Unrivaled wrapped up its regular season in style with a historic event, which drew 18,261 fans to Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Monday night.
And the stars were definitely out, on and off the court, for two entertaining matchups. It seemed like every single timeout or dead ball, an opportunity was taken to highlight a different celebrity or athlete, and they still didn’t get to everyone.
Some celebrities that were present at Barclays were retired soccer stars Alex Morgan and Kelley O’Hara, actor Ashton Kutcher, Olympic hockey gold medalist Hilary Knight and her fiancé, Olympic speed skater Brittany Bowe, just to name a few.
Knight and Bowe received a standing ovation from the crowd in what may have been some of the loudest cheers of the night.
Game one
The first game, featuring the Phantom BC and the Vinyl BC, went back and forth and came down to the wire at the very end. The Phantom eventually landed on top, defeating the Vinyl 83-75.
The two clubs combined for the most first-half points (95) in a playoff game as WNBA teammates Kelsey Plum and Dearica Hamby fought back and forth and led their respective teams in points.
Ahead of the semifinals in New York, Unrivaled announced that Phantom’s Aliyah Boston and guard Dana Evans had been ruled out for the remainder of the season. Aziaha James helped to fill in once again, along with fellow developmental pool forward Makayla Timpson.
Plum had herself another 30-point game. All three of Phantom’s starters scored in double-figures with guard Tiffany Hayes adding 19 points and forward Kiki Iriafen adding 17 points and 11 rebounds.
Plum joked at center court after the game that she usually gets booed in Barclays Center and thanked the fans for their support this time around.
Game two
The second game between the Breeze BC and Mist BC looked like it was going to be a blowout Breeze victory, but the Mist were able to come back after going on a 10-0 run and outscoring the Breeze 18-7 in the fourth quarter.
Mist BC wing Arike Ogunbowale is known to hit big game-winners, and she did it again to win the game. Ogunbowale has hit multiple game-winning three-pointers during the NCAA March Madness tournament in college and reflected on the comparison between then and now.
“It might not be the same level, but it’s more money than I ever made in a game winner. So it’s the same level to me. It’s $100k on the line,” Ogunbowale said with a laugh.
Mist BC forward Breanna Stewart got a warm welcome as she not only returned back to her home state but also to her home WNBA arena. Every time Stewart made a shot the arena erupted, shaking the walls.
“Being back at Barclays was really exciting,” Stewart told reporters after the game. “It’s something that once I knew it was happening, I was like, my team has to be here, I want to be playing in this game. […] Being back in this atmosphere and then speaking to the fans before the game, that was something that was really cool for me.
“[I’m] really proud of … this is, Phee and I’s kind of baby, this is our project,” Stewart continued. “To see where we’ve gone from year one to year two and where we want to keep going is something that’s really special. And to be able to make stops in the places that matter the most to us. [I] can’t wait to keep doing more.”
Both the Mist and the Phantom have punched their tickets to Unrivaled’s 2026 championship game on Thursday night, beginning at 9:30 p.m. on TNT/TruTV/HBO MAX.
Brooklyn marked yet another tour stop for Unrivaled that showed the growth and success of women’s sports. Fans were collectively chanting “pay the players” at one point during the first game as they showed camaraderie with the players during their continued CBA negotiations.
Unrivaled president Alex Bazzell spoke to the media pregame and said that they weren’t sure if players were going to be receptive of traveling. Unrivaled originally established itself as having resources all in one place.
Unrivaled has already said that they would be making multiple tour stops next season and are prioritizing hitting new markets.
“But to be frank, when we returned from Philly, there were four teams that were kind of jealous that the other four teams had the experience, and there was four other teams, once we got back, they’re like, when can we go again? So it’s just funny, one experience can change the mindset of an entire building,” Bazzell told reporters.
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Hive, Owls eliminated
The Hive BC and Lunar Owls BC both wrapped up their seasons on Friday. The Lunar Owls defeated the Hive 84-71 after both teams were already eliminated from playoff contention.
