Liberty star Breanna Stewart is set to join forces with a teammate of old and one of now during Unrivaled Basketball’s debut season. She’ll also be reunited with a coach who’s already left a mark on her career.
Stewart was assigned to the Mist on Wednesday along with Liberty guard Courtney Vandersloot and Seattle Storm guard Jewell Loyd.
Stewart spent the past two seasons and won a title with Vandersloot, who’s about to become a free agent. Before making the move to New York, though, Stewart had spent her first seven WNBA seasons playing alongside Loyd for the Storm.
The Mist, who will be coached by long-time NBA assistant and former Storm consultant Phil Henry, will also feature Sun guard Dijonai Carrington, Sparks forward Rickea Jackson and Mystics forward Aaliyah Edwards.
Stewart may be a co-founder of Unrivaled Basketball, a new 3-on-3 league set to make its debut early next year. But the Liberty star didn’t hold back her excitement specifically for the team she was assigned to for the inaugural season as she was reacting live to of the club selection.
“Oh my team is good,” Stewart .
The same, though, could be said about the five other teams.
Throughout the 22-minute YouTube broadcast of the club selection — a specific run time that some speculated could hint that Caitlin Clark may soon join the league — the six Unrivaled coaches were seen gathered in a Miami conference room, where they debated on which player should go to which team. The goal was to try to create as balanced as rosters as possible to create a more competitive product. That can be quite the challenge considering the pool of prospects was filled with some of the WNBA’s most tantalizing talents, including Angel Reese, Brittney Griner, Arike Ogunbowale and Chelsea Gray.
There was a clear emphasis on pairing players who will not only complement one another’s style but help with further developing each players’ skills.
In fact, part of the reason Stewart and Napheesa Collier teamed up to launch Unrivaled Basketball was to give WNBA players an opportunity to not only earn money but continue to grow their games in the U.S., rather than having to spend their offseason playing overseas to supplement their incomes.
All six coaches — Handy, Teresa Weatherspoon, Adam Harrington, DJ Sackmann, Nola Henry and Andrew Wade — have backgrounds in player development.
“Player development is how I got started as a coach in the NBA, but that’s just one part of it,” Handy said. “The player development side for me .. that’s just kind of what I do on a natural side but being able to work with Stewie and the rest of these ladies on the team the 10 weeks is going to be a great opportunity for each of these players to become better individually and in some mall sided team concepts. So I’m really just excited about helping each one of these ladies improve their game over the 10 weeks.”
Handy called the experience of building the rosters alongside his soon-to-be opposing coaches was “very unique.
“I don’t think there’s ever been anything like this,” Handy said, “in the sense you get six coaches in a room and you start dissecting rosters.”
As an assistant on the Los Angeles Lakers staff, Handy said he served as a consultant for the Seattle Storm and spent part of the NBA offseason working behind the scenes with players, including Stewart and Loyd. He said he’s excited to get to work with them once again.
The feeling seems to be mutual for Stewart.
“Gang is back together!!!!!” Stewart while tagging Handy’s handle.
Unrivaled’s eight-week season is scheduled to tip off Jan. 17 in Miami. Two of the 36 roster spots remain vacant but are expected to be filled before the season begins. Some were hoping that Clark might be one of them, though ESPN reported Wednesday night that the Fever star will not participate this time around.
The rosters have been set, and coaches assigned, for the inaugural Unrivaled Basketball season.
Here’s a full breakdown of each team:
Vinyl
Coached by former Sky coach Teresa Weatherspoon
Arike Ogunbowale, G, Dallas Wings; Rhyne Howard, G, Atlanta Dream; Aliyah Boston, F, Indiana Fever; Rae Burrell, G, Los Angeles Sparks; Jordin Canada, G, Seattle Storm; Dearica Hamby, F, Los Angeles Sparks
Rose
Coached by former Sparks player development coach Nola Henry
Chelsea Gray, G, Las Vegas Aces; Kahleah Copper, G, Phoenix Mercury; Angel Reese, F, Chicago Sky; Lexie Hull, G, Indiana Fever; Brittney Sykes, G, Washington Mystics; Azura Stevens, F, Los Angeles Sparks
Mist
Coached by longtime NBA assistant coach Phil Handy
Jewell Loyd, G, Seattle Storm; Dijonai Carrington, G, Connecticut Sun; Breanna Stewart, F, New York Liberty; Courtney Vandersloot, G, New York Liberty; Rickea Jackson, F, Los Angeles Sparks; Aaliyah Edwards, F, Washington Mystics
Lunar Owls
Coached by NBA/WNBA skills coach DJ Sackmann
Skylar Diggins-Smith, G, Seattle Storm; Allisha Gray, G, Atlanta Dream; Napheesa Collier, F, Minnesota Lynx; Natasha Cloud, G, Phoenix Mercury; Shakira Austin, F, Washington Mystics; Wild card*
Phantom
Coached by former Nets assistant and director of player development Adam Harrington
Jackie Young, G, Las Vegas Aces; Marina Mabrey, G, Connecticut Sun; Satou Sabally, F, Dallas Wings; Tiffany Hayes, G, Las Vegas Aces; Brittney Griner, F, Phoenix Mercury; Wild card*
Laces
Coached by Mystics player development assistant coach Andrew Wade
Kelsey Plum, G, Las Vegas Aces; Kayla McBride, G, Minnesota Lynx; Alyssa Thomas, F, Connecticut Sun; Courtney Williams, G, Minnesota Lynx; Kate Martin, G, Las Vegas Aces; Stefanie Dolson, F, Washington Mystics
* The two wild cards are open roster spots that are expected to be filled at a later date.
