In the latest episode of Locked On Women’s Basketball, Howard Megdal welcomes Atlanta Dream guard Jordin Canada and Washington Mystics forward Aaliyah Edwards to talk about the inaugural season of Unrivaled, early WNBA free agency news and much more.
Megdal and Canada begin by talking about how Canada is feeling physically and mentally this offseason. Unrivaled is taking place in Miami, Florida, from mid-January to mid-March, providing WNBA players with an alternative to going overseas. Canada says:
“I feel a tremendous difference, to be honest. … I’m able to stay here and work on the things that I want to work on, get my body right, get the recovery that I need and just have that mental break. Obviously, I’m … competing and giving it my all here, but I think it’s just something about just being in the States that’s just so much more relaxing and a lot less stress. And [I] don’t have to worry about [a] time difference. I can talk to my family whenever; friends can come and visit. It’s just so much better.
“Not to say … I haven’t had great experiences overseas because I have, but I think just having the opportunity to stay here, stay at home, and just have the access and resources to things that you necessarily may not have overseas, it’s just been a tremendous difference, and I’m super excited to be here.”
Edwards, who is in her first professional offseason after being a WNBA rookie last summer, tells Megdal how Unrivaled is helping her develop as a player:
“I think that it’s really going to help my game in terms of just feeling more comfortable and confident operating on the perimeter. That’s on both ends of the court: defensively, getting up in the guards and forcing a turnover, or offensively, being able to break someone down from the 3-point line.
“So I’m having fun. I think that’s the biggest thing. That’s what this league is. That’s why they chose to do it down here in Miami and with the 36 players. … We’re competing against the best, we’re getting better, but overall, we’re having fun all together and changing the game of women’s sports.”
Listen to the full episode for much more, including how Canada found out that Brittney Griner had decided to sign with Atlanta and how Edwards plans to approach Unrivaled’s upcoming one-on-one tournament. And make sure to subscribe to the Locked On Women’s Basketball podcast to keep learning about Unrivaled, the WNBA, women’s college basketball, basketball history and much more!