There was a great deal of pomp and circumstance around last year’s debut of Unrivaled. The much-ballyhooed maiden voyage of the Miami-based full-court 3-on-3 league received mainly positive fanfare.
Six teams were part of last year’s Unrivaled season – but the one that stood head and shoulders above the competition was Rose BC following its 62-54 victory in the championship contest over Vinyl BC. Chelsea Gray was named Finals MVP beginning a 2025 that also saw her win a fourth WNBA championship – and third with the Las Vegas Aces.
The one-on-one tournament was won by Unrivaled co-founder Napheesa Collier over Aaliyah Edwards. Semifinalists also included Arike Ogunbowale and Azurá Stevens.
Fast-forward to the start of the 2026 calendar year – and South Florida is about to be an epicenter of the women’s basketball sphere once again. The city that used to be home to the WNBA’s Miami Sol will play host to an eight-team Unrivaled this year.
January 5th is the big day as Unrivaled tips off its sophomore campaign. That day will see a pair of afternoon matchups on TruTV as Mist BC takes on Hive BC and Vinyl BC will square off against Laces BC.
The two-game nightcap will feature Lunar Owls BC taking on defending champion Rose BC plus a get-together between Phantom BC and Breeze BC.
Here is a look at the eight teams set to do battle this season of Unrivaled.
Breeze BC
Breeze is one of the two new teams making its Unrivaled debut – and one of the five Unrivaled assemblings that features a Black woman as its head coach.
Noelle Quinn, who most recently was head coach of the Seattle Storm, will be at the helm for Breeze. It is one of the younger Unrivaled bunches but it is sure to be one of the more high-profile teams given the young talent on said team.
Paige Bueckers is making her Unrivaled debut. Breeze also Rickea Jackson who sported Mist threads last year and averaged 13.6 points and 3.9 rebounds in 2025 as one of the Misties. Cameron Brink was selected as one of the Lunar Owls last season but did not play because of a knee ailment.
Kate Martin is another who will be in a Breeze uniform this season. Martin played in only six games last season with Laces and averaged 8.7 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 2025. Dominique Malonga and Aari McDonald are making their Breeze – and Unrivaled – debuts.
Hive BC
The other team that will be making its Unrivaled debut, it is another of the five teams with a Black woman as head coach. Calling the plays for Hive will be Rena Wakama, current assistant coach with the Chicago Sky.
Where Breeze’s roster is comprised predominantly of young players, Hive has a six-woman assembling that has a healthy mix of youth and experience. Only one from said roster played in last year’s Unrivaled season – Natisha Hiedeman. The Stud Bud averaged 7.8 points and 3.5 rebounds last season with Laces.
Kelsey Mitchell is playing her first season of Unrivaled following a season with the Indiana Fever where she guided her WNBA team to the semifinals. It also includes Ezi Magbegor and Monique Billings.
Sonia Citron and Saniya Rivers put together stellar rookie campaigns with the Washington Mystics and Connecticut Sun, respectively, and are bringing their talents to the Unrivaled ranks for the first time.
Rose BC
The crown that is a signature element of Unrivaled’s logo was bestowed upon Rose last season – and one can expect for the other seven teams to bring their best at the defending champions.
Nola Henry, an assistant coach of the Dallas Wings, was who guided Rose to last year’s Unrivaled crown – and is returning for her second go-round in El Sur de La Florida.
While Rose will sorely miss the double-double Barbie that is Angel Reese, it is bringing back Chelsea Gray – last year’s Finals MVP. Gray averaged 21.4 points, 5.4 assists, 5.1 rebounds and 1.1 steals last season. Gray was also among the All-Unrivaled First Team recipients.
Rose is also returning Kahleah Copper – Philadelphia’s very own who will be part of Rose heading to the Xfinity Mobile Center for the January 30 tour stop in the City of Brotherly Love. Copper averaged 16.6 points and 5.7 rebounds last season.
It also is returning Azurá Stevens who averaged 11.7 points and 7.2 rebounds last season and Lexie Hull who averaged 6.7 points in 2025. Shakira Austin was part of the Lunar Owls roster and averaged 8.4 points and 4.1 rebounds in 14 games. Sug Sutton is making her Unrivaled debut.
Vinyl BC
Given Vinyl was within a few points last season of the 2025 Unrivaled championship that Rose claimed at their expense, it makes sense for Vinyl to run it back with one of the most respected coaches in the game in Teresa Weatherspoon.
Veteran names make up the Vinyl roster. Four of Vinyl’s six are returning for their second Unrivaled seasons – and three of which are coming back for their sophomore campaigns in Vinyl threads. One of those is Rhyne Howard who averaged a robust 20.5 points and 5.5 rebounds plus 1.1 steals last season plus All-Unrivaled Second Team recognition.
Another of those is Dearica Hamby who competed in 12 games in 2025 with Vinyl. Where Howard was fourth among last year’s Unrivaled participants in scoring, Hamby was fifth – averaging 19.9 points, 9.8 rebounds and 1.1 steals. Rae Burrell averaged 8.5 points in the 13 games she played.
