Unrivaled President Lauds Paige Bueckers as 'Culture-Setter' for Women's Basketball
The second season of the Unrivaled women's basketball league kicked off Monday, with all eight teams in action.
A freshly expanded 54-player pool features some notable new faces, from veterans Kelsey Plum and Kelsey Mitchell to rookies Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen. But perhaps no addition is more impactful than the WNBA's reigning Rookie of the Year, Paige Bueckers.
"Paige is a superstar," Unrivaled president Alex Bazell told media ahead of tip-off Monday. "Paige is someone that raises the level of everyone else. I think that's what's really important."
Bueckers scored a game-high 24 points in her Unrivaled debut and led the expansion Breeze BC to a 69-62 win over Phantom BC. Only Seattle Storm guard Chelsea Gray finished with a higher output in the 3-on-3 league's opening slate, racking up 35 points for Rose BC earlier that night.
Paige Bueckers tonight 🔥
— Women’s Hoops Network (@WomensHoops_USA) January 6, 2026
• 24 points
• 6 assists
• 5 rebounds
• 2 blocks
• 7/15 FGpic.twitter.com/XWuIU9Zq6b
"It's not an individual sport, but individuals do set tones of culture," Bazell proclaimed. "She's one of the culture-setters for us, and women's basketball as a whole."
Selected No. 1 overall by the Dallas Wings in the 2025 WNBA Draft, Bueckers led all rookies in points and assists. Her 19.2 points per game ranked fifth in the league, trailing only league-MVP A'ja Wilson, Unrivaled co-founder Napheesa Collier, Mitchell, and Plum.
Thus, adding the 24-year-old to Unrivaled was a no-brainer, especially as the league becomes a hotbed for premier WNBA talent in the offseason. Bueckers joins a Breeze roster led by former Storm head coach Noelle Quinn, featuring Los Angeles Sparks forward Cameron Brink, Golden State Valkyries guard Kate Martin, and fellow rookie Dominique Malonga, amongst others.
First ever WIN for Breeze BC 🌬️ Team Youngins put everyone on notice tonight pic.twitter.com/tN7tn1fSOD
— Unrivaled Basketball (@Unrivaledwbb) January 6, 2026
Bazell didn't shy away from the fact that getting Bueckers for season No. 2 was a top priority.
"I've been very proactive since Paige has been very young of knowing how good she is," Bazell declared. "She's been really ahead of her time--not just on the court, but off the court."
Prior to her rookie season in the WNBA, Bueckers enjoyed an illustrious career at UConn, graduating with the highest career scoring average (19.8 PPG) in program history and leading the Huskies to their twelfth national title in 2025.
'This is just the beginning': Paige Bueckers Backs Unrivaled with Confident Statement
Of course, Unrivaled is a two-way street for players and executives alike. While Bazell and commissioner Micky Lawler benefit from increased starpower and visibility, the players gain leverage and another platform to grow the brand of women's basketball.
As CBA negotiations in the WNBA stall into January, that's quite an asset to have in their back pocket.
"Being on this side with Unrivaled, I know what it takes to run a sustainable business. I think if they can't find a model that makes it happen, they need to put people in place who can."
— Winsidr (@Winsidr) January 6, 2026
Napheesa Collier on the current CBA negotiations 👀 pic.twitter.com/DJz1xz6VNV
"This is just the beginning," Bueckers asserted during Monday's postgame press conference. "This is not a secondary league. This is really good, competitive basketball."
Bazell sees a path forward to even greater success in the years to come.
"I love where we're at right now," he noted. "What we want to build this into is the Champions League women's basketball, right? And that's not a competition towards the WNBA, it's just where we feel we can position ourselves in the market."
The addition of players like Bueckers only helps the cause.
"The fans are enjoying it, and honestly, the players are enjoying it too," Bazell continued. " I think you love to play with other great players, and I think that's going to be really key for us as we grow."
With a strong talent base already in place and a format that encourages fast-paced play, there's a chance Unrivaled has barely scraped the surface of its potential.
Lou Orlando is a Fordham University alum, graduating with a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism. At Rose Hill, he covered women's basketball for the university newspaper, the Fordham Ram. In addition to calling games on 90.7 FM. The Brooklyn native enjoys bagels and thinking about random early-2010s athletes, that is when he isn't penning stories for Women's Fastbreak and Indiana Fever On SI.
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