Park Ji-hyun Joins New Global League Project B in Seoul
Park Ji-hyun is stepping into uncharted territory again.
The South Korean forward, already a trailblazer as a member of the Los Angeles Sparks in the WNBA, has signed on to play in Project B, a new international basketball league set to launch in 2027. The move was announced on Tuesday, with a training camp in Seoul confirmed as one of the first major steps in building the competition.
Seoul at the Center of a New Experiment
Project B will bring its inaugural training camp to the South Korean capital from January 6 to 12, 2027. The camp will be held at the Park Hyatt Seoul in the Gangnam district, turning one of the city’s most high-profile neighborhoods into a temporary command center for the league’s ambitions.
Players, coaches and league representatives are expected to attend, as Project B begins to shape its identity on and off the court. For Park, it means preparing for a new season in her home country before heading back into the global spotlight.
The league itself has heavyweight backing. Project B was founded by Jeff Prentice and Grady Burnett, a former Google and Facebook executive, and is being built with a clear structure in mind: separate women’s and men’s leagues, each made up of six teams with 11 players per roster.
A Season Built Around the WNBA Calendar
The first Project B season is scheduled from January to April 2027, deliberately slotted outside the WNBA calendar, which runs from May to October. That timing opens the door for top WNBA players to take part without sacrificing their primary commitments.
Tournaments will be staged across multiple continents, with Asia, Europe and Latin America all in the frame. Valencia in Spain and Tokyo in Japan have already been confirmed as host cities, signaling a strong early footprint in both Europe and Asia.
Project B has also made an aggressive pitch to players. The league has stated it plans to pay female players more than the WNBA and offer them an ownership stake in the competition, an attempt to reshape the economics and power balance of women’s basketball.
The project is already attracting big names. Alongside Park, her Los Angeles Sparks teammate Nneka Ogwumike has agreed to join, as has Phoenix Mercury star Alyssa Thomas. For fans, that means the prospect of all-star level matchups in a brand-new setting before the WNBA season even tips off.
Park’s Growing Global Footprint
For Park Ji-hyun, this is another step in a career built on firsts.
She became just 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 immediately justified the hype, earning Rookie of the Year honors for the 2018–2019 season.
Her impact at home was undeniable. Park helped Asan Woori Bank to three championship titles, establishing herself as one of the standout players in the domestic game. She has also tested herself overseas, with stints in professional leagues in Australia, New Zealand and Spain, adding layers of experience and adaptability to her game.
Now she stands at the forefront of another new chapter for the sport. Project B aims to change how and where elite women’s basketball is played—and how its stars are rewarded.
For Park, the journey begins where it all started: in Seoul, with the world watching to see whether this bold new league can live up to its promise.
