Rose BC forward Azurá Stevens uses it TikTok account bond with other players while participating in Unrivaledwomen’s professional 3-on-3 league in Miami, and the results are delicious.
“It’s kind of the perfect place to collaborate with other people because we’re literally all here,” Stevens told USA TODAY Sports. “It kind of happened organically.”
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The 6-foot-6 veteran played in the WNBA for the Dallas Wings, Chicago Sky and, most recently, The Sparks of Los Angeles. In Chicago, Stevens, who says he loves dancing, began making TikTok videos.
At first, she made the videos solo before asking her friends to join them. When Stevens signed with Los Angeles in 2023, she continued to create TikToks, adding teammates like Center Sparks and Breeze Cameron Brink And forward Rickea Jackson to pleasure.
Jackson and Stevens collaborated again shortly after landing in Miami for the second season of Unrivaled. What started as a bond between teammates blossomed into something much larger: a movement taking over Unrivaled.
Stevens collaborated with several WNBA stars during her downtime at Unrivaled, including WNBA Rookie of the Year and Paige Bueckers, Breeze BC guard. Stevens told USA TODAY that she directed the choreography and song selection for the videos; Bueckers offers the legends.
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“The TikToks with Paige (Bueckers) kind of happened,” Stevens said. “I just (seeed) her and we were like, ‘We should do a TikTok.’ Then we just started sending them to each other, and then we just started making them. It’s funny; people think she has no rhythm. In fact, she really does. She’s a good dancer.”
Stevens said TikTok videos are “fun” and “silly” things that help players showcase their personalities in a way fans might not see during the WNBA season. They also allow fans to connect with athletes.
Since starting her TikTok videos in Miami, Stevens has formed deeper connections with many players and the list is growing by the day. She collaborated with Brink, Jackson, Bueckers and 15 other players, including Napheesa Collier, Unrivaled Co-Founder And Kelsey Plum, guard Sparks and Phantom. Stevens says: Plum, who rarely makes TikTok videos, had one request: It had to be simple.
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“She killed it. She did good,” Stevens said. “My favorite thing about this video is that at the beginning she’s so focused because we had just rehearsed her role. So she was really focused on what she had to do. It was so funny.”
Stevens slowly progresses through Unrivaled’s facilities, targeting one player at a time. Connecticut Sun and Hive BC guard Saniya Rivers is on the docket for a video and Las Vegas Aces and Laces BC guard Jackie Young said she was “pretty open,” depending on what type of video Stevens planned.
But not everyone signs up to become TikTok stars. Breanna Stewart, co-founder and unrivaled attacker of Mist And Phoenix Mercury and Laces forward Alyssa Thomas refuses to do so. Stevens revealed to USA TODAY that she’s planning a UConn Huskies-themed TikTok video, and Stewart, who won four championships with the program, “can’t say no to that.”
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Thomas is another story. The Laces forward has mostly avoided the cameras during his two seasons on Unrivaled. Stevens is undeterred. She promises to have Thomas appear in a TikTok video by the end of the season. Stevens shared that she was ready to bring in reinforcements, like Thomas’ fiancée, Mercury forward DeWanna Bonner, to help.
“I need all the fans to show that (Alyssa Thomas) will do one with me. Just one,” Stevens said with a smile. “I told her it doesn’t even have to be dancing. I can find another one. Please, (Alyssa Thomas).
“But she said ‘maybe’. She said ‘maybe’. So I feel like I’m slowly wearing her down. Every day it’s like she’s getting closer to saying yes.”
With nearly 20 players already signed up for TikTok collaborations, Stevens says there’s only one goal left to reach.
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“If I could have one with every player, I think that would be really cool, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to do it by the end of the season,” she said. “We’ll see.”
This article was originally published on USA TODAY: TikTok account attracts WNBA stars and shows the fun side of Unrivaled
