Rae Burrell may not be a name casual WNBA fans know just yet, but that could change this upcoming season. The former Tennessee Volunteer and current Los Angeles Sparks guard is about to enter her fourth year in the league. She’s coming off a solid debut season in the new Unrivaled league, where she scored 8.5 points per game for the Vinyl Basketball Club. She’s also been appearing on some of our favorite podcasts.
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Burrell was on the most recent episode of Straight to Cam with Sparks teammate Cameron Brink and Sydel Curry-Lee. There, she said that her goal in this upcoming WNBA season is to build on her Unrivaled performance and win the Most Improved Player award.
The Sparks will need her if they want to avoid a repeat of last season’s league-worst 8-32 record. Brink’s return from a torn ACL and the addition of new coach Lynne Roberts, formerly of the University of Utah, should help. Exciting new rookie, former Alabama sharpshooter Sarah Ashlee Barker, should bring fresh energy, and the veteran leadership of Kelsey Plum, who was acquired in a three-way trade with the Las Vegas Aces and Seattle Storm this offseason, will round out the team’s new look.
Burrell talked about how cool it was to be on the Time Out with Dwyane Wade podcast last month, an appearance that piggybacked off of Wade giving her team a pre-game pep talk before the Unrivaled championship game. Burrell scored 11 points in the semis as the Vinyl pulled off a huge upset of the top-seeded, 13-1 Lunar Owls, but they came up just short in the title game against Rose Basketball Club.
That didn’t dampen Burrell’s enthusiasm for meeting Wade. “It’s just crazy to think, like I would have never thought I was in a position to where I’m in a podcast with Dwyane Wade, so just looking back, just so grateful and blessed for the opportunity that Unrivaled was able to give.”
Dwyane Wade shared some valuable advice with Rae Burrell
Wade is a minority owner of the WNBA’s Chicago Sky, and he’s been consistent, even before investing in 2023, in lifting up the women’s game. Burrell may have been surprised to be invited on the former Heat superstar’s podcast, but it’s right in line with Wade’s stated mission of supporting the sport.
Wade gave Burrell a joking bit of tough love at the start of his podcast, saying, “She ain’t as nice as she thinks she is,” but he later gave her some good advice as she tries to establish herself in the WNBA. Burrell had said that she appreciated the support she’s gotten from Dearica Hamby, who’s been her teammate in the WNBA and Unrivaled.
Wade responded, “You understand the importance of role models, and so I want my daughter to have that same feeling.” Burrell has persevered through multiple injuries in her career, and Wade urged her to keep fighting to be the best player she can be, and to keep being open to advice from players that have walked that road before.
“So make sure that you continue to have this mentality even once you become an All-Star. That’s what makes the greats the greats because even when they get a taste of it, they want even more,” he said.
Burrell’s Sparks open the season on May 16th with a road game at the WNBA’s newest expansion team, the Golden State Valkyries.
