Fever forward Katie Lou Samuelson is ready for a fresh start with Unrivaled.
After having her daughter, Aliya, in August 2023, Samuelson had a tough first season back on the court with the Fever.
Samuelson, who has played with Chicago, Seattle and Indiana since being drafted at No. 4 overall in 2019, signed with Indiana in February 2024, with hopes she could be the knockdown 3-point shooter she was in college and the WNBA.
Samuelson, however, struggled to find her shot throughout the season, and she eventually moved from a starting role to coming off the bench. With caring for her daughter and getting back into the game just eight months after giving birth, she described 2024 as one of her most difficult seasons yet.
But with Unrivaled this WNBA offseason, Samuelson is getting the chance to hone her skills ahead of her second season with Indiana — the final season of her two-year, $355,000 contract.
“It was a great opportunity,” Samuelson said of playing in Unrivaled. “When they came and asked me to join, it was something I felt like you can’t pass up. A chance to not only play against the best players in the league but work with the best players. They’ve created an elite staff of people around us to help us get better and do everything we possibly need to do. That’s something you don’t always get, and is hard to find, especially in the offseason.”
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Samuelson was one of the final players announced as part of the new league, taking one of the wildcard spots after the inaugural teams were formed. The UConn star already has a relationship with co-founders Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart, having played with them in college.
She is also one of the best 3×3 players in the country — she was slated to be on the 2021 Olympic 3×3 team in Tokyo but had to drop out after she got COVID-19 just a week before the Games started.
But this style of 3×3 is something Samuelson — or any player, really — hasn’t ever played. Still, Samuelson hopes she can bring some kind of experience to her Phantom Basketball Club teammates, which include Sabrina Ionescu, Brittney Griner, Marina Mabrey, Satou Sabally, and Natasha Cloud.
“This is a very different game than I’ve played before,” Samuelson said. “Full court adds a different dimension to it, but the spacing and understanding of where to be, offensively and defensively, it’s easier to pick up. Hopefully, with that knowledge, my team can trust me and rely on me to be in the right spots and just be a valuable player to our team.”
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Unrivaled will be a full-court 3×3 game, unlike the Olympic half-court concept. The new league will also have four quarters, unlike the Olympic single 10-minute period with a shot clock.
This new style, especially when it comes to the full-court aspect, will expose every player on the court. And every player will need to be prepared.
“I think it’s even harder to hide in this type of 3-on-3, you have to be involved no matter what, offensively and defensively,” Samuelson said. “The entire time, you have to be able to hold your own. It’s going to be a lot of fun. It’s really interesting to see how the games, the scores play out.”
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana Fever: Katie Lou Samuelson brings 3×3 experience to Unrivaled
