With CBA negotiations still unresolved, and players looking to do “whatever it takes” to get what they deserve, another uncertainty looms amid the massive free-agency class ahead of the 2026 season. More than 100 players will be required to decide their next move. For now, as talks between the WNBPA and the WNBA go on, Dallas Wings star Arike Ogunbowale has made it clear she’s keeping her focus narrow as the Unrivaled season prepares to tip off.

While the 3×3 league became a gathering place for many of the league’s top players for offseason conversations about what comes next, Ogunbowale is choosing a different approach. Speaking during Unrivaled’s media day availability on December 16, she addressed questions about her future with the Wings.

“I know all coaches (are) gonna be coming out here and setting up shop because you have the best of the best all in one area,” Ogunbowale said. “Player-to-player wise, I like to mind my business. So, I’m not gonna be in anybody’s face, asking them what they’re doing.”

“Whatever people do is whatever people do,” the WNBA star continued of the havoc her colleagues are in. “Once I figure out [the] CBA and what team I’ll be on and what team I’m going to sign with, then maybe I’ll do some talking, but I’mma mind my business. I don’t like to be in the mess. I’ll leave that up to y’all.”

Given Unrivaled’s role during the last offseason, when the league quietly became a hub for players evaluating their futures, like Brittney Griner, who decided to leave the Phoenix Mercury and join the Atlanta Dream. That history has only heightened curiosity around this year’s season, especially with CBA negotiations still unresolved and roster-building decisions effectively on pause across the WNBA.

For Ogunbowale, however, that broader uncertainty collides with a far more personal crossroads. The star guard is coming off a difficult season, averaging 15.5 points per game and shooting just 36.4% from the field (both career lows), as her team finished the regular season in last place overall with a 10-34 record.

With the Wings hiring a new head coach, Jose Fernandez, and building their roster around Paige Bueckers, it’s clear they plan to become a better franchise, but they might have to do so without Arike Ogunbowale. The team currently needs three-point shooting, extra ball-handling, and an interior threat.

Adding to that, with CBA negotiations stalled, a resolution may not even come soon, and the 2026 season could be shortened if the league and players’ union fail to reach an agreement. The worst-case scenario is a lockout.

So, for Ogunbowale, patience may be the best approach. Yet the longer the talks drag on, the more complicated roster decisions become. For now, her focus is on the upcoming 3×3 tournament.

Arike Ogunbowale joins Mist BC as Unrivaled returns

After averaging 10 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game for Vinyl BC in the 2025 Unrivaled season, Ogunbowale returns for season two with a fresh opportunity: joining a completely revamped Mist BC roster.

With only Breanna Stewart (third in the league in rebounds and blocks) remaining from last year’s Mist squad, the new lineup includes Arike Ogunbowale, Veronica Burton, Allisha Gray, Alanna Smith, and Li Yueru, giving them defensive versatility and scoring threats on the perimeter.

Burton and Gray are bringing international experience and built-in chemistry to Stewart’s squad as members of the recent USA 3×3 AmeriCup gold medal team. Mist BC could transform from one of last season’s underperformers into one of the most dangerous teams on the court, particularly if Ogunbowale rediscovers the scoring form that made her one of the WNBA’s elite guards. That scoring form might be a deciding factor for the Wings as well.