2025 Unrivaled season
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2025 season of Unrivaled was the league's inaugural season. Six teams played a regular season of matches in January to March to contest four places in a single-elimination playoff tournament that determined the champions of the league.
| 2025 Unrivaled season | |
|---|---|
| League | Unrivaled |
| Sport | Basketball (three-on-three) |
| Duration | January 17 – March 17, 2025 |
| Games | 48 |
| Teams | 6 |
| TV partner(s) | TNT and TruTV |
| Streaming partner | Max |
| Regular season | |
| Season MVP | Napheesa Collier (Lunar Owls) |
| Playoffs | |
| Finals champions | Rose BC |
| Runners-up | Vinyl BC |
| Finals MVP | Chelsea Gray (Rose) |
Teams and coaches
In October 2024, the inaugural six team names were announced.[1] For the 2025 season, teams did not have designated geographic connections, although the branding was created with a consideration for potential future sale and relocation of the teams.[1]
In November 2024, the 2025 head coaches were announced: Phil Handy, Adam Harrington, Nola Henry, DJ Sackmann, Teresa Weatherspoon, and Andrew Wade.[2] On November 20, after the team selection, the head coaches were each assigned to a team.[3]
| Team | Head coach |
|---|---|
| Laces BC | Andrew Wade |
| Lunar Owls BC | DJ Sackmann |
| Mist BC | Phil Handy |
| Phantom BC | Adam Harrington |
| Rose BC | Nola Henry |
| Vinyl BC | Teresa Weatherspoon |
Rosters
For the inaugural season, Unrivaled was originally announced to consist of 30 professional players with six 5-player teams.[4] Starting in July 2024, the players for the 2025 season began to be announced one-by-one on Unrivaled's social media accounts.[4] Hints were given on social media before roster announcements, encouraging fans to engage and make their guesses on the next Unrivaled roster addition. In late October 2024, the league announced it had "surpassed its initial financial targets" and would be expanding the inaugural season roster to 36 total players and increase the individual team roster size to six players.[5]
On November 20, 2024, players were divvied into their Unrivaled teams with the event being streamed on the league's YouTube channel.[6][7] During the selection process, players were assigned to six pods (six players in each pod).[8] The head coaches then assigned one player from each pod to create balanced rosters for each club. Once all rosters were set, the head coaches were then made aware of which team they would be coaching for the 2025 season.[8] At the time of the selection show, only 34 players had been confirmed to be participating in the 2025 season.[9] The final two players were drafted as wildcards within Pod D and went to Lunar Owls BC and Phantom BC.[10] Teams with a wildcard selection were able to recruit and sign player of their choosing.
In late November 2024, Kelsey Plum announced via social media that she would no longer be playing in the 2025 season and instead would "take some more time for myself this offseason," leaving Laces BC with a wildcard spot.[11] On December 17, 2024, Cameron Brink signed a multiyear deal with the Lunar Owls; however, Brink did not appear in the league until the 2026 season due to injury.[12] And on December 20, 2024, it was announced that Katie Lou Samuelson had signed with Phantom BC.[13] On December 21, 2024, the league's first trades were announced: Laces BC traded Courtney Williams to Lunar Owls BC for Natasha Cloud. Laces BC then traded Cloud and their wildcard pick to Phantom BC in exchange for Jackie Young and Tiffany Hayes.[14] The final wildcard spot, belonging to Phantom BC, was filled by Sabrina Ionescu on December 23, 2024, in a signing deal that "puts her in a category of her own" in the Unrivaled league.[15][16]
| (c) | Denotes captain of basketball club[17] |
| Player (in bold text) | Denotes wildcard selection |
