Unrivaled is officially back. Day one of Unrivaled’s second season featured four games: Mist vs. Hive, Vinyl vs. Laces, Lunar Owls vs. Rose, and Breeze vs. Phantom. The Mist, Laces, Rose, and Breeze all secured their first win of the season.
While one game is not nearly enough to judge teams’ potential throughout the entire season, two teams stood out as early title contenders on day one: Mist BC and Rose BC. Vinyl BC and Laces BC could quickly join that list.
Rose BC picked up right where it left off
After getting off to a slow start last season, Rose BC cruised to Unrivaled’s first championship, taking down Laces BC and Vinyl BC in the playoffs. Rose’s roster doesn’t look much different compared to last season. Chelsea Gray and Kahleah Copper were protected in the draft for the new season, and Nola Henry also managed to retain Lexie Hull and Azurá Stevens. Shakira Austin and Sug Sutton took over for Angel Reese and Brittney Sykes.
Copper missed the first game, but that didn’t stop her teammates from putting on a dominant display against the short-handed Lunar Owls. Gray made quite a statement with a 35-point performance. She also added five rebounds, eight assists, and three steals. Stevens was also hot early and finished the game with 19 points and 10 rebounds.
Hull did what she did best: play her role as a 3-and-D wing, tallying 7 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals. Austin and Sutton proved to be excellent additions to last season’s championship roster. Sutton finished the game with 7 points, 4 assists, and 5 big steals. Austin, meanwhile, established herself as a strong presence in the paint with 12 points, 6 rebounds, 1 steal, and 1 block.
Rose has a strong defensive core and several offensive weapons. The pick-and-roll action between Gray and either Stevens or Austin is pretty much unstoppable. Once Copper plays, the team should only get better. Now, they just have to play as well against a tougher opponent. With Collier out for the season and Skylar Diggins sidelined for the first game, the Lunar Owls are the weakest team in Unrivaled this season.
Mist BC looks much improved
Mist BC underwent a very thorough roster shakeup. Breanna Stewart is the only player left from last season’s roster. Her new team features Allisha Gray, Veronica Burton, Arike Ogunbowale, Alanna Smith, and Li Yueru. This new-look Mist roster features a fun mixture of scoring talent, size, and defensive versatility.
Mist’s roster features three standout defenders in Burton, Stewart, and Smith. Gray is also a very good defender, and Yueru offers a lot of size around the rim. Mist’s defensive talent was on full display in the first game of the day. Smith alone got five blocks. Burton finished the game with three steals and two blocks. The other four combined for three steals and two blocks.
Zach O’Brien’s team was also dominant on the other end of the floor, outscoring Hive by a significant margin. Allisha Gray was the driving force behind Mist’s strong offensive outing. She scored 21 points. Burton was next in line with 14 points. Stewart and Ogunbowale added 12 points each, Smith got ten points, and Yueru added three. While Mist only shot 27.8% from three in this game, the roster features a unique mixture of 3-point shooting and rim pressure. Every player on the roster can space the floor or attack the rim, and that versatility could very well make Mist one of the strongest teams in the league this season.