.
- [17:44]
Zena Keda
That's pretty cool. That's pretty cool.
- [17:46]
Claire Dewitt
I rapid fire sent out like 34 emails all at the same time yesterday with someone who worked. They. They found out slightly before everybody else.
- [17:55]
Zena Keda
Sure.
- [17:55]
Claire Dewitt
Yeah. I got a couple responses to the emails, which are from the players, which was fun too.
- [18:01]
Zena Keda
That's cool.
- [18:02]
Love
You know, we've talked so much already just about the player focus and, you know, the importance of player development. And you know, a lot of the coaches, when they were doing their media availability on Wednesday, talked about that. But one aspect that I'm curious if how much you've thought about it and struck me in hearing some of their comments was about coaching development. Right. You know, someone like Andrew Wade, who, you know, has been with the Mystics for, you know, a bunch of years now in mostly a video coordinator role or player development assistant role, like Nola Henry, another coach who's involved. She is a young assistant coach in the wnba. You know, even someone like Phil Handy, another coach involved, you know, won multiple NBA championships, you know, has worked with some of the best players in basketball across, you know, men's, women's games. But like, this is a head coach opportunity for him. What do you see as the potential opportunity in terms of coach development and potentially, you know, preparing a next generation of coaches to take on, you know, bigger roles in their careers, not just in unrivaled, but in the NBA, in the W, in the G League, in college, wherever it might be.
- [19:03]
Claire Dewitt
It was a very thoughtful process for, you know, handpicking those six club club head coaches. And I think like you mentioned, like, the, the experiences are vast, but you know, head coach to head coach, as you like, kind of look at each of them. But again, like, similar to the business and the basketball kind of managers in unrivaled, they're super hungry. Their excitement is like off the charts. Like sometimes when we were talking before the selection process, they were just like, they were all like a bunch of puppies. Like, they were just so excited to get to it and like, and it's. That's the kind of energy that's going to be so valuable to the players. You know, like this is a fun, new, exciting environment for Them to, like, you know, work on their skill. And having those type of leaders is really going to be like, a profound thing for the players. It's fresh faces, fresh voices, you know, top of their game in terms of, like, player development. And just, you know, I think that's going to be really, really valuable for the players. They're going to get a lot better this, this winter.
- [20:07]
Love
Along those lines, like, it was interesting to hear some reflection, and you touched on it here, too, just now, about the balance between winning and also player development. Like, you want people to presumably care about the games and winning an unrivaled championship and whatever trophy, you know, comes with that or whatever medals or whatever comes with that. I guess it's an announcement to be named later. A nice trophy. You heard it here first, folks. I guess, for you, though, and maybe generally, like, what does success in year one for unrivaled look like and, you know, what does success look like for the league in the long term here?
- [20:41]
Claire Dewitt
Yeah, again, like, it's. It's in the same vein of taking care of the players first. We want to provide them the opportunity to, you know, stay domestic and kind of hit all of the boxes that they maybe weren't previously hitting. They get time with their family, you know, around the holiday season, they get to, you know, fill their cup up in that way, and then they have a really viable option and, you know, one that kind of supplements other incomes and opportunities for them where they get to really work on their craft and get better. You know, they get to dedicate this portion of time to nutrition, to their skill set, you know, kind of expanding their game. And it's going to complement the WNBA season. So it's going to be great for the fans. They have opportunities to watch our players majority of the year. They get ample time to rest and kind of take care of their body, and then they get to springboard into just getting better. And that's the focus. And I think that's going to be successful not only in year one, but obviously the objective every year as we kind of embark on future seasons.
- [21:45]
Zena Keda
Now, if I'm a player and I'm listening to you say all these things, time with my family, work on my nutrition, stay home. This is incredibly enticing. But Unrivaled is still a limited league in terms of spots. So in future years, if there are more players that are like, me, me, me, choose me for this league, does it become a competitive position to be able to get into unrivaled, or is it just more expansion, more Teams, more spots. Like, how do you guys make that distinction as you grow and more players want to join?
- [22:21]
Claire Dewitt
Yeah, no, it's a, it's a great call out, I think, you know, in conversations with Alex, we've talked about, you know, there's an opportunity to expand a little bit, but there's still kind of like this like, niche, like prime time spot with number of, of of teams and especially in the three on three format. So yeah, there's going to be an additional, like, slot of, you know, jobs, but that's obviously in the future. But for now, of course, like, our goal is always going to be the same. Get the best players, get the highest level of talent so that our product remains to be, you know, elite. And so, yeah, I guess it's good incentive for players to perform and kind of work their way into some of those coveted spots.
