#131: Unrivaled Power Rankings

I'm writing this from the spot in my office that I call the comfy chair. It's where I work from whenever I don't have to be on video for a million Zoom calls, or where I just have to work one-on-one with my boss.

It's 10 a.m. on a rainy Wednesday, and I'm tired as hell from experiencing my first mosh pit of my life at the age of 40.

But I'm riding the Blue Wave today, so I decided to put out a second newsletter in as many days to make up for the inconsistency over the last few months. Life has happened, yes, but it turns out that working a full-time job as a director and covering a WNBA team on nearly a full-time basis takes up a lot of time.

We aren't here for that today, though. Eventually, yes, but not today.

Today, it's about Unrivaled.

I was able to get a look at the rosters in advance like last year, and I have a piece for The IX Sports that should be live now, too.

They wanted me to just break down the rosters instead of doing a power ranking, so I'm going to do a power ranking here instead.

Here's my way-too-early power rankings with the season two months away.

No. 8: Breeze BC

• Paige Bueckers
• Kahleah Copper
• Dominique Malonga
• Kaitlyn Chen 
• DiJonai Carrington 
• Monique Billings

There's a lot that I like about this team, especially the two-person game with Paige and Dom. Getting a reunion of Paige and Kaitlyn is fun, but I do worry that the Breeze are more top-heavy than some of the other rosters in Unrivaled. If we get healthy DiJonai returning to seatbelt SZN fashion, they could jump up.

No. 7: Phantom

• Kelsey Plum
• Kayla McBride
• Aaliyah Edwards
• Natasha Cloud
• Tiffany Hayes
• Li Yueru

I was Ghost Gang in Season 1 with Sabrina Ionescu on the roster, and they overachieved last year. There are a lot of pieces I like with this roster, as they are headlined by quick guards that can push the pace, which is what head coach Roneeka Hodges wants to do in the format. Edwards turns into a different player in the format, and Kayla McBride is back, too. I worry about the health of Kelsey Plum and Natasha Cloud, as well as the long season that TIP is coming off of. If Edwards can't capture her Unrivaled magic, the Phantom could be in trouble when it comes to their size.

No. 6: Hive BC

• Olivia Miles
• Sonia Citron
• Cameron Brink
• Natisha Hiedeman
• Rae Burrell
• Naz Hillmon

Olivia Miles could carry the Hive to a top spot in a similar fashion to Chelsea Gray with Rose BC. I can't wait to watch her operate with all of this space, man. We know that Sweet Baby Rae turns it on during Unrivaled season, and I'm expecting nothing less from that again. An advantage this team has is that they have two bigs who are able to space the floor and hit long-range shots in Cam and Naz.

No. 5: Rose BC

• Chelsea Gray
• Brittney Sykes
• Shakira Austin
• Aziaha James
• Lexie Hull
• Kayla Thornton

Do I love this roster? I don't. Does any roster with Mrs. Unrivaled Chelsea Gray have to be in the top five at least to start? It does. Her and Shakira are a great pairing and should feast in the pick-and-pops with the space provided. If Slim is healthy, this could be a fun team. Aziaha James broke out last season in Unrivaled and she bulked up. I'm interested in seeing how Thornton adjusts to the format.

No. 4: Laces

• Jackie Young
• Gabby Williams
• Jess Shepard
• Marine Johannès 
• Maddy Siegrist
• Satou Sabally

Gabby Williams won the title for the gays, and now she gets to play on the same team as her partner. I fucking love women's basketball, man. The men could never. Marine in this format could be must-watch. Is Satou able to play? I want her to, of course, but I just want her to be able to live a normal life more, you know? Jess as a rim-runner should be fun with Jackie, Marine, and Gabby on the wings.

No. 3: Mist BC

• Veronica Burton
• Bridget Carleton
• Breanna Stewart 
• Arike Ogunbowale
• Kiki Rice
• Izzy Harrison

Imagine facing Stewie, VB, and Arike to start, only for Kiki and BC to come off the bench. Misties will be happy again. Kiki is one of the players that I'm most excited to watch this season in Unrivaled. She's so damn good in the open court.

No. 2: Vinyl BC

• Allisha Gray
• Rhyne Howard 
• Dearica Hamby 
• Jordin Canada
• Flau'jae Johnson
• Aneesah Morrow

This is so fun. It's 60 percent of the starting lineup that just went to the WNBA Finals for the Dream. Plus, Hamby is a returner and is from Atlanta, too, if you want to keep the connection going. Flau'jae is from Georgia, too, but she gets to reunite with LSU teammate Aneesah Morrow. It's a small team but this team is going to push the pace and be physical as hell with Aneesah and Dearica.

No. 1: Lunar Owls

• Courtney Williams 
• Marina Mabrey
• Napheesa Collier
• Skylar Diggins
• Sydney Taylor
• Temi Fágbénlé

Phee is back after missing last season, and she returns to a team that had Marina Mabrey and Skylar Diggins last year, as well as reuniting with Courtney Williams – her Minnesota teammate – who played for the Lunar Owls in Season 1. If that isn't enough, they added Sydney Taylor who is currently showing out for USA 3x3. They are the favorite to win the title. Hands down.