Storm rookie Dominic Malunga joins Unrivaled in 2026
Dominic Malonga, the No. 2 overall pick of the Seattle Storm in the 2025 WNBA Draft, will join the Unrivaled for the 2026 season, the 3-on-3 league announced Thursday.
The 6-foot-6 French center averaged 7.7 points on 55% shooting from the field and 4.6 rebounds in 14.3 minutes per game for the Storm in her rookie year. Malonga, the youngest player in the league last season at 19 years old, was named to the WNBA All-Rookie Team.
Her signing with Unrivaled comes just 10 days after Fenerbahce, a professional women’s basketball club based in Istanbul, Turkey, announced that it had “unilaterally terminated her professional player contract with our club without any just cause.”
“We inform the public that we will exercise all our legal rights to seek compensation for any material and moral damages incurred by our club during this process,” Fenerbahce posted on X.
For Malunga to participate in basketball abroad, the WNBA had to log into FIBA’s “clearance letter” system, which allows players to sign contracts in multiple leagues. The letter requires a signature from the players’ team and the union, and states that the player has fulfilled his duties to the fullest extent under his contract and is eligible to play elsewhere. Most international leagues require a ‘clearance letter’ before a player can join their league.
In order for Malonga to return to the WNBA in 2026, a letter of approval from the Turkish Federation via Fenerbahce will be required. Sources told ESPN that Malonga did not need that level of clearance to participate in Unrivaled.
Unrivaled also announced the signings of Aari McDonald and Rebecca Allen as the latest players to join the league for its second season. Dijonae Carrington has been forced to withdraw from the league as she continues to recover from a “major” sprain to the middle of her left foot.
Malunga, McDonald and Allen join 16 other new players, including Kelsey Bloom, Paige Bueckers, Veronica Burton, Sanya Rivers, Sonya Citron, Keke Eriavin and Kelsey Mitchell. Unrivaled is set to report on January 5.