- [23:09]
Zena Keda
Players, if you're hearing this, you better work for your spot, folks, because that sounds amazing.
- [23:13]
Claire Dewitt
Just like anything else.
- [23:14]
Zena Keda
Exactly, exactly.
- [23:16]
Love
You know, Xena said she said the E word, expansion. And I know in your old job you would have been very much thinking about expansion and expansion drafts upcoming in the wnba. I guess I kind of have to ask a question that I think a lot of people around the W were curious about when you made this leap. Obviously there are going to be, you know, more WNBA teams coming down the line. Portland, Toronto, and a 16 team, at least one to be named later. With seemingly every city in America vying for team number 16. I guess, you know, it's clear how excited you are for this opportunity. Would you ever, though, want to come back to the W? How might this experience better prepare you for, you know, what might come next? If there is a next back in the W, can you just provide a little bit of insight onto, you know, that thought process?
- [24:02]
Claire Dewitt
For sure. I appreciate the question. I would be remiss if I didn't say I absolutely love my time in Minnesota, love learning under Cheryl and you know, all the other great people that I got to work alongside the players, you guys know like how I feel about the players. They, they make everything go. They're like, it's when we're in season, it's the most exciting time because you're just around the players and they make it so much fun. But for me, it was just a, it was a kind of a time, time and score type of thing. You know, like, it was an opportunity where I could learn in a new environment, have a new challenge, which was something that was really, really exciting to me. And, you know, I'LL always, always, always, always love the wnba. I'm going to be a huge fan this summer, but for me, it was just like a perfect time and. And obviously still working along. The best, best professional athletes in women's basketball is, you know, it's the same. So I'm really excited that I was afforded this. This opportunity.
- [24:57]
Love
Look, one of those athletes is obviously Nafisa Collier, someone who you got to know very well in your old job and will continue to know and maintain that relationship with in your new job. Just what was the conversation like with Fee in particular? How much of a lead recruiter was she on this effort? Are there any stories about conversations? How excited was she when you officially signed on? How much did she push for you? That seems to be the relationship so much at the core. Or are we crazy about it, all of us?
- [25:23]
Claire Dewitt
No, no, no, you're not. Obviously. I think. I think the world of Nafisa. She's, you know, like one of the most humble superstars. She's so down to earth. And, yeah, of course, we, like, just an interest, you know, this is. This league has been kind of in the making in the last couple of years. So just like human beings do, like, out of general curiosity, we talked a lot about it. Never in terms of, like, me becoming involved. That didn't become real until after the finals. And so it was a whirlwind once it kind of started to materialize as a real opportunity. But, yeah, I mean, Fee, I don't know. You'll have to ask Alex and V, because I'm not sure, like, her involvement in the recruiting process until after it was kind of. It started going more.
- [26:10]
Zena Keda
She kept you in the dark.
- [26:12]
Claire Dewitt
We were strictly focused on basketball there and specifically trying to win a WNBA championship with the Links.
- [26:20]
Zena Keda
So your plate was a little full at the time. That makes sense. Yeah.
- [26:23]
Claire Dewitt
Her plate was much more fault than my.
- [26:25]
Zena Keda
For sure. For sure.
- [26:27]
Claire Dewitt
Yeah. No, she's the best. I'm just. I'm just looking forward to being able to continue to work close with her.
- [26:32]
Zena Keda
Very, very cool stuff here. Claire, we greatly appreciate you coming onto the show and, like, breaking all of that down. Now, before we let you go, we got to let you get the opportunity to talk to the fans again. When can they expect all of this to start and where can they watch, et cetera, this upcoming January?
- [26:48]
Claire Dewitt
Yeah, so I've been told by all of the smart people on our business side that, like, tickets are selling out like crazy. We went pre sale yesterday. They sold out in, like, 18 minutes or. Wow, 30 minutes or less. I know. And then went through with the second window, I think, today.
- [27:04]
Zena Keda
And.
- [27:04]
Claire Dewitt
And so obviously a lot of excitement. People are chomping at the bit to come to Miami. Like I said, not a bad place to be January to March. But, you know, you can also watch us on TNT and True TV. And I think Max. So perfect.
- [27:19]
Zena Keda
And that starts January 17th, right?
- [27:21]
Claire Dewitt
You're right. Yep. And it'll go all the way through March 17th. Will be the final competition.
