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MEDLEY, FLORIDA — It’s a Tuesday morning at Unrivaled — the one day of the week considered a ‘mandatory day off’ for players.
So, the 37+ WNBA players participating in the inaugural season of the new 3-on-3 offseason professional women’s basketball are encouraged to go to the beach, enjoy Miami, or simply relax at home after a rigorous weekend of play, which includes games every Friday, Saturday, and Monday. It’s time for the pros to unwind.
But, it doesn’t feel like a mandatory day off at the Unrivaled facility. That’s because a few players can’t help themselves but come into the league’s one-stop-shop practice facility. For many, it’s the first time they’ve had access to everything they need, all under one roof. And, they want to take advantage of the amenities they have for the 9 weeks they have them.
Lunar Owls star Alyssa Thomas, who had recently hurt her knee in a game just a few days prior, spends several hours in the state-of-the-art weight room going through her personal recovery workout.
Mist standout Jewell Loyd goes through a rigorous training session on the practice basketball court with player development maestro Phil Handy, her current Unrivaled coach. Loyd’s Mist teammate, veteran point guard Courtney Vandersloot, fires up three-point shots on the other end.
Aaliyah Edwards, fresh off her rookie season in the WNBA, carries an overflowing box of Mist merchandise from the arena’s warehouse. Edwards’ favorite part of the facility? The saunas.
Tiffany Hayes, who took several hard spills the night prior, receives special treatment in Unrivaled’s Icy Hot recovery room on Tuesday morning from Unrivaled’s medical director, Lindsay Elizondo.
“We come up here if we need to get treatment, work with the trainers, use a sauna, ice bath — whatever we need,” Arike Ogunbowale told SB Nation, beaming about the facility’s myriad of offerings.
On this particular Tuesday morning, Ogunbowale and Napheesa Collier, one of the league’s two co-founders, are both in the building for some media obligations related to their Icy Hot sponsorship (Disclosure: Icy Hot is the Unrivaled’s official recovery partner, and paid for this trip so the author could see the league and facility in person).
So, Collier spends her morning in the Sephora makeup room, getting her hair and makeup done by professionals ahead of her media availabilities.
Ogunbowale skips that step: “That’s just not something that I’m really into,” she says with a smile, but acknowledges she’s glad that aestheticans and spas are at the disposal of the best women’s basketball players in the world.
The Unrivaled practice facility — which is about 30 minutes from downtown Miami — has something for everyone.
It boasts a childcare center that players with kids, like Katie Lou Samuelson, Breanna Stewart, and Collier, all take advantage of. Samuelson is currently living in Miami alone with her one-year-old daughter.
“I bring her to the game, and then they watch her the whole entire time — for me to warm up, do what I need to do, and then I’m able to go home,” she said. “It’s definitely been a huge help. I don’t know what I would be doing without having that.”
For Unrivaled president Alex Bazzell, ensuring that athletes had everything they needed was a priority from the jump, from chefs cooking a myriad of foods to satisfy each players’ unique nutritional needs and tastes, to lounge areas, to recovery amenities like contrast tub.
“It’s everything that the athletes need under one roof when it comes to anything and everything — on-court or off-court for them,” Bazzell told SB Nation.
Unrivaled has showcased another level of facility for WNBA players
Even for Ogunbowale, who doesn’t necessarily leverage all the resources, having everything under one roof is a welcome change of pace. In Dallas, where she’s spent her entire pro career with the Wings, there is no team-specific practice facility that includes everything she needs.
“I’ll be able to lift, get treatment, play basketball all in one place,” she said. “I don’t have to get in the car and go to different places. That takes less time out of my day, and gives me more time back, not having to go to three different places to get treatment. Even the chiropractor, they have that here. In Dallas, I have to go somewhere else.”
The good news for Ogunbowale and her Wings teammates is that a practice facility is in the works. The Wings are planning to relocate from Arlington to Dallas, and CEO Greg Bibb has shared that that move will come alongside upgraded amenities: “We’re creating a practice facility that is on par with any NBA facility out there.”
Some WNBA teams are already on it: the Seattle Storm, Las Vegas Aces, Phoenix Mercury, and Golden State Valkyries all have their own elite facilities. The Mercury’s, which was unveiled in July, is the largest of the bunch — a $100 million, 58,000-square-foot facility in downtown Phoenix.
Amenities were a stated priority of players like Alyssa Thomas and Satou Sabally, both of whom asked to be traded to Phoenix after playing for franchises that lacked their own practice facilities. Thomas and Sabally previously spent their WNBA careers with the Connecticut Sun and Dallas Wings, respectively.
During the playoffs, Thomas sounded off about the Sun having to share their practice gym with a toddler’s birthday, describing the the set-up as the “ultimate disrespect.”
Both Thomas and Sabally are also playing in Unrivaled, and both have walked away feeling impressed.
“They have everything you possibly need here,” Thomas said last month, a few days before her decision to go to the Mercury was announced. “They don’t really have a lot of those things in Connecticut. I’ve been trying to absorb as much knowledge as I can.”
Several WNBA teams are in the process of building new facilities
The Chicago Sky announced in July they would build a brand-new performance center, a $38 million, 40,000 square feet facility. That came after years of practicing at the Sachs Recreation Center, a public facility that doesn’t belong to the Sky.
The Los Angeles Sparks announced in November they’ll be building a new practice facility, and their newest star acquisition, Kelsey Plum, praised the organization’s professionalism in her introductory press conference: “It’s been first class… I know that this franchise is extremely valuing how to support players in any way that they can.”
The New York Liberty, who currently practice at Barclays Center, have shared they’re also working toward ensuring the defending champs have their own space.
And, most recently, the Indiana Fever announced last month plans to construct a $78 million, 108-square-foot practice facility in downtown Indianapolis. That announcement, coupled with a slew of shrewd offseason moves, led star Caitlin Clark to declare the Fever “the franchise of all women’s sports” at a recent press conference.
But, some WNBA teams still lag behind; neither the Atlanta Dream nor the Sun have announced plans to build facilities. Now, many of their players are currently playing in the offseason 3-on-3 league — and may return to their WNBA team with a new perspective.
Ogunbowale didn’t know what to expect when she first committed to playing in Unrivaled. She was the first player to take the leap of faith, a decision that was aided by the fact her and Collier share the same agent.
But, she’s been thrilled with the experience.
“The concept of it sounded dope, and it sounded like something I would be interested in because I like 3-on-3, 1-on-1 type basketball,” Ogunbowale said. “I didn’t know what to expect, but it’s definitely everything that you would want and need. I haven’t had any complaints, or any wants, since I’ve been here.”
