As UCLA star Kiki Rice competes for a national championship, her boyfriend and Oklahoma City Thunder guard Cason Wallace is cheering her on — and the couple is approaching their one-year anniversary.
Long before Kiki Rice became one of the most recognizable names in women’s college basketball and Cason Wallace established himself as a key piece of the Oklahoma City Thunder’s NBA championship roster, the two were just kids crossing paths at a basketball tournament. The pair first met at the inaugural Jr. NBA World Championship in Orlando when they were preteens, and by 2022 they were photographed together at an event for high school basketball players, suggesting a friendship that quietly endured through the years.
That friendship eventually evolved into something more. Reports indicate that Rice and Wallace, both 22, began dating last year, going public with their relationship following Oklahoma City’s NBA championship victory in an interview on “WAG Talk.” Since then, the couple has made a series of high-profile appearances together, attending the ESPYs in July and a Dallas Wings versus Washington Mystics WNBA game in August, signaling that they are comfortable sharing their relationship with the public.
As Rice competes for a national title with UCLA on Sunday, Wallace has made clear that supporting her is a priority. He expressed genuine enthusiasm for Rice’s teammates and the environment surrounding the UCLA program, noting that he has spent considerable time around the group given that they are all roughly the same age. For Wallace, watching Rice and her teammates compete at the highest level of the college game has been a source of genuine enjoyment.
Rice’s rise to national prominence
Rice’s profile extends well beyond the basketball court. The UCLA senior made history as Jordan Brand’s first ever NIL athlete, a milestone she has spoken about with deep appreciation. In a 2024 interview with Complex, Rice reflected on what the partnership has meant to her, describing it as something she never could have imagined when she was growing up watching basketball as a young girl. She noted the significance of the Jordan name in the sport’s history and the doors the partnership has opened for her, including access to rooms and relationships she described as genuinely life-changing.
The Jordan Brand deal positioned Rice as one of the most marketable young athletes in college sports well before her senior season, and her on-court performance has only reinforced that standing. She enters the WNBA draft later this month as one of the top prospects available, a recognition of a college career that has been defined by consistency, leadership and a competitive drive that has helped elevate UCLA into one of the premier programs in women’s basketball.
A milestone moment on and off the court
The timing of Sunday’s national championship game adds a particularly meaningful layer to Rice’s story. Competing for the biggest prize in college basketball during the final weeks of her college career, with a historic professional opportunity on the immediate horizon and a relationship that is approaching its one-year mark, Rice finds herself at a genuinely pivotal moment across multiple dimensions of her life.
For Wallace, who won an NBA championship with the Thunder last season at just 21 years old, the experience of competing at the highest level and understanding what it takes to win in a championship setting gives him a unique vantage point from which to appreciate what Rice is going through. The mutual understanding of elite competition between two young athletes building their careers simultaneously is a thread that runs naturally through what they have described as a relationship grounded in shared experience and genuine connection.
With the WNBA draft approaching and a championship game on Sunday, Rice’s next few weeks may well represent the most consequential stretch of her young life — and if all goes according to plan, she will be celebrating on multiple fronts before the month is out.
Source: Originally reported by People.com