Carla Leite just wrapped up a phenomenal season with the Portland Fire with a clutch overtime win against her former team. Leite averaged 16.1 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 6.3 assists over 39 games. Now that Portland’s season is officially over, she shared in her exit interview that she will take a short vacation before playing Türkiye, starting in October.
That’s a lot of basketball, even for a 22-year-old who’s still relatively early in her career. Leite knows that better than anyone and told reporters that she wouldn’t mind a different schedule for her WNBA offseason in the future.
“I’d like to try Unrivaled or Project B in future years because I think it’s important to rest sometimes,” Leite said. “Doing the whole season in the WNBA and after going overseas, playing six months, is a little bit exhausting. So, yeah, maybe Unrivaled. Something shorter at least.”
Unrivaled should seriously explore signing Leite now that she has made her interest public. Leite’s skill set as a quick guard would pop in the spaced-out three-on-three style, and it would be an opportunity to draw in more European fans—or really just anyone who fell in love with Leite this season.
Carla Leite would be a fun player to watch in Unrivaled
Unrivaled has expanded its pool of international talent since its first season, adding Li Yueru, Gabby Williams, Dominique Malonga, Marine Johannes, and Temi Fagbenle. With Leite, they could add another of Europe's brightest young stars alongside Malonga and draw in even more fans from across the pond.
Unrivaled thrives on star power. With players like Azzi Fudd, Kelsey Mitchell, and Alyssa Thomas choosing Project B over Unrivaled, it wouldn’t hurt to bring in another young WNBA star in the making. Leite’s first WNBA All-Star selection shouldn’t be far away now.
Signing Leite would also simply bring in one of the most entertaining players to watch.
Leite is so much fun to watch no matter where you are because of her ability to get to the rim and knock down clutch shots. She vastly improved her 3-point percentage compared to her rookie season from 17.3% to 40.2%. She has also proven with the Fire that no moment is too big for her. She hit two big buckets and a clutch free throw to give the Fire a lead in overtime against the Valkyries.
Guarding Leite in a full-court three-on-three setting when defenders are on an island would be incredibly difficult. There’s plenty of potential for highlight plays to take over social media and excite fans.
Add us as a preferred source on Google