| Player (in italic text) | Denotes did not appear in league in the 2025 season |
| Teams | Players | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pod A | Pod B | Pod C | Pod D | Pod E | Pod F | ||
| Laces BC | Jackie Young | Tiffany Hayes | Kayla McBride | Kate Martin | Alyssa Thomas (c) | Stefanie Dolson | |
| Lunar Owls BC | Skylar Diggins-Smith | Courtney Williams | Allisha Gray | Cameron Brink[12][18] | Napheesa Collier (c) | Shakira Austin | |
| Mist BC | Jewell Loyd | Courtney Vandersloot | DiJonai Carrington | Rickea Jackson | Breanna Stewart (c) | Aaliyah Edwards | |
| Phantom BC | Sabrina Ionescu[15] | Natasha Cloud | Marina Mabrey | Katie Lou Samuelson[13] | Satou Sabally (c) | Brittney Griner | |
| Rose BC | Chelsea Gray (c) | Brittney Sykes | Kahleah Copper | Lexie Hull | Angel Reese | Azurá Stevens | |
| Vinyl BC | Arike Ogunbowale (c) | Jordin Canada | Rhyne Howard | Rae Burrell | Aliyah Boston | Dearica Hamby | |
Relief players
- Natisha Hiedeman: Phantom BC (January 17–27; March 3–8); Laces BC (January 27–March 3); Rose BC (March 16–17)[19][20][21]
- NaLyssa Smith: Mist BC (January 24–March 10)[22]
- Kiki Jefferson: Laces BC (February 8–20; March 3–8); Rose BC (February 21–March 1); Lunar Owls BC (March 16)[23]
- Betnijah Laney-Hamilton: Laces BC (February 18–March 3)[24][25]
- Ariel Atkins: Rose BC (February 24–March 10); Laces BC (March 16)[26]
- Naz Hillmon: Rose BC (March 16–17)[21]
Pre-season
Players reported to training camp on January 2, 2025.[27]
Regular season
The regular season began on January 17, 2025, with seven weeks of round-robin play.[27][28] For the 2025 season, all regular season games were played in a custom facility (Wayfair Arena) at Mediapro Studios in the Miami suburb of Medley, Florida.[29] Regular season games occurred three nights a week with two games played each night.[30]
Standings
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | Rec. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | x – Lunar Owls BC | 13 | 1 | .929 | – | 13–1 |
| 2 | x – Rose BC | 8 | 6 | .571 | 5 | 8–6 |
| 3 | x – Laces BC | 7 | 7 | .500 | 6 | 7–7 |
| 4 | x – Vinyl BC | 5 | 9 | .357 | 8 | 5–9 |
| 5 | e – Mist BC | 5 | 9 | .357 | 8 | 5–9 |
| 6 | e – Phantom BC | 4 | 10 | .286 | 9 | 4–10 |
Notes:
- (#) – League Standing
- x – Clinched playoff berth
- e – Eliminated from playoff contention
1 on 1 tournament
A one-on-one single-elimination tournament took place mid-season, February 10–14, 2025, with the winner earning $200,000.[31][a] In January 2025, Sprite was named the presenting partner of the 2025 1-on-1 tournament.[33] The runner-up of the tournament earned $50,000 and the remaining two semi-finalists earned $25,000 each. Additionally, clubmates of the winner earned $10,000 each.[34]
All games for the one-on-one tournament were played with a continuous clock to a winning score of 11 points or to 10 minutes in length, whichever occurred first. The shot clock was set at seven seconds with players earning next possession after each made shot (also known as make it, take it or winner's ball).[31]
From January 30 to February 2, 2025, fans were able to vote for any of the 30 players to determine their seedings within pods for the first round.[31] The first round began on February 10 and consisted of fourteen single-elimination 1-on-1 games across two televised sessions, with the top seeds in Pods A and D getting byes in the first round.[31] Eight second round games followed by the 4 quarterfinal games aired on February 11 on truTV.[34] The final four remaining players appeared in the semifinals on February 14 and was followed immediately after with a best of three games for the final.[34] Notable exclusions from the player pool include Stefanie Dolson, Brittney Griner, Sabrina Ionescu, Angel Reese, and Courtney Vandersloot, as well as the league's 2025 relief players.[34]
