How Donna Orender’s Upshot League filled a gap in women’s basketball

Deja Kelly wasn’t sure what to expect when she signed with the Charlotte Crown back in May.

After playing her college ball at Oregon and North Carolina, Kelly spent some time in training camp with the Las Vegas Aces in 2025, played in Athletes Unlimited last winter, and also worked in television for the Big Ten Network. As summer approached, she wanted to keep playing basketball, but knew options were limited – especially if she wanted to play in the U.S. where her friends and family could watch her.

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Then the Upshot League started, of which the Crown are one of four teams in its inaugural season. Founded by former WNBA president Donna Orender and backed by Zawyer Sports and Entertainment, the Upshot League sought to fill a gap in the U.S. women’s basketball ecosystem by providing an environment in which the players squeezed out by the WNBA’s limited roster sizes could still play team basketball, develop their skills and get paid for it.

While not affiliated with the WNBA, a simple way of thinking about the Upshot League is that it’s the women’s basketball equivalent of the NBA’s G League.

“Whenever you’re part of something for the first time, it’s kind of nerve-wracking because it could be all over the place. It could go either way,” Kelly told USA TODAY Sports. “I think overall, once we ironed out all the wrinkles, this is really high-level basketball. The talent level is there, so it’s really good competition every single night. That’s something that definitely exceeded my expectations.

“And organizationally, everything has fallen into place. There’s a really good structure. That’s how I know the league is going to continue to grow. I’m just really blessed that this opportunity found me.”

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More: Dallas Wings sign former UConn guard from Upshot League to play in WNBA

The Upshot League will wrap up its first season on Saturday, Aug. 29 when Kelly’s Charlotte Crown face the Jacksonville Waves at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida. Tip-off is at 7 p.m. ET and the game can be streamed live, for free, on the league’s YouTube channel.

“I never doubted that we would have…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/upshot-league-filled-gap-u-210904939.html

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Publish date : 2026-08-28 21:09:00

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