When the WNBA season ends, players go overseas and continue to play basketball. Many Sun players will also participate in this tradition. There used to be no choice other than to play overseas, where there were more opportunities to make more money. But with the rapid growth of women’s basketball, there are now added opportunities for players to stay in the United States during the offseason as well.
Unrivaled
Now that playing domestically in the offseason is an option, professional women’s basketball players can choose to opt out of leaving their life and families behind for a season abroad. This is an opportunity that Sun players are taking advantage of.
There are currently two popular domestic options in leagues Athletes Unlimited (AU) and Unrivaled.
Unrivaled, a new 3×3 style co-founded by UConn alumni and three-time WNBA champion Breanna Stewart, and 2024 Defensive Player of the Year Napheesa Collier, has announced 26 out of 30 players so far. Among those 26 players are Sun guard Marina Mabrey and guard/forward DiJonai Carrington.
Unrivaled doesn’t begin until Jan. 17, 2025, which gives both Mabrey and Carrington some free time between seasons.
When Mabrey was asked how she planned to spend her time until Unrivaled began, she told reporters that she is excited to use her down time to enhance her game. But first, she has a few other things to attend to.
“Well, I need to fix my ankle … then after that, I’m gonna go to Europe, probably see my sister play and do a little vacation. … And then I will get back to working and adding more things to my game,” Mabrey told reporters during her exit interview.
Mabrey acquired an ankle injury in semifinals Game 5 of the WNBA Finals against the Minnesota Lynx. She had mentioned in her exit interview, a day after their semifinals loss, that she still had to get an MRI. The injury is expected to be a minor sprain, but there are no updates at this time.
Mabrey was disappointed with how she finished at the rim this season compared to past seasons and wants to build her strength to be able to handle the physicality so it “doesn’t take such a toll” on her, as she told reporters. She will be able to put her skill development to the test when she begins playing in Unrivaled in January.
“There’s obviously the level of competition throughout the league, especially since it’s some of the top players in the world,” Mabrey said. “You always want to go out there and show that you’re part of that and you have your own little skill set that’s hard to stop. That’s definitely something that I’ll be out there trying to do, but also just the chance to, in my six years of professional basketball, I’ve never had a season where I can sit home and really add stuff to my game. Hopefully, this ankle, stupid ankle injury doesn’t take too long, because I really want to get out there and really add some stuff to my game that I know next season will be super effective. And Unrivaled’s a chance to put it in action.”
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With a healthy offseason in her favor, Carrington is also ready to get in the gym, work on her game and show it off in Unrivaled. She plans to head back home to her roots and train in Southern California. She mentioned that San Diego or Los Angeles were possible destinations for training.
“I’m excited to work on my skills and continue to develop,” Carrington said. “I’m actually super excited. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a fully healthy offseason, and I know that a lot of this is just my will to win, my genetics and God given talent, and there’s so much more to tap into when I’m able to get in the lab and really work on the things that I know I need to work on…
I’m super excited about that. I’m telling y’all for real, I’ve never been able to just go to the gym in the offseason and not be in pain so, it’s gonna be so exciting, and a whole different mindset getting in there and being able to let my trainers just free.”
Carrington also plans to do some traveling with the free time she will now have for the next few months. She hinted at going to visit her girlfriend, Indiana Fever forward NaLyssa Smith. Smith plans to play basketball overseas in China for the Zhejiang Golden Bulls.
“I’m planning on taking some trips, of course, maybe somewhere in the continent of Asia for a little bit,” Carrington told reporters, giggling. “But I’m gonna come back and get my work in after that.”
Overseas play
There still, however isn’t room for everyone to stay in the United States and play basketball in the offseason.
Sun guards Veronica Burton, Tyasha Harris and Caitlin Bickle will be playing overseas along with center Olivia Nelson-Ododa, forward Brionna Jones and center/forward Astou Ndour-Fall.
Harris will be heading to China to play in the WCBA for the Liaoning Flying Eagles. One reason she chose to play overseas is to be more physically in shape for the WNBA season.
“[I am excited about] seeing a new culture,” Harris told reporters in her exit interview. “I’ve never been to China before, so just experiencing that and seeing their lifestyle [and] getting more playing experience and then for me especially last season you could tell there’s a big difference of not playing overseas the entire time [during the off season] and then going into the WNBA season.”
Harris said she is excited to see how playing overseas will positively impact her game next WNBA season.