On February 9, the league announced that Natasha Cloud, Tiffany Hayes, Marina Mabrey, Kate Martin, Kayla McBride, Alyssa Thomas, and Brittney Sykes had withdrawn from the 2025 1 on 1 tournament due to injury, resulting in multiple walkovers in the bracket.[35]
Finals bracket
| Quarterfinals: Single elimination | Semifinals: Single elimination | Final: Best-of-3 | ||||||||||||||
| A-4 | Rae Burrell | 2 | ||||||||||||||
| A-6 | Azurá Stevens | 12 | ||||||||||||||
| A-6 | Azurá Stevens | 2 | ||||||||||||||
| B-1 | Napheesa Collier | 11 | ||||||||||||||
| B-1 | Napheesa Collier | 12 | ||||||||||||||
| B-6 | Courtney Williams | 4 | ||||||||||||||
| B-1 | Napheesa Collier | 6 | 9 | 8 | ||||||||||||
| C-8 | Aaliyah Edwards | 9 | 4 | 0 | ||||||||||||
| C-8 | Aaliyah Edwards | 12 | ||||||||||||||
| C-3 | Allisha Gray | 6 | ||||||||||||||
| C-8 | Aaliyah Edwards | 11 | ||||||||||||||
| D-1 | Arike Ogunbowale | 2 | ||||||||||||||
| D-1 | Arike Ogunbowale | 12 | ||||||||||||||
| D-3 | Satou Sabally | 8 | ||||||||||||||
Schedule
All games were played at the Wayfair Arena.
| 2025 Unrivaled regular season | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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January
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February
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March
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Playoffs and finals
At the conclusion of the regular season, the top four teams (Lunar Owls BC, Rose BC, Laces BC, and Vinyl BC) entered the playoffs to compete for the championship title in single-elimination games.[28] The postseason concluded on March 17, 2025.[27]
The first Unrivaled League Championship was won by Rose BC against Vinyl BC (62-54), with Chelsea Gray named as Finals MVP.
Bracket
| Semifinals | Final | ||||||||
| 1 | Lunar Owls BC | 70 | |||||||
| 4 | Vinyl BC | 73 | |||||||
| 4 | Vinyl BC | 54 | |||||||
| 2 | Rose BC | 62 | |||||||
| 2 | Rose BC | 63 | |||||||
| 3 | Laces BC | 57 | |||||||
Schedule
| 2025 Unrivaled playoffs | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Semifinals
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Finals
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Season award winners
IcyHot Comeback of the Week
| Week | Award Winner | Note | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 24 | Lunar Owls BC | 21–7 run in third quarter in Unrivaled's inaugural game vs. the Mist | [61] |
| January 29 | Phantom BC | 12 point comeback over the Mist to win their first game of the season | [62] |
| February 6 | Lunar Owls BC | 12 point comeback over the Laces | [63] |
| February 15 | Aaliyah Edwards | Performance in the 1-on-1 Tournament | [64] |
| February 20 | Kayla McBride | Returned from injury and dropped 30 points against the Phantom | [65] |
| March 6 | Mist BC | 10 point comeback over the Rose, putting them within playoff contention | [66] |
| March 13 | Jackie Young | Returned from injury and led the Laces to the playoffs with a combined 45 points and 10 rebounds in two games |
[67] |
Postseason awards
| Award | Winner | Position | Team | Votes/Statistic | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Most Valuable Player | Napheesa Collier | Forward | Lunar Owls BC | Not released | [68] |
| Finals MVP | Chelsea Gray | Guard | Rose BC | Not released | [69] |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Angel Reese | Forward | Rose BC | Not released | [70] |
| Leading Scorer | Napheesa Collier | Lunar Owls BC | 25.7 ppg | [71] | |
| Opill Total Rebound Leader | Angel Reese | Rose BC | 169 rebounds | [72] | |
| State Farm Season Assist Leader | Chelsea Gray | Guard | 76 assists | [73] | |
| Coach of the Year | DJ Sackmann | Head Coach | Lunar Owls BC | Not released | [74] |
| Team | Members | Ref. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All-Unrivaled First Team | Chelsea Gray | Kayla McBride | Napheesa Collier | [75] |
| All-Unrivaled Second Team | Angel Reese | Rhyne Howard | Skylar Diggins-Smith | |