In the earliest parts of the 2025 calendar year, a new women’s basketball league made its debut.
That, of course, was Unrivaled. Co-founded by Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier, the full-court 3-on-3 format it brought to the women’s basketball landscape was certainly a unique concept.
All of its games took place in Miami and it debuted with six teams – Vinyl BC, Laces BC, Phantom BC, Mist BC, Rose BC and Lunar Owls BC.
Unrivaled is going bigger and better with its sophomore campaign with the unveiling of two new teams – Breeze BC and Hive BC.
It has been a masterclass on how to capitalize on the wealth of momentum there is around women’s basketball. One way it is doing this is by taking advantage of WNBA shortcomings.
This can automatically be found with its coaches. Even with the WNBA slated to expand to 15 teams starting with its 2026 season – also the 30th anniversary of the WNBA, it appears it will enter said 30th anniversary without a Black woman as head coach of any of its teams.
As of this writing, there is one chance left for that trend to be bucked – and that is with the New York Liberty who appear to be close to announcing who its next coach will be. The former coach of the Liberty, Sandy Brondello, decided to accept the head coaching job with the Toronto Tempo after reportedly being offered the Seattle Storm and Dallas Wings openings.
The Storm went with Sonia Raman and the Wings decided on Jose Fernandez.
Looking at who the eight head coaches are for the second season of Unrivaled and Black women head coaches are plentiful. From former Storm head coach Noelle Quinn as Breeze BC’s coach to Rena Wakama at the helm of Hive BC to Roneeka Hodges calling the plays for Phantom BC to Wings assistant Nola Henry leading defending Unrivaled champion Rose BC to former Sky head coach Teresa Weatherspoon spearheading efforts for Vinyl BC.
The other head coaches are Andrew Wade (Laces BC), DJ Sackmann (Lunar Owls BC) and Zach O’Brien (Mist BC).
Rosters were also released. Of course, they are subject to change but Breeze’s roster includes Aari McDonald, Cameron Brink, Dominique Malonga, Kate Martin, Paige Bueckers and Rickea Jackson.
Hive’s uniform will be worn Ezi Magbegor, Kelsey Mitchell, Monique Billings, Natisha Hiedeman, Saniya Rivers and Sonia Citron.
Representing Laces will be Alyssa Thomas, Brittney Sykes, Jackie Young, Jordin Canada, Maddy Siegrist and Naz Hillmon.
The six Lunar Owls will be Aaliyah Edwards, Marina Mabrey, Napheesa Collier, Rachel Banham, Rebecca Allen and Skylar Diggins.
Mist’s six are Alanna Smith, Allisha Gray, Arike Ogunbowale, Breanna Stewart, Li Yueru and Veronica Burton.
The 2026 version of Phantom will feature Aliyah Boston, Dana Evans, Kelsey Plum, Kiki Iriafen, Natasha Cloud and Satou Sabally.
Looking to defend Rose’s Unrivaled championship from last season are Azurá Stevens, Chelsea Gray, Kahleah Copper, Lexie Hull, Shakira Austin and Sug Sutton.
Last, but certainly not least, is Vinyl which will include Brittney Griner, Courtney Williams, Dearica Hamby, Erica Wheeler, Rae Burrell and Rhyne Howard.
One way that Unrivaled is going bigger than it was last season is by staging games at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia. Phantom (which includes Philly native Cloud) and Rose (which includes Philly native Copper) will compete in featured matchups.
Another element to Unrivaled that made it such a hit last year was its top-notch presentation on TNT in addition to its stellar amenities for its players. Games are slated to air not only on TNT but also TruTV and HBO Max. Unrivaled’s opening night will take place on Jan. 5 and its 1 on 1 tournament will make its triumphant return in February.
The beauty of leagues like Unrivaled (and Athletes Unlimited, for that matter) is they provide a look as to what women’s basketball can resemble when the appropriate amount of resources and money are invested.
In today’s sporting climate, more and more fans are waking up to the reality that many of the best basketball players on the planet reside in North America. They are realizing that those premier players deserve platforms such as Unrivaled where they can indeed perform at their peak – and for the on-screen presentation of a league to reflect that.
Between its city tour, new clubs, presentation on TNT. Its new deal with Under Armour, NIL deals with high-profile collegiate stars and more equitable revenue structure, Unrivaled is continuing to raise the bar as a women’s basketball league tailor-made for today’s more poular, higher-profile game.
