Ranking the Top 20 Unrivaled Players Ahead of the 2026 Season
With the second season of Unrivaled tipping off Monday, the three-on-three league created by Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart is hoping for a bigger and better follow-up.
The league started by expanding to eight teams, adding 12 roster spots and an entire developmental pool of replacement players. Unrivaled has also expanded prize money, sponsorships and is moving to games four nights per week from the three it had last season.
With all that growth after just one season, hype has been building. Injuries have unfortunately caused some last-minute shifts, but overall, the rosters are strong and filled with exciting, young talent. These are the top 20 players in Unrivaled based on track record and expectations for the coming season.
Honorable Mention: Napheesa Collier, Lunar Owls BC
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Unrivaled's Season 1 MVP, Napheesa Collier, has a skill set tailored to the 3-on-three format the league has created.
She and her Lunar Owls dominated most of the league's first season, and Collier added on a one-on-one tournament championship and the MVP award to her accolades. Unfortunately, she won't be playing this year because of double ankle surgery.
The 29-year-old has been in the MVP conversation over the past two WNBA seasons, helping the Minnesota Lynx reach new heights. After co-creating Unrivaled with Breanna Stewart, she took to this league from both a player and leadership perspective and has helped it thrive.
Her recovery time from surgery is four to six months, which is a huge blow to the young league.
Nos. 16-20
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20. Ezi Magbegor, Hive BC
The Australian center should be a great asset to the Hive BC expansion team. As an international player, Magbegor was drafted into the WNBA at 19, and those extra years of development have made her a skilled, crafty and efficient rim protector and scorer.
19. Aaliyah Edwards, Lunar Owls BC
The 2025 one-on-one tournament runner-up gets the nod here in the rankings, after she tore through several more veteran players in the competition. Edwards could use a big developmental year in Unrivaled, too, after a midseason WNBA trade that stalled the breakout campaign she seemed poised for.
18. Natasha Cloud, Phantom BC
One of the best two-way point guards in the game, Cloud's on-court presence is only rivaled by her leadership. Her ability to be a floor general, hype up her teammates and be glue for the team is essential to her role as a veteran.
17. Brittney Sykes, Laces BC
Sykes had a big WNBA season, being traded from Washington to Seattle midseason. Her 14.1 points per game across the entire campaign helped both of her teams secure wins and find success, and that same inevitability will be needed in Unrivaled as well.
16. Arike Ogunbowale, Mist BC
Big shots and big moments are rewarded in Unrivaled's three-on-three format, and that's what Ogunbowale is known for. With target scores in the fourth quarter to end games. Her team will definitely look to her signature shotmaking.
Nos. 11-15
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15. Kelsey Mitchell, Hive BC
The veteran is heading to Unrivaled after an exciting few seasons with the Indiana Fever. Mitchell's pure determination and fundamental skill will serve her well in this format, and after scoring a career-high 20.2 points per game in the 2025 WNBA season, that boost should carry over to Miami.
14. Dearica Hamby, Vinyl BC
While Hamby is on a veteran-packed Vinyl Basketball Club, she will still need to have a huge impact on this team. Hamby's great footwork, ability to score efficiently in the paint, defensive skill and experience in the format make her a great three-on-three player.
13. Kelsey Plum, Phantom BC
Plum was going to be a part of Unrivaled's first season but decided last minute to opt out and focus on her personal life. Now, she's back, and after an incredible WNBA season with the Los Angeles Sparks, Plum will be a leader on Phantom BC. Her scoring ability (19.5 ppg in 2025) will benefit a frontcourt-heavy team.
12. Cameron Brink, Breeze BC
After sitting out last Unrivaled season while recovering from the ACL injury she suffered in her rookie campaign, Brink is back. Another seasoned 3x3 player, her size, rim defence and rebounding will be huge assets.
11. Rhyne Howard, Vinyl BC
A 3x3 Olympian with a bronze medal to show for it, Howard is a huge threat in this format. She can shoot and defend, and her 6'2" size at guard makes her hard to stop.
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10. Allisha Gray, Mist BC
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With her impressive shooting skills and ability to stay calm under pressure, Gray has become one of the stealthiest and most dangerous players in women's basketball. Seeing her paired with Breanna Stewart on Mist Basketball Club will be great fun.
Gray had a career-best season in 2025 with the Atlanta Dream, scoring 18.4 points per game and leading her team to the playoffs. She adapted flawlessly to Karl Smesko's system of high-volume shooting as well, shooting 38.4% from three.
Those skills translate to Unrivaled, and Mist will make use of her quick hands, accuracy and assisting skills. After missing the playoffs last season, Mist is looking to level up in 2026, and drafting Gray was a great start.
9. Satou Sabally, Phantom BC
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Satou Sabally is out indefinitely with ongoing concussion symptoms, but that doesn't mean she will miss the entire Unrivaled season. It's hard to predict a timeline regarding a head injury, but her Phantom Basketball Club will be eagerly awaiting her return.
Sabally is known as "The Unicorn" because of her versatility and ability to make a huge impact. This year especially, Sabally's presence was felt on the Phoenix Mercury, as she played a career-high 39 games and scored 16.3 points per night.
Injuries have always hindered Sabally from reaching her full potential, and it's sad to see her out again to start the Unrivaled season. If she is able to make it back, she will be a top player in the league and someone with a big shot of leading Phantom to wins.
8. Jackie Young, Laces BC
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Another member of the WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces, Jackie Young plays a quietly dominant brand of basketball. She was another player who spent most of the last Unrivaled season injured. In the end, Young played six games total, with a season high of 27 points.