The other of the Minnesota Lynx Stud Budz in Courtney Williams represented the Lunar Owls in 2025 and averaged 9.6 points, 3.8 assists and 3.5 rebounds. Brittney Griner y una hija favorita de Miami en Erica Wheeler estan las otras dos jugadores para Vinyl.
Lunar Owls BC
At the conclusion of a season, most remember who won the championship. Not many remember who may have had the best record at said season’s close if it became a matter of missing rings.
Throughout much of the 2025 Unrivaled regular season, the Lunar Owls were the team to beat as evidenced by their 13-1 record. The only team to earn a victory over this team during the regular season was eventual Unrivaled champion Rose.
DJ Sackmann, widely known as a WNBA and NBA trainer, is the head coach of the Lunar Owls – and last season’s Coach of the Year. It is only fitting that Napheesa Collier, one of Unrivaled’s co-founders, would be its leading scorer from last season – and the one-on-one tournament champion. Phee was one of only four from last year to average a double-double (Breanna Stewart, Alyssa Thomas and Angel Reese were the others). She averaged 25.7 points, 10.6 rebounds and two steals last season. She also was among the All-Unrivaled First Team.
Unfortunately, she will undergo ankle surgery and will miss the entirety of the Unrivaled season. Collier is expected to be out of action for four to six months. Temi Fágbénlé will join the team in her stead.
Skylar Diggins is another of the Lunar Owls’ notable veterans. Diggins averaged 17.9 points, 4.8 assists and 1.5 steals last season en route to All-Unrivaled Second Team honors. Two from the 2026 version were on other teams last year.
Because of a calf ailment, Marina Mabrey only played in three of Unrivaled’s contests with Phantom but made the most of those three. Mabrey averaged 14.7 points and 4.3 rebounds in those three games. Aaliyah Edwards was the one-on-one tournament runner-up last season representing Mist. Edwards averaged 7.6 points and 5.3 rebounds last season.
Making their Unrivaled debuts are Rachel Banham and Bec Allen.
Laces BC
Laces rounded out the 2025 Unrivaled playoff field last season alongside Rose, Vinyl and the Lunar Owls.
It was not that long ago that Laces coach Andrew Wade was a sportswriter. Since then, he has brought his basketball expertise to the Washington Mystics as an assistant and is now a Player Development coach with the New York Liberty.
The green in the Laces logo bears a striking resemblance to Liberty seafoam – and among those wearing said Laces green this season is Alyssa Thomas. She averaged 11.6 points and 3.9 rebounds last season.
The returning names for Laces also include Jackie Young who played in six of the team’s games last season. Last season saw Special Agent Zero average 15.5 points and three rebounds in 2025.
Two for Laces were on different teams last season. Jordin Canada averaged 9.6 points and 3.8 assists in 2025 with Vinyl and Brittney Sykes averaged 11.6 points and 3.9 rebounds with Rose.
Naz Hillmon and Maddy Siegrist are playing their first seasons in the Unrivaled realm.
Mist BC
As this was one of the two teams that missed (or should we say ‘mist’) last season’s Unrivaled playoffs, the results were rather hazy for the Misties.
While the 2025 version of Mist was mostly treading water, perhaps Zach O’Brien assuming the post as head coach will allow Mist to take a sensational leap forward.
Of course, the centerpiece for all things Misties is Unrivaled co-founder Breanna Stewart. Stewie was in the top 10 in scoring last season and averaged 19.1 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.1 steals in 14 contests last season.
Stewie is the only returning Mist player from last season’s assembling. Arike Ogunbowale – a one-on-one tournament semifinalist was part of Vinyl last season and averaged 10 points and 3.4 assists in 2025. Allisha Gray joins the Misties from the Lunar Owls – the WNBA MVP candidate averaged 19.1 points and 5.5 rebounds last season.
Mist’s roster also includes Alanna Smith, Li Yueru and Veronica Burton. Burton was the WNBA’s Most Improved Player last season with an expansion Golden State Valkyries team that qualified for its playoffs in 2025.
Phantom BC
Wayfair Arena was anything but kind to Phantom last season.
The Adam Harrington-coached team finished at the bottom of Phantom’s 2025 Unrivaled standings and on the outside looking in of the postseason picture. A positive of the 2025 season for the Ghost Gang was that two of its victories were against Vinyl – which were in last year’s Finals.
Roneeka Hodges – an assistant coach with the Connecticut Sun is serving in Harrington’s stead as head coach. Phantom faced plenty of adversity in the form of that 4-10 season and is entering the 2026 season with even more adversity as Satou Sabally will miss the start of the season with a concussion. She averaged 15.3 points and three assists last season.
Natasha Cloud is returning for her second season in Phantom black and green. In 2025, she averaged 9.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.7 assists. When Unrivaled makes its January 30 stop at Philadelphia’s Xfinity Mobile Arena, many will be there to see a favorite daughter of their in Tash.
Tiffany Hayes played in 10 matchups for Laces last season and averaged 16.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, three assists and 1.2 steals last season. Another addition to the Ghost Gang is Aliyah Boston following a 2025 where she averaged 9.3 points and 5.2 rebounds with Vinyl.
Making their Unrivaled debuts are Kelsey Plum, Dana Evans and Kiki Iriafen.
