"You have me in a chokehold": Marina Mabrey & Fever's $90,000 star gush over Saniya Rivers channeling her inner model with glamorous outfit

Connecticut Sun rookie Saniya Rivers channeled her inner model, turning heads on social media with her latest post. Rivers shared pictures from a photoshoot, where she posed as a model, wearing an all-black outfit consisting of a leather jacket, leather pants, boots and shades with spikes on them.

She shared the pictures on Instagram, saying that working as a model hasn’t been a bad idea:

“Maybe modeling wouldn’t be a bad idea after all @sydjcolson 🙂‍↔️🙈🖤. #explorepage✨ #wbb.”

Her post drew a reaction from the Fever’s $90,000 guard, Sydney Colson, who encouraged Rivers in the comment section, saying:

“Purr & I’ll be waiting for the runway days…”

Connecticut Sun guard Marina Mabrey also left a message in the post’s comment section:

“You have me in a chokehold.”

Marina Mabrey and Sydney Colson’s comment on Saniya Rivers’ Instagram post

Saniya Rivers has been rumored to be dating her teammate, Marina Mabrey, after a clip from the StudBudz, Courtney Williams and Natisha Hiedeman’s All-Star stream, went viral in July. Neither Mabrey nor Rivers has addressed the rumors leading to much speculation among fans.

Meanwhile, one of Rivers’ biggest supporters, Sydney Colson, is set to miss the remainder of the 2025 season after being diagnosed with a torn ACL. Colson was averaging 2.4 points and 2.0 assists through 30 games this season.

Saniya Rivers is off to a quiet start with the Connecticut Sun

Saniya Rivers’ WNBA career is off to a quiet start. The No. 8 pick of 2025 has made 34 appearances for the Connecticut Sun, averaging 8.4 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game.

While she has been solid for a rookie, her team has struggled, holding 11th place in the standings after being eliminated from playoff contention. It has been a steep decline for the Sun, which finished as the third seed last season.

The team witnessed a massive roster overhaul during the offseason with the departures of DeWanna Bonner, DiJonai Carrington, Alyssa Thomas and Brionna Jones.

With their season all but over, Connecticut is headed to the lottery just a year after reaching the WNBA semifinals. The team will be counting on Rivers to make a sizeable jump while also adding more talent to return to contention next season.

About the author

Sameer is an esports and gaming journalist at Sportskeeda who covers a diverse range of topics. He is currently pursuing a BSc degree from BITS, but his love for video games pushed him to pursue a gaming journalism career. He relies on diligent research and fact-checking to deliver top-notch content. He has previously worked in the hospitality sector with the Oberoi Group.

Sameer’s gaming journey began with Rockstar Games’ GTA franchise, specifically
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories. He strongly prefers multiplayer games, with FPS being his favorite genre, and has devoted 6K+ hours to CS:GO! However, he also dabbles in open-world, story-based games from time to time. Solo RPGs like Horizon Forbidden West hold a soft spot in his heart, and he would readily drop in it given a Jumanji-type scenario.

Sameer makes sure to follow Counter-Strike and Valorant esports tournaments, as he believes that watching a game being played at the highest level can be highly educational. He derives inspiration from Tarik's meteoric rise to become one of the biggest FPS streamers in the world following the release of Valorant.

Outside of work, you can find Sameer playing football or cheering for FC Barcelona. He also likes to read and write poetry.

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Edited by Sameer Khan