There was a time when getting two words out of Aari McDonald was a chore. Times have changed.
The former Arizona women’s basketball star blossomed as a public speaker during her time as a Wildcat. She credited her parents, who convinced her that she had “good things to say” and she should share them. She will carry that sentiment onto a new podcast with fellow WNBA and Unrivaled player Rachel Banham called “Aari and Rachel: Unfiltered at Unrivaled.”
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McDonald is playing alongside Paige Bueckers and Cameron Brink, among others, on the Unrivaled Breeze BC in her first experience with 3×3 basketball. She played for the Indiana Fever during the 2025 WNBA season, her fourth in the league. She was drafted third by the Atlanta Dream in 2021 after lifting Arizona into the national conversation and the national title game that spring.
Banham, who is also in her first year of Unrivaled, plays for the WNBA’s Chicago Sky and the Lunar Owls BC. She played her college ball for the Minnesota Golden Gophers where she became the No. 1 scorer in Big Ten history and sixth in NCAA history when her career ended in 2016. She was drafted fourth by the Connecticut Sun in that year’s draft.
The weekly podcast will release its first episode on Jan. 15. It will be available on YouTube and major podcast platforms. It will feature interviews with players and backstage insight into the Unrivaled league as the games play out in Miami, Fla. Fans can follow the podcast on social media @unfilteredpoddd.
The initial episode will feature Dallas Wings teammates Bueckers and Li Yueru. Yueru plays for Unrivaled’s Mist BC.
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“I’m incredibly excited about this new venture Rachel and I are bringing to Unrivaled this season,” McDonald said in the press release. “It gives me the opportunity to talk about the game I love to play while showcasing my personality, fashion, and the importance of education and financial literacy among athletes, along with many other meaningful topics of conversation, with some fun. Most importantly, it allows me to connect with players that I may never have had the chance to speak with and provides a platform to show that we are so much more than just athletes on a court.”
