Table of Contents

• Unrivaled Season 2

  • ⚡ Fast Facts ⚡

  • First Day of Action:

• Power Ranking

  • Rose - Reigning Champs

  • Laces

  • Phantom

  • Vinyl

  • Mist

  • Lunar Owls

  • Breeze Basketball Club *New Club

  • Hive Basketball Club *New Club

  • Development Pool

• Other Unrivaled News and Changes

  • Film Session: WBB Highlights & Insights 📽️

  • Booked & Busy: WBB Reads 👓

  • Drip Report 💧

Unrivaled Season 2

Season 2 of Unrivaled is back and kicks off on Monday, January 5th, 2025. 

Year two of the 3×3 league will have some constants like being based in Miami, returning players, and easy viewing access on TNT. On the other hand, we saw some fan favorites choose not to return, such as Angel Reese, Sabrina Ionescu, and Kayla McBride.

There are two new teams, Breeze and Hive, bringing fresh energy and new players, including former college standouts signed last year, relief players who earned full roster spots, and replacements for those who left. This new energy should be fun, but it will also be a real test to see if the league can maintain the same relevance without big names and the novelty of an inaugural year.

The league will still be based in Miami for the season, but they will play a game on January 30th in Philly, showing a willingness to test the in-person market in other cities.

Overall, it should be a fun season and a welcome sight for people who miss the WNBA. It is me included, it is me, I am people.

⚡ Fast Facts ⚡

🗓 Run Date: Jan 5 – Mar 4, 2025

🏀 Teams & Players: 8 clubs, 48 players

📅 Game Nights: 4 nights a week

📺 Watch On: TNT, TruTV, HBO Max

First Day of Action:

Power Ranking

Rose - Reigning Champs

Coach: Nola Henry returns to the reigning Unrivaled Champion Rose BC for a highly anticipated second season. Henry led the Rose to a 10-6 overall record, the league’s second-best, and guided the club from a 1-4 record to start the season to being the second club to clinch a playoff berth along their journey to the first-ever Unrivaled Championship title. Henry most recently served as assistant coach for the Dallas Wings during the 2025 WNBA season.

Club Captain: Kahleah Copper

Club Returners: Chelsea Gray, Lexie Hull, Kahleah Copper, and Azurá Stevens

Expectations: As the reigning champions, the Rose sit at No. 1 in my power rankings. While they will be without Angel Reese, they’ve kept the core of their championship roster and bolstered it with the addition of another dynamic big in Shakira Austin and a steady ball handler in Sug Sutton. Austin joins the Rose after spending last season with the league’s top team, the Lunar Owls, adding both experience and versatility to the frontcourt. And, of course, continuity remains on the sideline with the return of head coach Nola Henry.

Questions: None at the moment. The Rose are in a great spot to repeat

Laces

Coach: Andrew Wade returns to Laces BC after having led the club to the playoffs and the third-best overall record last season. Wade spent the Unrivaled offseason with the New York Liberty as the team’s director of player development.

Club Captain: Jackie Young

Club Returners: Alyssa Thomas and Jackie Young

Expectations: The Laces are bringing back a really strong core with Jackie, AT, Jordin, and Sykes, and with only two new players added, that familiarity should work in their favor. They also added Unrivaled champs Sykes and Naz Hillmon, and Naz is basically a cheat code, especially coming off a gold medal at the 2025 3×3 AmeriCup. This team definitely feels like a real contender.

Questions: Health was the biggest thing holding the Laces back from a championship run last year. The big question is whether they can stay healthy enough this season to truly compete.

PS: Isn’t it amazing how Jackie and AT can get along? If you beat me like that in the Finals, I’m not talking to you for a good year

@lacesbasketballclub

who do y’all think had the better wrapping skills? 🎁 watch the full video on the @Unrivaled Basketball YouTube channel!

Phantom

Coach:  Roneeka Hodges joins Unrivaled as head coach of Phantom BC following her first season with the Connecticut Sun as an associate head coach. Having previously served as an assistant coach for the New York Liberty from 2022-24, she is credited with helping guide the Liberty to their first WNBA Championship in 2024.