She's not a flashy player and can get you 20-plus points subtly while also playing staunch perimeter defence and letting her fingerprints touch so many different parts of the game.
It's going to be thrilling to see her team up with Alyssa Thomas on Laces BC, especially since both players spent so much of last season injured. It's an intriguing pair, and both play that very quiet but incredibly skilled brand of basketball.
7. Skylar Diggins, Lunar Owls BC
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Now with Napheesa Collier out for the Unrivaled season, it will be up to Skylar Diggins to lead the Lunar Owls.
As the only returning player, the 35-year-old will need to step up if the Lunar Owls want to repeat their success from last season.
Diggins has one of the most unique play styles in women's basketball. She's one of the best players to watch with her high-arching shot, impressive floater game and ability to drive to the basket. She's fast, physical, and passionate.
It's not a stretch to say all players want to win, but watching Diggins makes it seem like she needs to win.
She only scored in single digits one time in the 2025 Unrivaled campaign, with a season high of 27 points. She's an instant candidate for getting a game-winning shot in the last quarter of Unrivaled games, because of the crafty way she operates.
6. Chelsea Gray, Rose BC
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Chelsea Gray had a winning year in 2025, starting with leading her Rose Basketball Club to the first Unrivaled championship. Then, she helped the Las Vegas Aces to their third WNBA title in four years.
There's a reason why the 33-year-old wins so many championships: She's one of those players who always turns it up when the lights are brightest.
One of the biggest parts of Gray's game is her passing ability. She has such good vision and passing ability, and she's also a great shooter (36.8 percent in the 2025 WNBA season).
Given the turnover Rose BC is facing (with a few returning faces), Gray is undoubtedly the leader of this team. It's something she is clearly good at, after helping the Aces create a dynasty.
5. Aliyah Boston, Phantom BC
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Aliyah Boston is one of the brightest young stars in women's basketball, and now, with three years of experience, she is confident on the court.
The 24-year-old had to step up a lot in Indiana this summer, given the number of injuries the Fever sustained over the WNBA season, and her dominant play style shone.
Yet, it's the leadership aspect that is the next phase of Boston's evolution, and Unrivaled is the perfect place to hone those skills.
It will be exciting to see her play with experienced players such as Natasha Cloud and Kelsey Plum on Phantom BC, given many of her teammates on the Fever are around her age or younger.
She'll have to step up quickly as well, with Phantom teammate Satou Sabally out indefinitely after suffering concussion symptoms from an injury in October.
4. Kahleah Copper, Rose BC
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Kahleah Copper helped lead Rose Basketball Club to the first Unrivaled championship in 2025, then the Phoenix Mercury to the 2025 WNBA Finals. She has such a unique skill set, often using her speed and agility to drive the ball into the paint and make big plays when her team needs them most.
The 31-year-old's game extends beyond her driving ability. Her 37.7 percent shooting from three in this past summer's WNBA season proves she is a floor-stretching threat. In a format where big end-of-game shots win contests, her ability to make a big moment happen makes her a must-watch player.
Her partnership with Chelsea Gray on Rose BC was also fun to watch, as one of the sport's best point guards teamed up with one of the league's best forwards. Now they're together again, Rose will be looking to repeat.
3. Breanna Stewart, Mist BC
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The other co-founder of Unrivaled, Breanna Stewart, is back and seemingly healthy after an injury-plagued year. She underwent surgery after the league's playoffs in March and later missed another month of the WNBA season with a separate injury.
Regardless, the 31-year-old is one of the greatest women's basketball players of all time, and even in a down year is still top tier. Even if the shots aren't falling—and she struggled with that during the WNBA season—her defense can still make a huge impact. Her long arms and crafty footwork make her a pest in the paint for opponents.
Maybe Miami is the perfect place for Stewart to get her shot back, as well. She shot a career-low 24.1 percent from three in the 2025 WNBA season, but the injuries had an impact.
Unrivaled is meant to be a low-pressure developmental environment, and without the stress of trying to repeat a championship, as the Liberty did in 2025, she can find a rhythm again.
2. Alyssa Thomas, Laces BC
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Alyssa Thomas did not get to play much in Unrivaled's first season after getting injured early and never fully recovering. But fans of the league are about to get a full view of how she impacts the game on so many levels.
Often called the "triple-double queen," she can score, of course, often making her mark through impossible-looking shots and a crafty form. She has vision, averaging double digits in assists in the WNBA, and is active on the glass, able to give her team second-chance opportunities or defend her own team's rim.
The thing that makes Thomas so lethal, though, is her stealth. She often does all of this on the floor without being too flashy about it. Her impact comes through quiet dominance, intricate fundamental skill and accuracy. She isn't one to score 30-plus points per game, but as her many triple-doubles prove, she fills a stat sheet effectively.
1. Paige Bueckers, Breeze BC
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The 2025 NCAA national champion, No. 1 overall WNBA draft pick and Rookie of the Year Paige Bueckers can also add Unrivaled No. 1 draft pick to her list of accomplishments.
As she joins the expansion Breeze Basketball Club, expectations are high for the 24-year-old who can quickly become a big threat in this format.
Bueckers has experience playing 3x3 for Team USA, but just knowing her game, she will likely thrive in Miami regardless. She is a technician of the mid-range game, able to sneakily skate her opponents and then finish with accuracy. She can also shoot from long range (33.1 percent as a rookie), and her floor vision is something that has been a part of her game since her early college days.
If Bueckers can't create her own opportunities, she won't have issues creating for her teammates. Having players like Cam Brink or Dom Malonga on her team will just enable her to continue her impressive pick-and-roll abilities—something she mastered at UConn with several teammates.
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