Park Ji-hyun Joins Project B Global League Targeting WNBA Stars
South Korean standout Park Ji-hyun, already blazing a trail in the WNBA with the Los Angeles Sparks, has signed on to a bold new venture: the international league Project B.
Her move was confirmed on Tuesday, with the announcement tied to a high-profile training camp set for Seoul, according to the Korea Herald. It’s an early statement of intent from a league that clearly wants to plant its flag in the heart of global basketball markets.
Seoul Becomes Launchpad
Project B will bring its training camp to the Park Hyatt Seoul in Gangnam from January 6 to 12, 2027. For a week, one of the city’s most exclusive hotels will double as a command center for the project’s rollout.
Players, coaches and league officials are expected to gather there as the competition takes shape. It’s not just a camp; it’s a showcase, a chance for Project B to present itself as a serious, well-funded alternative for elite talent.
The league itself is the brainchild of Jeff Prentice and Grady Burnett, the latter a former executive at both Google and Facebook. Their blueprint is clear: separate women’s and men’s competitions, each built around six teams of 11 players. Compact rosters. Tight structure. Global reach.
A Season Built Around the WNBA Calendar
The first Project B season is scheduled to run from January to April 2027. That timing is no accident.
Those months fall outside the WNBA schedule, which typically runs from May to October. For players like Park, it opens the door to year-round elite competition without forcing a choice between existing commitments and new opportunities.
The league plans to stage tournaments across Asia, Europe and Latin America. Valencia in Spain and Tokyo in Japan are already locked in as host cities, underlining the project’s international ambition from day one.
A Direct Challenge on Pay and Power
Where Project B truly raises eyebrows is its stance on player compensation and influence.
League organizers have said they intend to pay female players more than the WNBA currently does, while also offering them an ownership stake in the league. That combination — higher salaries and equity — goes straight to the heart of long-running debates about pay and power in women’s basketball.
The message is blunt: this isn’t just another offseason league. It’s a competitor for top-tier talent.
Park will not be alone. Other WNBA stars already committed include her Sparks teammate Nneka Ogwumike and Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas. When established All-Stars start signing on, the project stops looking theoretical and starts to feel very real.
Park’s Growing Global Footprint
For Park Ji-hyun, this move is another step in a career built on breaking ground.
She became only the third South Korean player ever to reach the WNBA. Before that, she was the first overall pick in the Women’s Korean Basketball League draft and claimed Rookie of the Year honors in the 2018–2019 season. With Asan Woori Bank, she helped secure three championship titles, cementing her status as one of the country’s premier talents.
Her résumé already stretches well beyond Korea. Park has played professionally in Australia, New Zealand and Spain, steadily expanding both her game and her profile.
Now she adds Project B to that list — a league that wants to redefine what the women’s game looks like between January and April.
If it delivers on its promises of pay, ownership and global stages, Park’s decision to sign on early may say as much about her eye for opportunity as it does about her game.
