Unrivaled is one week into the league's second-ever season and injuries are already causing problems. The league already announced Satou Sabally and Napheesa Collier will miss the 2026 season due to injuries sustained during the 2025 WNBA season, but other players have since gone down with injuries of their own.
The list includes Dana Evans, who has sustained a lower extremity injury, and potentially Tiffany Hayes (for a similar problem). The pair join Aari McDonald, Sabrina Ionescu, Kahleah Copper, and Brittney Griner as players who will miss part or all of the season due to injuries sustained before or during Unrivaled.
The injuries have already seen the activation of the developmental pool in full effect. Unrivaled announced the addition of a six-player developmental pool back in September. Adding the development pool to the mix was an especially smart move for the league. As fans and athletes learned last year, injuries are inevitable — and having six players ready to go at a moment’s notice for any team will help keep the games moving.
Some of the Unrivaled injuries predate this season
The first season of Unrivaled was also marked with a plethora of injuries, something at least one WNBA GM questioned in May 2025. Last year ESPN's Kendra Andrews published a deep look into all things Unrivaled and included interviews with anonymous WNBA GMs. As one GM told Andrews, there's league-wide concern about what kind of damage the league is doing to the players' bodies, and some even think that Unrivaled could be more taxing than playing overseas.
But it's pretty important to note that at least a few of the players who are missing time on the court during Unrivaled's second season were injured before they arrived in Miami. In addition to Ionescu, Collier, and Sabally, Aari McDonald previously broke her right foot during the WNBA season.
Aziaha James is set to make her Unrivaled debut
All these changes and injuries have paved the way for Aziaha James, who was drafted as the No. 12 overall pick by the Dallas Wings in 2025, to officially make her debut in Unrivaled. James was previously named as one of the developmental pool players, and will join the Phantom BC.
The team is currently dealing with the loss and/or absence of Sabally and Evans.
The other members of the developmental pool include Hailey Van Lith (Chicago Sky), Haley Jones (Dallas Wings), Emily Engstler (Washington Mystics), Laeticia Amihere (Golden State Valkyries), Makayla Timpson (Indiana Fever), and Kiana Williams.