Park Ji-hyun Joins Ambitious Project B Global League

South Korean star Park Ji-hyun is stepping into uncharted territory again. The Los Angeles Sparks forward, already one of the most significant trailblazers in her country’s basketball history, has signed on to play in Project B, a new international league aiming to reshape the women’s game — and its economics.

The move was announced on Tuesday, along with plans for a Project B training camp in Seoul, according to the Korea Herald.

Seoul Becomes Launchpad

Project B will bring its first major gathering to Park’s home country. From January 6 to 12, 2027, players, coaches, and league officials will descend on the Park Hyatt Seoul in the Gangnam district for a week-long training camp.

It’s not just a photo-op. The camp plants a flag in Asia for a league that wants to be global from day one, with Seoul serving as an early hub for talent, branding, and competition.

Project B, founded by Jeff Prentice and former Google and Facebook executive Grady Burnett, plans to run separate women’s and men’s competitions. Each will feature six teams of 11 players, a tight, elite structure designed for high-level, high-intensity basketball.

A Calendar Built Around the WNBA

The timing is no accident. The inaugural Project B season is scheduled for January through April 2027, deliberately slotted outside the WNBA calendar, which runs from May to October.

That creates a clear lane: top WNBA players can compete in Project B without sacrificing their primary domestic commitments. For athletes used to cobbling together overseas contracts in the off-season, this offers something cleaner, more stable, and far more visible.

Tournaments are expected to be staged across Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Valencia in Spain and Tokyo in Japan are already confirmed as host cities, early proof that Project B wants to move quickly into established basketball markets while tapping into emerging ones.

A Direct Challenge on Pay and Power

Project B is not hiding its ambition. The league has stated it plans to pay female players more than the WNBA and offer them an ownership stake in the competition itself.

That’s a bold challenge to the current structure of women’s professional basketball. For players, it’s not just about a bigger paycheck; it’s about equity, leverage, and long-term investment in the sport they’re building.

The names already attached underline that intent. Alongside Park, her Sparks teammate Nneka Ogwumike — one of the most respected voices and performers in the women’s game — has agreed to join the project. Phoenix Mercury star Alyssa Thomas, a relentless force in the WNBA, is also on board.

When players of that calibre sign up, the rest of the basketball world pays attention.

Park’s Rising Global Profile

For Park Ji-hyun, this is another step in a career defined by firsts.

She became just the third South Korean player ever to appear in the WNBA, a landmark in itself. Before that, she dominated at home: the first overall pick in the Women’s Korean Basketball League draft, she captured Rookie of the Year honors in the 2018–2019 season and helped Asan Woori Bank secure three championship titles.

Her résumé already stretches well beyond Korea. Park has played professionally in Australia, New Zealand, and Spain, building a reputation as a versatile, modern forward comfortable in multiple systems and cultures.

Now she adds a pioneering league to that list.

A new competition, a new business model, a new stage. If Project B delivers on its promises, Park won’t just be part of the league — she’ll be one of the faces that define it.