Club Captain: Kelsey Plum

Club Returners: Natasha Cloud

Expectations: I expect the Phantom to be a lot better than they were last year. Last season, they had Sabrina and Tash carrying a struggling Satou, Marina, and BG. With Tash as the only returning player for now, since Satou is out with post-concussion syndrome, this new team is looking really dangerous. Kelsey Plum is a good replacement for Sabrina, especially since she’s one of the first-ever Olympic champions in 3×3 basketball.

On top of that, they added dynamic bigs in Kiki and Aliyah Boston, plus a mid-range assassin in reigning WNBA champ Dana Evans and an expert driver and flopper in Tiffany Hayes. This team could really shake shit up.

Questions: When will Satou return, if she returns at all? We’ve seen “playing back into shape” Satou, and it’s not great. Would it be better if she just sits this one out? I just feel so bad that injury recovery is often the story of her offseason.

@unrivaled

things are getting spooky👻 #unrivaled @Phantom BC @Kiki @Tcloud9 @Tiffany Hayes

Vinyl

Coach: Teresa Weatherspoon returns to Unrivaled to lead Vinyl BC following a successful inaugural season and playoff run, where the club upset the top-seeded Lunar Owls to secure their spot in the Championship before falling to the Rose. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame member, two-time Olympic medalist, and WNBA legend previously served as head coach of the WNBA’s Chicago Sky.

Club Captain: Dearica Hamby

Club Returners: Rhyne Howard, Dearica Hamby, Rae Burrell

Expectations: Last year’s runner-ups really surprised us when they upset the No. 1 seed Lunar Owls to make it to the Finals. They didn’t quite have enough to overcome Finals MVP Chelsea Gray, but their new additions could give their Season 2 story a very different ending.

I’m really excited to see Erica Wheeler in the 3×3 format.

BG is still playing basketball?? Cool!

Questions: Is Courtney the main point guard? Remember, this team had Jordin Canada last season. Maybe this is an opportunity for Court to grow her PG skills. I wonder if she’ll be a starter, especially since she wasn’t one last year.

@vinylbasketballclub

Built on connection. Sharpened by correction. @Unrivaled Basketball @Samsung US

Mist

Coach: Zach O’Brien will serve as head coach of Mist BC and joins Unrivaled from the New York Liberty, where he serves as an assistant coach. O’Brien was a member of New York’s 2024 WNBA Championship coaching staff, having joined the team in 2022. Prior to the Liberty, O’Brien served as the director of player development for the Phoenix Mercury.

Club Captain: Breanna Stweart

Club Returners: Breanna Stweart

Expectations: I have the Mist ranked so low because they were really bad last season. Stewie was clearly hurt, which was confirmed by the fact that she got knee surgery the week after her Unrivaled season ended. Jewell was ass, Sloot was slow, and Aaliyah Edwards, Rickea, and Dijonai were out there just having fun. This year should be totally different.

Stewie had months to recover and rest this time around and is moving like her 2022–2023 self. The additions of Allisha Gray and Arike will bring much-needed scoring and floor spacing. Plus, Allisha is an Olympic gold medalist in 3×3 and was just named the AmeriCup 2025 3×3 MVP. Veronica Burton also won gold with Lish at AmeriCup. She is a much-needed replacement for Sloot’s ball handling. And finally, the Mist actually have some bigs. Li Yueru and reigning WNBA Co-DPOY Alanna Smith will bring much-needed size without sacrificing outside shooting.

Questions: If Stewie is playing like healthy Stewie, this is my dark horse pick for champs. If not, can the rest of the team contribute enough to get them to the playoffs?

@mistbasketballclub

they really thought they had this challenge on lock 🤣 #aussie #australia #unrivaled #alannasmith

Lunar Owls

Coach: DJ Sackmann returns to Lunar Owls BC after leading the club to the Semifinals and the best overall record across Unrivaled (13-1 during the regular season) in his first-ever head coaching position. Sackmann joined Unrivaled after more than 15 years of experience as a globally recognized skills coach for the NBA and WNBA.

