Basketball
Soon after the calendar turns to 2025, the professional women’s basketball landscape will change forever with the start of Unrivaled, the new 3-on-3 league co-founded by WNBA stars Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier, which aims to give players an alternative option to going overseas during the offseason.
The action will tip off on Jan. 17 and run for nine weeks, with all the games being played in Miami. While it is 3-on-3, the games will be played on a shorter full court with four, seven-minute quarters. An outline of the full rules is yet to be released, but Collier said on social media that it will look like “normal basketball with more spacing.”
There will be 36 players in this inaugural season — the final spot was filled by New York Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu on Dec. 23 — and six teams. Instead of a draft, the teams were chosen by a selection committee that split the teams by positions and skills. The league released a video on its YouTube page showing the selection process and the rosters for each team.
In the weeks since the initial announcement, there have been a few changes. Kelsey Plum dropped out, Cameron Brink and Katie Lou Samuelson were added as two of the three “Wildcards” and Laces BC, Lunar Owls BC and Phantom BC completed a three-team trade that sent Natasha Cloud and a Wildcard spot to Phantom, Jackie Young and Tiffany Hayes to Laces and Courtney Williams to Lunar Owls.
For a full breakdown of everything you need to know about the league, go here.
Basketball Laces BC
- Head coach: Andrew Wade
Note: Kelsey Plum was initially on the Laces BC roster, but announced on Nov. 27 that she had opted out of the inaugural season. The league has not yet announced a replacement.
| Player | Position | WNBA team |
|---|---|---|
F/C | ||
Tiffany Hayes | G | Aces |
G | ||
G | ||
F | ||
Jackie Young | G | Aces |
Basketball Lunar Owls BC
- Head coach: DJ Sackmann
Note: Cameron Brink has joined Unrivaled on a two-year deal but will not play in the 2025 season as she is still recovering from a torn ACL.
| Player | Position | WNBA team |
|---|---|---|
F/C | Mystics | |
Cameron Brink | F | Sparks |
Napheesa Collier | F | Lynx |
G | ||
G | ||
Courtney Williams | G | Lynx |
Basketball Mist BC
- Head coach: Phil Handy
| Player | Position | WNBA team |
|---|---|---|
G | Sun | |
F | Mystics | |
F | ||
G | Storm | |
Breanna Stewart | F | |
G | Liberty |
Basketball Phantom BC
- Head coach: Adam Harrington
| Player | Position | WNBA team |
|---|---|---|
Natasha Cloud | G | Mercury |
Brittney Griner | C | Mercury |
Sabrina Ionescu | G | Liberty |
G | Sun | |
F | ||
Katie Lou Samuelson | F | Fever |
Basketball Rose BC
- Head coach: Nola Henry
| Player | Position | WNBA team |
|---|---|---|
G | Mercury | |
G | Aces | |
G | ||
F | ||
Azura Stevens | F/C | Sparks |
G | Mystics |
Basketball Vinyl BC
- Head coach: Teresa Weatherspoon
| Player | Position | WNBA team |
|---|---|---|
F/C | Fever | |
G | Sparks | |
G | Dream | |
F | Sparks | |
G | Dream | |
G | Wings |
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