Cason Wallace and UCLA star Kiki Rice are dating, turning a teenage basketball meeting into a relationship that is now nearing its one-year anniversary. The Oklahoma City Thunder guard and the UCLA standout, both 22, first crossed paths at the inaugural Jr. NBA World Championship in Orlando in 2018, when they were 13-year-old and 14-year-old players.
The couple hard-launched their relationship during an interview for WAG Talk, and they have kept showing up together since then. They attended the ESPYs in July and were at a Dallas Wings-Washington Mystics game in August, a public trail that followed years of appearing to stay in touch after they met.
Rice is not just a familiar face at Wallace’s side. She is projected to be a top 10 pick in the upcoming WNBA draft, was recently named a third-team All-American and is averaging 15.2 points, 5.9 rebounds and 4.4 assists for UCLA as the Bruins move toward an NCAA championship run. Wallace, selected by Oklahoma City with the 10th pick in the 2023 NBA draft, is averaging 8.6 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.6 steals for the Thunder, who won the NBA championship last year.
Their relationship also fits the rhythm of two young players with parallel lives in the game. Rice made history as the first athlete to sign a NIL deal with Jordan Brand, and she said the partnership meant a lot to her because of what Michael Jordan represents and because of the opportunities it opened up. Wallace has said they talk about who is going to have a better game that day, and he described the back-and-forth as constant competition.
That is the part that makes this pairing more than a celebrity basketball sighting. Rice is trying to finish her college career with a title in view. Wallace is trying to build on a championship season in Oklahoma City. They met a decade ago in youth basketball, and now they are trying to win in the same sport at the same time.
