KK Arnold commends ex-UConn stars Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier’s next big step in women’s basketball: “It was super cool”
KK Arnold is making note of the impact former huskies" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-is-sponsored="false">UConn stars have on the world of women's basketball. On Wednesday's episode of "Barrier Breakers," Arnold discussed fellow Huskies Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier creating Unrivaled.
"It was super cool," Arnold said (Timestamp: 16:18). "Also, just another opportunity for players to just stay in one place and get better where they are. The Unrivaled League was in Miami, so I feel like everybody got an opportunity to settle in, learn from each other."
Unrivaled is coming off its inaugural season. The 3-on-3 league features 36 of the top players in the WNBA and allows these stars to further hone their skill sets during the WNBA offseason. The season is eight weeks long and takes place in a custom-built facility in Miami.
Along with starting the league, Stewart and Collier also played in Unrivaled last season. The two faced off in the league's opening game, and Stewart scored the first basket in league history.
“I can’t even put it into words what it’s going to be like,” Stewart said about Unrivaled in January, according to CBS News. “But just the fact that there’s so much hype, there’s so much content, so much chatter about opening night and we worked really hard to get to this point both on and off the court. Excited to kind of just go in and showcase what we’ve done.”
Collier also had her fair share of success in the first Unrivaled season. She led the league in scoring with 25.7 points per game on her way to being named Unrivaled's inaugural MVP.
KK Arnold's role in UConn's national championship season
After serving as a starter during her freshman campaign, KK Arnold emerged as a role player off the bench for UConn this season and was an essential part of the team's NCAA Tournament-winning season.
The 5-foot-9 guard appeared in all 40 games for the Huskies, averaging 21.2 minutes. She put up 5.5 ppg, 2.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game and highlighted her defensive depth with 1.5 average steals.
Arnold is a solid shooter, knocking down 47.4% of her shots this season. Her athleticism, ballhandling, passing expertise and reputation as a hype woman for her teammates were invaluable to the Huskies this season as they brought home their first national championship since 2016.