The Unparalleled is back for a second season with a slew of elite talent, plenty of social media content and a host of storylines.
The second season will feature two expansion teams, Breeze BC and Hive BC, for a total of eight clubs and will include a development pool of six players to serve as in-house injury replacements. This winter, 54 WNBA players competed in the 3×3 league, founded by Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier, in Miami and for a night in Philadelphia.
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Rose BC won the inaugural championship and returns Kahleah Copper, Chelsea Gray, Azurá Stevens and Lexie Hull. Shakira Austin and Sug Sutton completed the roster, replacing Angel Reese (unused) and Brittney Sykes (Laces BC). The Vinyls advanced to the playoffs via a series of tiebreakers with a surprise runner-up finish after a slow start. Ryan Howard and Delika Hamby, the only teammates in the top five in scoring, return to the club.
The season begins Monday with Vinyl and Laces (2:15 p.m. ET on truTV). The games will air Friday through Monday on TNT and TruTV. Here are the five things we most want to see in Unparalleled action this month.
Beyond BG’s dunk list
On March 3, Brittney Griner earned the honor of being the first dunk in Unrivaled history when she completed a dunk during her inaugural season. The league is already looking to see who will join the ranks, or how many Griners to add, with some of the top candidates already working in practice.
Dominique Malonga caught a pass from freshman Paige Bueckers, and Breeze teammate Rickea Jackson was definitely smiling that she wasn’t involved. Malonga, the No. 2 pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft, has yet to dunk in a WNBA game, but will have plenty of opportunities in Unrivaled. Phantom BC forward Kiki Iriafen dunks with ease.
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The best and biggest crashes
Whenever the Lunar Owls take the field, a multi-year collapse is likely to come. Marina Mabrey is one of the liveliest players on the court, and she became a widely used meme last summer when she talked herself out of a losing effort with the Connecticut Sun.
Teammate Skylar Diggins is a returning member of the Lunar Owls, who is also known for her on-court performances. Napheesa Collier may be keeping them calm, but they won’t be able to play this season after she announced Thursday that she will undergo surgery on both ankles.
Climbing statistics
Will any team cross the century threshold in a game this year? The Moon Owls still hold that record with 94 points in a win over Phantom in February, and the team scored 92 more points in two games in March. Can players crack 40 or 50? Who can top Reese’s 20-point, 20-rebound performance?
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The Moon Owls set the tone with a +170-point deficit, 136 points ahead of the next-best team, Ross (+34). They won by an average of 12 points per game but were unexpectedly eliminated early in the first game of the playoffs. They’ll look different this year, with only Diggins returning and Golden State Warriors forward Temi Fagerbenle replacing Collier. They were joined by Mabrey, Rachel Banham, Rebecca Allen and Aaliyah Edwards.
As the inaugural 1-on-1 tournament champion, Collier will leave a huge hole in the league as one of four players leading the league in scoring (25.7 points), steals (2.0) and blocks (1.4) per game. Reese leads the team in rebounds (12.1) but is not signed to play this year. Gray leads in assists (5.4).
Napheesa Collier led the league in points, steals and blocks last year, so who will take her place in her absence after surgery? (Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
(Megan Briggs via Getty Images)
star made from development pool
Unrivaled opted for a development pool this year in order to keep the roster intact in the event of injuries, as there were a handful of injuries a year ago. The focus on player health and safety can both avoid potential game cancellations and help build a larger talent pool within the league.
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Which of them can break through and achieve outstanding performance in “Invincible”? It’ll be interesting to see how fans follow the success of difficult players like Aari McDonald in “The Fever” and Sug Sutton in “Ladies Irrelevant.”
The first development team consists of Hailey Van Lith, Aziaha James, Haley Jones, Emily Engstler, Laeticia Amihere and Makayla Timpson. Van Liss is the most striking of them all. The Chicago Sky draft pick is a multiple medalist in the 3×3 event, winning bronze at the 2024 Paris Olympics, gold at the 2023 FIBA ​​World Cup and gold at the 2019 FIBA ​​U18 World Cup where she was named MVP.
WNBA teammates go head-to-head
There are connections across Unrivaled’s roster, including experiences in college, the WNBA and overseas. While all of these have the potential to cause confusion, a few stand out and are quickly appearing on the calendar.
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Collier awarded 2024 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year honors to Minnesota Lynx teammate Alanna Smith, who tied with Aja Wilson for her honor last season. Smith is the unparalleled freshman whose Mists will face Collier’s Lunar Owls on Jan. 17.
Hive BC guard Kelsey Mitchell, also new to the league, will face her fellow WNBA star, Phantom BC’s Aliyah Boston, on Jan. 18. Fever’s McDonald (Breeze) and Hull (Rose) will also compete.
Jackie Young (Lace) and Gray (Rose) didn’t play much against each other a year ago because Young missed some games. Their first meeting was also on January 18th.
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Allisha Gray (Mist) will face off against Atlanta teammates Rhyne Howard and Griner (Vinyl) for the first time on January 25th. And in what may be one of the most interesting meetings, former Aces teammates and good friends Kelsey Plum (Phantom) and Dearica Hamby (Vinyl) will meet on January 23rd.
