Unrivaled's 1-on-1 tournament will begin Wednesday, with Kelsey Plum, Paige Bueckers, Allisha Gray, and Breanna Stewart coming into the competition as the top seeds. While Plum and Bueckers will be competing in their first 1-on-1 tournament in the, Gray was part of the event last year — and the Mist's Stewart will be on something of a revenge tour.
Stewart was knocked out of last's year tournament in the first round after she failed to score any points against fellow UConn graduate and her then teammate, Aaliyah Edwards. It's worth noting that Stewart underwent surgery to repair her meniscus only weeks later in mid-March, and was likely playing on a leg that wasn't as strong as it could have been.
Edwards also knocked Gray out of the tournament in the quarterfinals before ultimately losing to Napheesa Collier in the finals.
Sixteen players will return to Unrivaled's 1-on-1 tournament this year
In total, sixteen players will return to play in the 1-on-1 tournament this year, and the first round will include bouts between Chelsea Gray and Natasha Cloud, Kahleah Copper and Rickea Jackson, Marina Mabrey and Sonia Citron, and Aliyah Boston and Alyssa Thomas.
Unrivaled announced a few big trades Monday
The league kicked off this week with a big announcement: Courtney Williams, Azura Stevens, and Saniya Rivers are all being traded to other teams. Williams will depart the Vinyl BC to join the Breeze, Stevens will join the Hive BC from the Rose BC, and Rivers will go from the Hive BC to the Vinyl. It was not immediately clear what the Breeze may have traded for Williams or what trade the Rose made have made for Stevens.
News of the trade came after news that Aari McDonald, who was on the roster for the Breeze BC, has been ruled out of the remainder of the season due to a "right lower extremity injury." McDonald previously broke a bone in her right foot in August while playing for the Indiana Fever and was forced to sit out the remainder of the WNBA season, and it appears she's still working her way back from the injury.
The trade is a notable one for Williams, who will have the opportunity to mentor a team that's largely made up of younger players. The Breeze is coached by former Seattle Storm coach Noelle Quinn and the rest of the roster includes Bueckers, Cameron Brink, Rickea Jackson, Kate Martin, and Dominique Malonga.