- [27:26]
Zena Keda
Perfect. Oh, I'm so excited. Not only for the players, but again, for the fans to now have this really cool new product just opens up the ecosystem even more in women's basketball. And a really new look at basketball, too, because I think a lot of people were excited after the Olympics getting to see the 3 on 3 product in Europe and in Paris particularly, and now getting to see it with, like, the All Stars. This is like the Monstars teaming up, folks, for Unrivaled. Go check out the rosters. I've been clearly impressed with the way that you guys were able to build some parity throughout those teams. Overall, thank you so much, Claire Deelas for joining us again, the EVP and GM of the new Unrivaled league. We appreciate your time.
- [28:10]
Claire Dewitt
I appreciate you guys so much. Thanks for having me.
- [28:13]
Zena Keda
No problem.
- [28:13]
Love
Thanks, Claire.
- [28:14]
Zena Keda
All right, Ben, time to break it down as we always do after these amazing interviews. Claire was awesome. Lots of interesting information about Unrivaled, some of which we knew, some of which we didn't know. What was the thing that kind of surprised you the most that you learned about Claire in her role on Unrivaled?
- [28:31]
Love
I think one of the things that just struck me is how much work, you know, you know it, but how much work goes into starting something new and starting a new league and just the kind of freedom and also challenges that come along with doing that. Right. And she's someone who has worked her way up and worked so many different roles with the Minnesota Lynx, learned so much, whether it's an operation side or player development side and a team building side. And, you know, it seems like she really has the opportunity to apply so many of those things to this challenge. I think one of the things that, you know, strikes me is, like, she's coming in relatively late in the game, I guess right before their first season. Like, we're recording this at the end of November. They tip off in less than two months. Right. Like, they're really getting going. They're heating up. We now have teams, there's coaches assignments. So she really has to hit the ground running. And that was really interesting. The other thing I would say, Xena, and maybe this struck you too, is like, like unrivaled, is not trying to like usurp the wnba. It's not trying to like eat into it. I think like there is a clear recognition of the importance of balance between the two leagues and trying to build, you know, a more perfect women's basketball, pro women's basketball schedule. There's a clear emphasis on player development, there's an emphasis on coach development, which I think was really interesting to hear her talk about and I know is something she's involved in. Like the two leagues really do want to work hand in hand from an encore perspective and from a brand building perspective. And so, you know, I think the sustainability there, coupled with, you know, the high salaries, record breaking salaries as they've promised, you know, is something that I think sets this league up for a lot of success. Not just in year one, but, you know, hopefully for the years to come for all those people involved.
- [30:03]
Zena Keda
Absolutely. The things that stuck out to me on the same note of what you're talking about in terms of player development, coaching development, just how much of a focus there is on all those things. We kind of knew that in the way that this league was structured with the player equity and the timing of it and being able to stay at home and all the different aspects of the league that are going to allow the players to rest and recover in between their seasons. But I think that there probably was the assumption, particularly on the outside from fans, that oh, this is an opportunity to take advantage of eyeballs. Right? This is an opportunity to take advantage of the big boom that's happening in women's basketball. And it was really kind of refreshing, I guess you could say, to hear that. No, the focus is really the players. Like it's really about making sure that they have another option to be able to still develop their game at the highest level, play against top tier talent, while also having the balance in their life of seeing their families and recovering and getting all the things that they need in the off season. So that was really refreshing to see that it's not just about taking advantage of basketball being a big thing, but it's really about the players.
- [31:07]
Love
Now it definitely does help that you mentioned at the end of our conversation they've already signed a multi year TV deal and we know how important that is to league sustainability in the business of what they want to try and create. Claire talked about it at the end of our conversation, but they signed this multi year deal with TNT Sports Games will be broadcast on TNT, TruTV and Max. They'll air, you know, on TNT. I think it's Monday and Friday nights and Saturday nights on True. Like that's a big deal, right, that they already have, you know, a big time TV deal that will give them good windows. And especially this year, right, like Turner Sports's overall basketball inventory is changing. This is the last year in which they're going to broadcast NBA games on tnt. But theoretically like in January when you flip, you know, to an NBA game on a random night, they're going to throw to some like some ad reads for unrivaled. Like I would expect to see a bunch of cross promotion. And so, so you know Zena, I know you work in both, you know, the women's basketball space and the NBA space. That kind of cross promotion is surely going to help attract some attention. And really the product is for the players as you're talking about and it is also for the TV audience. Like they're renovating or reworking this like state of the art facility in the Miami area. But I think in person there's only going to be around 850 tickets or 850 spectators who are going to be at these games. It's a facility that's going to have everything that the players want. But, but you know, in theory the cameras are going to be really close. The access you're going to see in terms of, you know, interviews sound, all that stuff is going to be at a really high level. They're not playing in a 20,000 seat arena. Like they're outfitting this space to what they want. Much like you know, we've seen with Overtime Elite what they've done with some of these games or someone like AU as well. So I think the kind of made for TV aspect is something I'm definitely watching for when this kicks off. And you know, I think something else that potentially could really captivate fans when, when games do tip off in, in mid January for sure.