Burton is traveling to Australia to play in the WNBL for the Bendigo Spirit this offseason.
“[I’m] definitely excited to be in Australia, being in warmth, and just continuing to get the opportunity to play basketball,” Burton told reporters. “It’s not something I take lightly, that I can travel the world and play the sport that I love for a living, and [I’m] taking advantage of that, while I still can… definitely excited to get out there with my teammates and my coaches, coaching staff.”
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Burton will have the luxury of having American-Australian and Seattle Storm guard Sami Whitcomb on her team.
“To be able to play alongside someone like Sami…All I’ve heard are incredible things,” Burton said. “And through [Briann] January, through my teammates here, and I’m also pretty close with Jewell Loyd, and she has just such high praises for Sami from a professional standpoint, and her work ethic and just her tenure in the W, as a professional, I can just continue to get better and better. And I’m super excited to learn from her. I’m excited to shoot with her and get in the gym with her. And I think her also, spending so much time in Australia I think she’s the perfect teammate to have there. We’ve communicated a little bit, but super excited to play alongside her.”
Nelson-Ododa is playing in China in the WCBA for the Shanxi Xing Rui Flame and will continue to focus on improving her strength after seeing success during the 2024 WNBA season. And since Nelson-Ododa will now have a little more leisure time, she plans to launch her own brand this offseason.
“I have a new brand, health and wellness brand, Kaylee’s Beauty, that just kind of soft launched, and I was able to showcase that in the tunnel walks with just the turquoise robe,” Nelson-Ododa told reporters during her exit interview. “And that’s also going to be tying in with a nonprofit that I’m doing, the Kaylee’s Foundation, that’s coming pretty soon.
Now that the season’s wrapped up, I’ll be able to kind of put a little bit more attention into that, and come out with a hard launch officially. And that’ll be available pretty soon. And something I’m super excited about, it definitely has a sign of my own personal feel and touch to it. I’m really excited to showcase that and share that with everybody.”
Jones is in Prague playing in the Euroleauge for ZVVZ USK Praha. She will be able to focus on improving her game as she waits for free agency to open up. Jones will then have to decide to stay with the Sun or not.
Sun forward Alyssa Thomas mentioned in her exit interview that she was going to “enjoy” her “time off, “[because I’m] not going overseas right away.” The Connecticut Sun posted a short video clip on Instagram highlighting the location’s of where their players will be playing this off season. Thomas wasn’t included on the map. Could she possibly be playing in Unrivaled and be one of the last three players to be announced?
Aditionally, Ndour-Fall will be playing in Turkey for Emlak Konut and Bickle will be in Italy playing for San Martino.
Recovery and family
Sun guard Tiffany Mitchell suffered through sepsis, a life threatening illness, during the Olympic break. Mitchell became choked up and emotional when asked about the process during her exit interview.
Her main focus during the offseason is recovering from such a scary illness and being able to play again. Mitchell had begun joining the Sun in practices at the end of the postseason, but still has a lot of progress to make.
“At the moment, I don’t have any [plans]…My health is the most important [thing] right now for me, just [focusing on] my strength and getting back to 100% playing is my main focus at the moment,” Mitchell told reporters during her exit interview.
Mitchell will also spend her off season focusing on one of her passions, fitness and other self-care practices.
“I’m also a personal trainer. I have my own online fitness business,” Mitchell said. “Just again, preaching, health nutrition, being able to impact people’s lives and let them know the importance of taking care of themselves, and reminding them how important your health is. And even what I went through these past couple of months is just kind of redefining that and showing [that] my purpose again is much more than just basketball…
Outside of basketball, to sum that up, [I do] a lot of self-care. A lot of just doing things that I enjoy. Yoga, getting my nails done, hair done, pampering yourself … prioritizing your mental and doing things that make you feel good. And of course being in the gym, working out, sweating, those are at my top ones for a good day, also ice coffee [and] walking my dog.”
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Forward/guard DeWanna Bonner doesn’t have any plans other than staying in basketball shape and spending time with her family.
“For me, personally, I’m going to enjoy my kids. That’s what I do in the offseason. But I’m going to take probably, two or three weeks off, and I’m gonna get back to working out and training every day and be prepared for another season, next season,” Bonner told reporters.
The Connecticut Sun’s offseason is jam-packed with action, and fans will be able to tune in and follow some of their favorite players all around the world. And the Sun’s roster may look completely different next year, so stay tuned to see what their next steps are as the free agency period grows closer.
