When she played at UConn, Azzi Fudd signed an NIL deal with Unrivaled, so she was widely expected to join the league as a player now that she’s a pro, much like Paige Bueckers did before. However, Fudd opted to sign with Project B instead.
Project B is a new five-on-five league that will play in several locations throughout the WNBA offseason. So far, Tokyo and Valencia have been confirmed as host cities, and Fudd isn’t the first high-profile player to sign with the league. Project B has already attracted WNBA veterans like Nneka Ogwumike, Kelsey Mitchell, and Jonquel Jones, as well as some of the brightest young international stars with Awa Fam, Juste Jocyte, and Leïla Lacan.
For Fudd, playing internationally was a big factor when she picked Project B over Unrivaled.
“I think my first experience with USA Basketball really opened my eyes to what’s out here, and just even that the gameplay overseas is so different, like each country plays a little bit differently,” Fudd said in a practice media availability, per a YouTube video by WNBA reporter Melissa Triebwasser. “So, getting a chance to just broaden your game and play with different people, learn how to play off different people, definitely things I can pick up overseas and how they play.”
Fudd’s motivation for signing with Project B highlights a challenge USA Basketball will have to navigate in the future. She is part of a new generation of players looking to enter the senior national team pool, and unlike their predecessors, younger players have little experience with FIBA basketball.
Team USA will have to navigate bringing in players with less FIBA experience
USA Basketball always had two advantages on the women’s side: the talent pool is incredibly deep, and the players are very familiar with FIBA rules and play styles because almost all of them spent their offseasons playing overseas and competing against the best international players.
Emma Meesseman, for example, is one of the best bigs in Europe, and she hasn’t played in the WNBA consistently, but facing her and the Belgian national team on the international stage posed little surprises for Team USA players, who had faced off with her in the EuroLeague many, many times.
That’s changing. With Unrivaled and brand deals, young stars don’t have to go overseas in the offseason anymore. Just look at Paige Bueckers, Angel Reese, and Caitlin Clark. Bueckers and Reese play in Unrivaled, while Clark hasn’t committed to any offseason league at all.
More international stars, like Dominique Malonga, Awa Fam, Leïla Lacan, and Janelle Salaün, are coming to the W at a young age, so there will still be a sense of familiarity with many of the players they will have to face on the international stage. Still, the lack of FIBA experience could hurt Team USA in the future—especially considering the talent emerging in other countries, primarily France.
France almost beat the U.S. in Paris two years ago. Gabby Williams is still in her prime, and Malonga, Salaün, Iliana Rupert, Pauline Astier, Lacan, and others are only going to get better and better, posing an even bigger threat to USA Basketball.
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