While Rae Burrell’s Unrivaled season ended with a semi-final loss on Monday night, there’s no doubt she went down fighting. Burrell put up 12 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists, a block and a steal, alongside zero turnovers and only one foul, before going down under the basket in the final seconds of the game on a tough defensive play against her Sparks teammate Kelsey Plum. Burrell’s Vinyl BC ultimately lost after Plum hit a tough three to advance to the finals.
Burrell has been no stranger to offseason work and improvement in the past few years. She’s increased her minutes and points each WNBA season, and has become an important piece on both sides of the ball for the Sparks, particularly in the 2025 season. She has been touted as an energetic force off the bench, bringing highlight-worthy hustle plays and the offensive threat of a three-level scorer.
This offseason, like the last, she headed to Miami to play in Unrivaled, returning to Club Vinyl this season alongside Sparks teammate Dearica Hamby.
In the last six games of the season, Burrell averaged 18 points, including a 30-point performance in which she scored an athletic, diving layup to give Vinyl their playoff berth. In the first six games of the season, Burrell averaged 7.35 minutes per game. She finished at more than double that. In fact, she averaged 12.8 points in Unrivaled’s regular season on 12.1 minutes per contest, literally scoring more points than she played minutes.
When asked about what has enabled her to succeed in Miami, Burrell told The IX Basketball: “The opportunity and the minutes being up is what’s allowed me to show exactly what I can do. I prepared for two months prior to coming here with my trainer. We trained every day on the specifics of what I wanted to work on coming here.”
She noted that she’s gained confidence through preparation, practice and experience, and is prepared to bring that back to the WNBA. For an athletic, competitive player like Burrell, the 3×3 format makes a lot of sense. She has room to create plays, drive to the basket, and defend players from one end of the floor to the other, demonstrating her versatility and length.
When asked about what she hopes to maintain going back to Los Angeles, she said “Pace, reading the game, slowing it down, but also being able to speed it up when I need to. Using my three level threat. I can shoot the three, I shoot pull-ups, I get to the rim, so just being able to use all aspects of my game in the right moments.”
Burrell went on to add “I feel like when you break down 5×5, a lot of it is just three-person actions. Coming off the ball screen, rising on the weak or strong side.”
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She’s shooting 44.4% from the floor and 40.5% from three, both of which are higher than any season average she’s had in her WNBA career thus far. When asked about what she’ll need to do to make sure that efficiency transfers back to her WNBA season, Burrell noted pace of play again: “The speed of the game is really fast, so I think it helps even slow the 5×5 down a little more, because we’re not moving as fast. It also helps to read a little bit better, because you’re not reading as much in 3×3 as you are in 5×5.”
After Burrell’s heroics propelled the Vinyl to the playoffs, Hamby’s efforts kept them there, as she scored the game-winner to upset 2025 Unrivaled Champion Rose on Feb. 28.
“I think everyone knows me and [Hamby] off the pick-and-roll, it’s pretty much money,” Burrel said. “We just are able to build that chemistry. We’ve been playing with each other for the past almost three years now. […] It’s been great for our connection.”
When asked about Burrell’s game and her ability to succeed in Unrivaled, Hamby told The IX Basketball she was impressed by “I think just her resilience. She’s been through so much at such a young age. She’s been cut, she’s been traded on the W side […] She’s been a starter, she hasn’t been a starter. I think she’s been able to grow the way she has because she has experienced so many different variables. Just really proud of her resilience.”
Hamby, who averaged 17.1 points and 8.1 rebounds in 15.1 minutes per game this season in Unrivaled, is excited for what lies ahead for her teammate, complimenting Burrell’s confidence and athleticism, and noting “It’s going to be a big year for her.”
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Sparks teammate Cameron Brink also noted how proud she is of Burrell ahead of both players’ semi-final losses on Monday: “I’ve known she’s been able to do this and play at this level, and I’m just really proud of her. She’s got such a tenacity to her, and she’s one of the most athletic players I’ve ever played with,” Brink said.
The through line of all three conversations was Burrell’s athleticism, aggressiveness and versatility, a combination that’s served her well on the smaller court, and that both her teammates, and Burrell herself, are confident she’ll be able to translate into the Sparks’ 2026 season.
Burrell’s offseason work has gained her national recognition too: on Thursday, USA Basketball announced that she would join the U.S. roster for the 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup Qualifying Tournament, in the wake of injuries to Aliyah Boston and Sonia Citron. She’ll play next week in Puerto Rico.
The IX Basketball’s Howard Megdal contributed reporting for this story.
