UCLA’s Kiki Rice and Cason Wallace of the Oklahoma City Thunder are dating after meeting a decade ago. The couple is about to celebrate their one-year anniversary and have opened up about their relationship. Here’s what else we know.
Kiki Rice and Cason Wallace met when they were in middle school
Prior to pursuing their own collegiate and professional careers in basketball, Rice and Wallace met when they were just teens. They met at the inaugural Jr. NBA World Championship in Orlando hosted in 2018, which featured 13-year-old and 14-year-old basketball players, according to The Oklahoman.
They appeared to have stayed in touch throughout the years as they were seen attending an event for high school basketball players in 2022, according to Town & Country.
The couple started dating last year and decided to hard-launch their relationship during an interview for WAG Talk. Both Rice and Wallace are now 22. Shortly after, the couple started making public appearances together. They went to the ESPYs in July and attended a Dallas Wings vs. Washington Mystics WNBA game in August.
A basketball power couple
Both Rice and Wallace are both successful in their respective basketball careers. Rice is currently two wins away from becoming an NCAA champion. She was recently named a third-team All-American and is projected to be a top 10 pick in the upcoming WNBA draft, according to the Oklahoman. Rice is averaging 15.2 points, 5.9 rebounds and 4.4 assists.
“She’s a very big competitor and wants to be the greatest,” Wallace told the Oklahoman. “She takes all the criticism, the good and the bad.”
“I’ve been around a lot of them because we’re all the same age,” he added in regards to the Bruins. “It’s fun seeing them do their thing, win and have fun out there on the court.”
Rice also made history as the first athlete to sign a NIL deal with Jordan Brand.
“As a little girl growing up, I watched a ton of basketball and any basketball fan knows the significance of Michael Jordan when it comes to this game,” she told Complex in 2024. “To partner with them and to be able to be the first Jordan brand NIL athlete meant a lot to me. Not only because it was something I could never have thought would happen but also just because of the opportunities that I’ve been able to have since I’ve been partnered with them.”
On his end, Wallace was selected by the Oklahoma City Thunder as the 10th pick in the 2023 NBA draft. He is averaging 8.6 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.6 steals, according to the Oklahoman. The team won the NBA championship last year.
Wallace said him and Rice help push each other as competitors.
“Definitely,” he said when asked about if they are competitive with each other, per the Oklahoman. “We have conversations about who’s going to have a better game that day. It’s always competition going.”