How Sky's Ajsa Sivka is going to play college basketball for Kentucky after being WNBA Draft pick

The Ajsa Sivka timeline is officially an odd one.

The Chicago Sky drafted her with the No. 10 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft. She didn't come to play in the WNBA that season, though.

And now, the Slovenian guard has committed to play college basketball at Kentucky.

According to The Athletic's Annie Costabile, the Sky retain the rights to Sivka, meaning she seemingly could still sign to play in the WNBA with Chicago at some point.

This doesn't seem to have happened in the WNBA before.

How does this work?

The first key is that Sivka never actually suited up in the WNBA yet. 

There haven't been any instances of a player returning from the WNBA to college basketball, and while men's basketball is grappling with various G League and NBA Draft pick attempts to return to the NCAA ranks, it hadn't yet popped up for women's hoops until this move.

If Sivka had never been drafted, no one would bat an eye at this. She'd just be an international recruit signing with a college basketball program.

Because the Sky already picked her, it gets a little bit weirder. But apparently she didn't have to sign with Chicago already, and they'll still be able to bring her aboard.

It fits a bit more with how the NHL does things -- players have a window they're eligible to be drafted in, but they don't have to sign yet. Some guys will play multiple years of college hockey after getting drafted before signing.

The NBA used to work a bit more like this. Larry Bird played one more year at Indiana State after the Celtics drafted him.

Now, the WNBA has an unprecedented situation within its own league. If the long-term path works out for Sivka and for the Sky, maybe this would become more common.

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