Erica Wheeler is going to be spending a boatload of cash this winter on basketball tickets, but she doesn’t mind. The Seattle Storm guard is returning to her hometown of Miami to play for the first time since college.
Wheeler, who has spent a decade in the WNBA, will be playing for Unrivaled in January. The guard was among the first six players announced by the 3-on-3 league based in Miami on Monday, Sept. 22. The announcements of six players a day will continue through Wednesday, Oct. 1.
‘I am definitely going to have to buy 30 tickets for each game,’ said Wheeler, who plans to have a family Zoom call to explain the distribution. ‘I told my dad I am not dealing with it. He can have all 30 tickets and he can disperse them to the family. So if someone is going to be mad, they can be mad at him and not me.’
Wheeler said she was ‘a little salty’ when she wasn’t chosen to play in Unrivaled’s inaugural season of 2025.
‘I am the only player that’s actually from Miami that’s in the WNBA, so my feelings were a little hurt,’ she said. ‘Things happen for a reason … this year is perfect timing for me to go down to Miami after just having a great year with the Seattle Storm.’
The Storm were one basket from eliminating the Las Vegas Aces from the first round of the playoffs. Wheeler averaged 10.3 points and 3.3 assists in a little more than 25 minutes a game. Unrivaled has a spot for Wheeler after increasing in size from six to eight teams and adding a practice pool. The number of roster spots went from 36 to 54.
After playing overseas during the WNBA offseason, Wheeler can’t wait to be a little closer to home. She said Unrivaled co-founders Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart have ‘changed the game.’
‘To be able to still compete at a high level in front of my family, to just be in the States for a longer period of time when typically we’d be overseas playing in Turkey, China, Israel, Australia,’ Wheeler said.’It’s super dope.’
Wheeler, who holds a basketball camp in Miami in October, is excited about getting some of her players out to see Unrivaled.
‘I am always making way for these kids to get the experience to see what the dream look like,’ she said. ‘I am going to be in a really great position to create some things for these kids.’
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