Hailey Van Lith is taking her talents to South Beach this winter.
The Chicago Sky guard confirmed during exit interviews Friday that she will be participating in the second season of Unrivaled, a 3-on-3 league founded by WNBA stars Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart.
Despite having just completed her rookie season with the Sky, Van Lith will bring one of the deepest wells of experience in 3-on-3 basketball to Unrivaled. Van Lith represented the U.S. in 3-on-3 in the Paris Olympics, where the Americans won bronze. She previously won gold medals with the U.S. 3-on-3 team at the 2023 FIBA World Cup and the 2019 U-18 World Cup.
Unrivaled does not follow FIBA rules, instead instituting a unique style that utilizes a truncated full court. But Van Lith will still be one of the preeminent players in this style of basketball, which emphasizes looser spacing and individual playmaking.
Van Lith, the No. 11 pick in the 2025 draft out of LSU, struggled to find her footing as a rookie with the Sky, averaging 3.5 points and 1.6 assists in 12.4 minutes per game. She was hindered by an ankle injury that lingered for most of the season, missing 15 games scattered throughout the season. This winter, the guard aims to regain her health while focusing on body recomposition to put on muscle and improve her explosivity and athleticism in Year 2.
“The biggest thing for me is figuring out what state my body needs to be in to play at the level I need to play to be successful in the WNBA,” Van Lith said. “If I lead with that and being as in shape as possible and recomping my body, I think working on the skill-set things and the on-court things are going to come a lot easier.”
Van Lith will join Sky teammate Angel Reese, one of 36 players who competed in the inaugural season of Unrivaled. Teammate Rachel Banham said she also is undergoing negotiations to join Unrivaled, which will feature a widened player pool in its second season.
The Sky wrapped up their season Thursday with a 91-86 loss to the New York Liberty. They finished 10-34, the second-worst record in franchise history.
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