- [32:59]
Zena Keda
And you know, you mentioned Overtime Elite. It makes sense that you know, as you heard Claire talking about the draft process, like how they created the teams, you might have heard her continuously say Chloe and she's referencing Chloe Pavlich who is helping build unrivaled but also founded Overtime women's basketball. So there is this like just a lot of brain resources around people who have built things from scratch, people who have built products that are complimenting what fans want and want to see. And so you can Expect that to be seen and strung through the entire experience for Unrivaled, as you saw in overtime, in these other atmospheres. I thought the draft process was interesting too, that, you know, the coaches obviously had something to do with who they had on their team. And I'm very curious in seeing all this parody. And so I do want to talk a little bit about the rosters. We're not going to list them all out, but we do have them live on the site. And of course, you can just search unrivaled rosters. There are six teams and six spots, and then there's some teams that have wild cards. What's that about? That was a little confusing for me.
- [34:03]
Love
Yeah. Well, one just point of clarification, before even getting into that, the coaches actually did not know which teams they were going to coach and be assigned when the draft process was coming together. So as Claire described, they were all sitting around at a table. She said it was two and a half hours of them kind of splitting up the rosters. There's a really good video that Unrivaled posted to their YouTube channel that you can see a little bit more behind the scenes on the process. They then were assigned the teams after the fact by people like Claire and the others involved with Unrivaled. So it wasn't like, you know, Teresa Weatherspoon. She is one of the coaches. She's coaching Enrique Gumbowale, Ryan Howard, Aaliyah Boston, Jordan Canada, Ray Burrell, and Dierica Hamby. Her team is vinyl. It wasn't like T. Spoon was helping build that team from scratch. They kind of all collectively put their heads together to try and create fair teams and then were assigned teams. Were the coaches to your question, though, of the wild card? So right now there are 34 players who are active players who are going to take part in the inaugural season. It is out of 36 total spots. So there are two open wild card spots still to be filled. And. And you know, theoretically, you know, we're taping this at the end of November. Unrivaled is still looking to recruit and sign two more players. One of the players that has come up in a lot of conversations, obviously is Caitlin Clark. She is one of the, you know, best and highest profile players who has not signed on to Unrivaled at this time. You kind of might remember Zina, at the start of our conversation with Claire, I made a little bit of a joke to Dallin Catholic, which is a high school in West Des Moines, Iowa. That is the high school that Claire attended. And also Caitlin Clark, though I should say at different times. And so that is why is the one guaranteed participant. You know, there's some reporting in recent days, ESPN reported that Clark will not play in its inaugural season. I had some reporting that said, you know, Unrivaled still has an open invite out for Clark this year regarding her participation, basically that like, if she does want to participate, and this is something that Alex Bazell, the league president, has said at any time, like they would gladly keep a roster spot open for her. So, you know, in theory, like one of the roster spots could be for someone like Clark if she changes her mind last minute. There are some other notable players, Sabrina Unescu, Asia Wilson, or two other, you know, WNBA stars who are not currently signed on to Unrivaled, you know, they decide to change their mind and want to participate. In theory, a wild card spot could go, you know, to one of them or both of them. They're just open spots, basically. I think the expectation is that they will get filled before gameplay begins in mid January. But as it stands right now, at the end of November, week before Thanksgiving, those spots are still, you know, tbd. And so those two teams that have them currently just have five players compared to the other four that have six each.
- [36:44]
Zena Keda
Got it, got it. Okay. And I'm looking at the six teams and it seems like every single team except for the two that have wild cards, it's all broken down to two guards, two wings and two bigs. And then there's also some teams have like forwards, which is interesting how they kind of split that up between forwards and bigs. And that was the, the way that they're talked about is also different than what you would see in typical basketball. A little bit at least saying big as opposed to a center. But I think that's just the changing terminology in basketball anyways. Especially since centers aren't even in the center of the court anymore in this sense, especially in a three on three situation, you can, you could imagine.
