Kysre Gondrezick‘s name keeps surfacing this offseason, and not because of a contract signing. The former West Virginia standout currently sits in free agency after a brief 2024 stint with the Chicago Sky, where she averaged just 3.2 minutes per game before being released midseason.
Her attempt to reboot her momentum through Athletes Unlimited ended abruptly when she suffered a torn Achilles in January, placing her in the early stages of what is often a long and demanding recovery process.
Yet even without a roster spot, Gondrezick has remained highly visible. That visibility intensified when she became the first current female professional basketball player to pose for Playboy, appearing in the magazine’s Winter 2025/26 issue.
The feature immediately sparked conversation across sports and entertainment circles.
Rather than frame the move as a departure from basketball, Gondrezick described it as an expansion.
“What people label as a transition, I embody as evolution,” she said. “I’m not stepping outside who I am. I’m building a multidimensional brand.”
That philosophy mirrors a larger transformation within women’s professional basketball. The modern WNBA star is no longer defined solely by points per game or defensive metrics.
Fashion partnerships, media ventures and personal branding are increasingly part of the equation. Gondrezick‘s Playboy appearance became a lightning rod for that shift.
Cameron Brink amplifies the message
The ripple effect reached Los Angeles Sparks forward Cameron Brink, who has also navigated the intersection of elite athletics and modeling opportunities.
When asked about Gondrezick‘s feature, Brink made it clear that her focus was less on headlines and more on resilience.
“I just want to shout out Kysre though because she’s a good friend of mine and she’s going through a really tough recovery right now, but I know she’s going to kill it. She looked absolutely beautiful [in Playboy]. So I support absolutely anything she does.”
Brink‘s comments reframed the discussion. Behind the photos and branding moves is an athlete battling through a serious injury, working toward a return few outside the sport fully appreciate.
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