Club Captain: Napheesa Collier

Club Returners: Napheesa Collier, Skylar Diggins

Expectations: My expectations for the Lunar Owls looked very different until the news broke that Napheesa Collier will be missing the Unrivaled season to undergo double ankle surgery this month. I don’t know why she waited until January to do this, especially since it means she’ll be returning in the middle of the WNBA season, but it’s clearly something she couldn’t put off any longer. Being wheelchair-bound is obviously going to suck, and there are a lot of “what does this mean for her career?” questions, but this is an Unrivaled preview, not a WNBA one lol. I digress.

Temi Fagbenle will be brought in to replace Napheesa, and she’s great, but she’s no Phee.

With that being said, I do think this team can still be competitive after adding Aaliyah Edwards and Marina Mabrey. I’m just not sure how far a team can realistically expect to go with Rachael Banham and Rebecca Allen in major roles. Remember, they lost Courtney Williams, Cam Brink, Shakira Austin, Allisha Gray, and Napheesa. Yikes!

Questions: How will the Lunar Owls’ game plan shift without Phee? Will they still be competitive, especially with only one returner? Will Big Latto and Bec Allen make me eat my words?

Breeze Basketball Club *New Club

Coach: Noelle Quinn is a former WNBA player and head coach. Most recently, she served as the head coach of the Seattle Storm, where she spent five seasons and won one championship.

Club Captain: Paige Bueckers

League Returners*: Rickea Jackson, Kate Martin, Cam Brink (this is her first year actually playing)

Expectations: I think this will be a sneaky good team. While they’re super young, they have a lot of really raw talent. Kate Martin and Aari McDonald being the only real vets is going to be interesting though lol. I have no doubt they’ll be the most fun team to watch and follow. I’m already highly entertained by their social media content.

The Dom and Paige connection is going to be so fun to watch develop.

Questions: Dominique Malonga reunites with her Seattle Storm coach, Noelle Quinn, and I’m curious how that dynamic is going to go. One of the critiques of Noelle in her last season with the Storm was how she essentially held Dom back until the end of the season and playoffs. Will the lack of veteran presence be felt overall? And will Young and Turnt prove they’re the IT girls right now?

@breezebasketballclub

chills 😨😨😨 #unrivaled #unrivaledbasketball #breezebc #dominiquemalonga

Hive Basketball Club *New Club

Coach: Rena Wakama will lead Hive BC in the team’s Unrivaled debut, following her first season as an assistant coach for the Chicago Sky. Wakama also serves as head coach of the Nigerian Women’s National Team.

Club Captain: Sonia Citron

League Returner*: Natisha Hiedeman

Expectations: I feel like this team will struggle a bit from not having enough bigs, especially compared to the Breeze, who have Dom and Cam. That said, Ezi is an elite big who can make a huge impact if she turns on her offensive game. 3×3 forces players to contribute offensively, so that will be a big upside for this team.

I’m also excited to watch Kelsey Mitchell break everyone’s ankles. This will be a fun team to watch, but probably a mid-level team.

Questions: I have no idea how this team will look or mesh lol. They aren’t the most active on socials, so it’s hard to see how their personalities click. That said, they could surprise us because there’s a lot of talent on this roster.

@hivebasketballclub

First Ezi post...definitely not the last 🤭 @Unrivaled Basketball @ezimagbegor

Development Pool

Unrivaled has consistently positioned itself as a league that prioritizes the continued development of its players. This season, the league introduced a development pool, selecting young players to receive access to trainers and performance staff, daily practices, and the same resources and amenities as rostered players.

In addition, development pool players will serve as relief players, ready to step in when clubs need support due to injuries or absences. This directly addresses a major issue from last season, when a wave of injuries and absences forced teams to make last-minute call-ups. Many of those players filled multiple short-term stints without ever being fully claimed by a club, limiting both stability and development opportunities.

• Hailey Van Lith — 2nd-year player for the Chicago Sky

• Haley Jones — 4th-year player for the Dallas Wings

• Laeticia Amihere — 3rd-year player for the Golden State Valkyries (currently a free agent)

• Aziaha James — 2nd-year player for the Dallas Wings

• Makayla Timpson — 2nd-year player for the Indiana Fever

• Emily Engstler — 5th-year player for the Washington Mystics 

Other Unrivaled News and Changes

Check out some of the cool podcasts, videos, reads, and fashion I saw this week.

Film Session: WBB Highlights & Insights 📽️

Booked & Busy: WBB Reads 👓

Drip Report 💧