In July of 2023, WNBA stars Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart announced that they would be founding a new experimental women’s basketball league: Unrivaled. While not trying to compete with the WNBA, the Unrivaled league would give players a chance to stay in the United States during the offseason, rather than going overseas to continue playing.
It had been a year since learning any new information about the league, but now, we finally have the teams.
Originally, there were supposed to be six teams with five players each, for a total of 30 players. Now, each team houses six players for a total of 36. However, two of those player spots are empty. One spot was left open for Caitlin Clark, but the guard turned down the one million dollar offer. The two empty spots are now being called “wild cards,” and will be filled with players in the near future.
Former Kentucky star Rhyne Howard earned her spot on Team Vinyl, along with some other notable WNBA stars. Howard previously led the ‘Cats to the 2022 SEC Championship and now plays for the Atlanta Dream. She took bronze in this year’s Olympics 3-on-3 event for Team USA. The guard is also an assistant coach for the University of Florida Women’s Basketball team.
As for the rosters, the league divided all the players into wings, guards, and forwards. The coaches drafted teams with the idea being to make them as equal as possible. The catch though, was that the coaches didn’t know which team would be theirs until after the rosters were made.
Unrivaled Basketball Rosters
Team Mist
- Breanna Stewart
- Jewell Loyd
- Courtney Vandersloot
- DiJonai Carrington
- Rickea Jackson
- Aaliyah Edwards
The Lunar Owls
- Napheesa Collier
- Skylar Diggins-Smith
- Natasha Cloud
- Allisha Gray
- Shakira Austin
- Wildcard
Team Phantom
- Jackie Young
- Marina Mabrey
- Tiffany Hayes
- Satou Sabally
- Brittney Griner
- Wildcard
Vinyl Basketball Club
- Rhyne Howard
- Arike Ogunbowale
- Jordin Canada
- Rae Burrell
- Dearica Hamby
- Aliyah Boston
Team Rose
- Chelsea Gray
- Kahleah Copper
- Brittney Sykes
- Lexie Hull
- Angel Reese
- Azura Stevens
Team Laces
- Kelsey Plum
- Courtney Williams
- Kayla McBride
- Kate Martin
- Alyssa Thomas
- Stefanie Dolson
The games for Unrivaled begin on Jan. 17, 2025, in Miami. Unrivaled also recently announced a partnership with TNT to show more than 45 games. Matchups on Mondays and Fridays will be featured on TNT, and Saturday games will be on truTV. All games can be streamed on Max.