- [37:25]
Love
Yeah, I mean, I think that was one of the benefits they have of creating something from scratch. When you watch the video, the rosters were kind of put together because they broke up teams, the players into different pools, just labeled A through F. And so, you know, a player like Brianna Stewart was in a different pool than Brittney Griner, say, right. Like there was kind of a pool of versatile forwards, the Brianna Stewart's, the Nafisa Colliers, you know, some of those kinds of players. Whereas like Brittney Griner, more traditional, back to the Basket center. Like, she was in a different pool than the Stewart's, the Colliers, than the ats. I believe. Someone like Shakira Austin, I believe was in Brittney Griner's pool from, from watching the video back. So, like, you know, that's kind of how those distinctions were made. You know, you had someone like Dijonay Carrington in a different pool than Courtney Van Der Sloot. Like, there was an emphasis to try and think about team construction the way you would in a fantasy draft, or you would if you were, you know, building a team from scratch, which I guess is what they were doing, versus, like sticking to more, you know, traditional constrained positional designations.
- [38:33]
Zena Keda
And there's going to be some overlap in terms of WNBA teams represented on individual unrivaled teams. So you might see a few players from the Sparks on a team from the Lynx, from the Aces. Like, there is going to be a little bit of an overlap, but again, very different positions being played. You're not going to see two really backcourt players as much on the same team from the same WNBA team. There's a nice variety overall. And I have to ask you, Ben, because we have to know, do you have a team that you're putting your horses behind?
- [39:06]
Love
It's a great question. I think there's going to be a lot of different opinions here. And, you know, it remains to be seen how these wild card spots do get filled and maybe that changes someone's prediction. I mean, I think you have to like the construction of the mist right now. If you're looking at a team, obviously you have someone like Stewie. A prolific player, needs no resume breakdown. Jewel Lloyd, you know, obviously a scoring guard. Someone who we've seen, you know, had success kind of in the 3 on 3 format, or you can imagine having a lot of success because of just how dynamic a creator she is. Someone like Dijonay Carrington, who a really good defender can also create a little bit, stretch the floor at 3. Someone like Courtney Vandersloot, a crafty point guard. Their coaches, Phil Handy, someone who is, you know, I mentioned it on the podcast. He's been a longtime Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers assistant. He's someone who's trained LeBron, he's trained Kyrie. He's actually trained Jewel Lloyd as well. Like, they have a really good relationship. And so, you know, having a coach that knows Jewel, I think just a lot of talent on that team, that's definitely one I have circled. What about you?
- [40:06]
Zena Keda
I. I've got two circled for me. One, the Vinyl with Coach T. Spoon. Definitely some scores up there. Rike Gumbawale, Ryan Howard and then also some veteran bigs in Aaliyah Boston and deorrika Hamby. I really like that. The only thing I'm curious about is the defense for that team and what that's going to look like, but particularly deorricka Hamby. Thinking about the fact that she's done this right, she was on the USA 3 on 3 team and and she's had the experience within that space as well as Ryan Howard. Those are two players already that have already, you know, played in those spaces. And then I also got this is going to be probably a wild card for you, but I got the laces coached by Andrew Wade, that's got Kelsey Plumb, Kayla McBride, good backcourt, Alyssa Thomas particularly. And then I really, really fell for Courtney Williams, particularly in these in this last final series against the Liberty. She's a fun bucket getter in the mid range, especially for the Lynx and so it'll be interesting to see what she looks like in the back court if there's a such a thing in this three on three format alongside a Kelsey or Kate Martin, et cetera. So and I also want to see some the teams of the wild cards get filled out too because I mean, God, it's so hard Ben there. All these teams are stacked but it'll be fun to see the first game kick off, see what the format is like, see what all the excitement that Claire was talking about, just how much pace there's going to be, how much scoring and lots of shooting there's going to be. I've never seen, you know, a three on three tournament in that way go up and down a court. So yeah, we'll have to see what to expect. All righty guys. We've had a wonderful time talking to Claire, breaking down that conversation, breaking down some of the teams. Curious to hear what you guys think about the teams. Love to hear your thoughts on how they were put together. If you guys have any favorites and keep us in the loop on what you want to know about this league, especially as it gets kicked off. We'll keep you up to date on what those wild card positions look like, who's filling them out and make sure that you guys remember in January to tune your TVs or get your ticket for the league. Kicking off in Miami. I used to live in Miami. It's a great time in January. Okay. Lots of folks in the area because they don't want to be anywhere else. I just saw a tweet that Angel Reese was like, oh my God, it's snowing in Chicago. Let me get out of here. I'm like, yeah, girl, you got Miami in just a few months. Don't you worry, guys. Appreciate you all tuning in as always. Again, hit that subscribe button to the show. Leave us comments Let us know what you want to know and what's on your minds. We want to hear it. On behalf of Ben, on behalf of Claire, I'm Zena Keda thanking you for your ear and encouraging you to keep listening, keep watching, keep learning and keep loving the game because that's the only way we're going to keep growing it. Until next time.
- [42:56]
Love
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