The 2026 season of Unrivaled Basketball, a 3-on-3 professional women’s basketball league founded by 5x All-Star, 2x Olympic gold medalist Napheesa Collier and 7x All-Star, 3x Olympic gold medalist Breanna Stewart, is quickly approaching. The league gives top WNBA players another option besides playing overseas or not playing during the offseason, while providing players with commensurate pay with what they make during the WNBA season. Unrivaled is a great opportunity for players to grow their skills while still playing at home in the U.S. It runs from January to March, with the past season held in Miami.
This year, Philadelphia will be hosting Unrivaled’s inaugural tour stop, for “Philly is Unrivaled Presented by Xfinity” at the Xfinity Mobile Arena. This is not only part of the league’s partnership with Xfinity, but also an initiative to bring women’s professional basketball to Philadelphia. On Jan. 30, 2026, four clubs within the league will play back-to-back games, being the first women’s professional basketball games in the city since 1998.
To prepare for and get excited for the upcoming Unrivaled season, let’s dive into the latest announcements and news related to Unrivaled! From new teams and coaches to the process of how this year’s club roster was created, here is everything you need to know before the 2026 Unrivaled Season.
The Draft Process
The 2026 club roster was revealed live on Nov. 5, showing the results of this year’s draft by the league’s coaches. According to CBS Sports, “The four teams that made the playoffs in Unrivaled’s inaugural season–Rose (reigning champions), Lunar Owls, Vinyl and Laces–were allowed to protect two players from last season’s roster, while the non-playoff teams–Phantom and Mist–could protect one player. The protected players remained on their roster and were not eligible to be drafted by another team.” Also, the two new expansion teams received the first and second picks during the draft.
Who are the 2026 Unrivaled Head Coaches?
Teresa Witherspoon, Andrew Wade, DJ Sackmann, and Nola Henry will be returning this year to coach. In addition, there are the season’s new coaches, Noelle Quinn, previous head coach for the Seattle Storm, Rena Wakama, who’s also the head coach of the Nigerian Women’s National Team, Roneeka Hodges, Connecticut Sun Assistant Coach, and Zach O’ Brien, New York Liberty Assistant Coach. Quinn and Wakama will be leading the new expansion teams.
2026 Club Roster Reveal
The basketball clubs (BC) for Unrivaled this year are Breeze, Hive, Laces, Lunar Owls, Mist, Phantom, Rose, and Vinyl. The two expansion teams, new to Unrivaled this year, are Breeze and Hive.
The Breeze roster includes the outstanding rookies and Unrivaled newcomers Paige Bueckers, Dominique Malonga, and Aari McDonald, as well as returners Rickea Jackson, Kate Martin, and Cameron Brink.
The Hive expansion team includes the well-rounded Kelsey Mitchell, Sonia Citron, Ezi Magbegor, Saniya Rivers, Mo Billings, and Natisha Heideman, with each player except Heideman new to the league this season.
The Lunar Owls have returners and protected players Napheesa Collier and Skylar Diggins, joined by a multi-faceted group of players: Marina Mabrey, Rachel Banham, Rebecca Allen, and Aaliyah Edwards.
The Mist’s protected player was Breanna Stewart, and she is joined by a powerful group of players: Allisha Gray, Alanna Smith, Veronica Burton, Arike Ogunbowale and Li Yueru.
The Rose’s protected players were Chelsea Gray and Kahleah Copper, and they’re joined by the composed Azura Stevens, Sug Sutton, Lexie Hull, and Shakira Austin.
For The Laces, the protected players were Jackie Young and Alyssa Thomas, and their teammates will be the relentless Brittney Sykes, Jordin Canada, Maddy Siegrest, and Naz Hillmon.
The Phantom’s protected players were Kelsey Plum and Satou Sabally, and the tenacious newcomers to the team will be Aaliyah Boston, Dana Evens, Natasha Cloud, and Kiki Iriafen.
For Team Vinyl, Rhyne Howard and Dearica Hamby were protected players, and alongside them will be a dynamic set of players: Courtney Williams, Erica Wheeler, Rae Burrell, and Brittney Griner.
The Season 2 Developmental Pool
The Developmental Pool is a group of six, building off the relief players, who will be part of Unrivaled for the whole season, “training and ready to go, building off the concept of released players’ spots,” according to host Renee Montgomery, during the official roster reveal. This tackles the struggle that was faced last season when injuries occurred, and players were being asked to fly at the last minute and join a team.
The 2026 developmental pool is comprised of Haley Van Lith, Aziaha James, Haley Jones, Emily Engstler, Laeticia Amihere, and Makayla Timpson.
Aaliyah Edwards, as a guest and analyst for the reveal show, emphasized the fact that the support of the league also helps the players with their individual brands. “The fans and supporters are not only investing in Unrivaled, but also they’re investing in us as players,” she says in the reveal.
Looking forward: who will be playing at Philly Unrivaled?
At Philly Unrivaled on Jan. 30, 2026, there will be two games, where The Breeze BC will be going against The Phantom BC at 7:30 ET, then The Rose BC will go up against The Lunar Owls BC at 8:45 ET. I will be attending the game, and I can’t wait to experience seeing some of the best players in professional women’s basketball in these matchups, especially right in Philadelphia! When I first began watching women’s basketball, I wouldn’t have expected that I’d be able to see my favorite players play in my city any time soon, especially since, at the moment, there won’t be a Philly WNBA team until 2030.
What Unrivaled offers to fans and players
As we anticipate the upcoming season, choose our favorite teams, and make predictions for who will become this year’s Unrivaled MVP, one thing is for sure: Unrivaled is continuing to raise the bar for women’s basketball.
I love that Unrivaled is taking steps to bring the game closer to fans everywhere and expand its visibility. All while offering a fresh take on women’s professional basketball with the new teams, players, coaches, and improvements, along with league-specific rules that make it more interesting to watch.
Not only is Unrivaled offering a new atmosphere to fans, but they’re also taking steps to make basketball more accessible to the players. The hard work and effort of the founders, along with the players and staff, is absolutely not going unnoticed. I’m looking forward to all that’s in store for Unrivaled’s second season, and I hope you will take this as a sign to tune in this year, too!