Lunar Owls wing Marina Mabrey and guard Skylar Diggins combined for 63 total points. Mabrey finished the game with 33 points, seven rebounds and three steals and Diggins finished with 30 points and eight rebounds.
The Lunar Owls have talked about how their team didn’t quit and emphasized finishing the season strong despite their injury troubles.
“We had to deal with a lot this season,” Lunar Owls head coach DJ Sackmann told reporters postgame. “And it was really hard for us to find rhythm because of not just [the] lack of playing in games, but practice as well, minute restrictions, injuries here and there. So I do feel like we fought after those first couple games. We fought every single night, and we showed up to practice, we showed up to the games, and we competed and got after it.
“I’m really proud of the group,” Sackmann continued. “[They] didn’t skip any days, and we had especially a lot of individual wins. Players coming back from difficult injuries, came out here and competed on a consistent basis. So, just really proud.”
With injuries looming and games not resulting how the team wanted, the Lunar Owls focused on other wins, like the relationships the teammates built. The Lunar Owls duo of Mabrey and Diggins, both Notre Dame alums, have known each other for a while but never got the chance to play together until now.
“I understand her, I see her, I feel the things she feels,” Diggins told reporters. “You know, I might be a little bit further in my process, because I’m so much older than her, but to see her on the floor and share the court with Marina [Mabrey] this year, it was amazing, and not just because of who she is, as a killer, but just as a teammate, [she’s] going to show up, going to be in the gym, going to lead by example, going to always bring the gritty energy that we need.
“[She] has no friends out there on the floor,” Diggins continued. “How she competes, everybody is faceless and just trying to go at everybody, and I identify with that. And so we’re cut from the same cloth there. […] I wish I was healthy all year to be able to rock out with her like we did tonight, but maybe this is just a preview for what we could do next year on a fully healthy squad.”
Developmental Pool guard James subbed in for the Hive with three players listed on the injury report before the game; forward Azurá Stevens (left lower extremity), wing Sonia Citron (right lower extremity) and guard Natisha Hiedeman (left upper extremity). James posted a career high in points (23) and assists (7).
Hive BC forward Monique Billings set a new single-season double-double record (10) with 16 points and 15 rebounds against the Lunar Owls.
“I think something that really empowered me this season was being able to work with Lisa Leslie,” Billings told reporters postgame. “She’s been great. Those double-doubles came from conversations with her. She really just lit a fire underneath me. And, I hope I get to come back and play in Unrivaled.”
The Hive finished the regular season ranked last with a 10-4 record. Similar to the Lunar Owls, the Hive BC also faced a lot of adversity this season.
“This whole season, it was a grind,” Billings said. “[I] didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t know if I’d even like three-on-three, but I had a good time. I enjoyed myself [and] I had great people around me. We didn’t always get the results that we wanted, but I feel like we worked really hard. Our word, I would say, was just being resilient. That’s what we were talking about in the locker room.”
Regular season awards
With the season coming to a close, Unrivaled announced its regular-season award winners. The results included voting from Unrivaled players, coaches, fans and a national panel of sportswriters and broadcasters.
Breeze BC guard Paige Bueckers, Rose BC guard Chelsea Gray and Phantom BC guard Kelsey Plum have been selected to Unrivaled’s First Team. Additionally, Laces BC wing Brittney Sykes, Mist BC guard Allisha Gray and Phantom BC forward Aliyah Boston received Second Team honors.
All three players named to the first team averaged 22 points or more per game.
Unrivaled clarified that players were “selected without regard to position.” Each player and coach received a vote, and 21 media members voted for the award as well.
The votes were weighted with 35 percent of the votes coming from players, 35 percent from coaches and 30 percent from media.
Chelsea Gray was named the 2026 Unrivaled Most Valuable Player. Gray averaged 24.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 6.1 assists while leading the league in total points(339), assists(85), three-point field goals (49), and assists for game.
C. Gray was also crowned “The One” in the second Unrivaled one-on-one tournament in league history. She is the second to accomplish the feat, following Unrivaled co-founder Napheesa Collier, who won both the one-on-one tournament and MVP award in last year’s inaugural season.
In addition to being named to the second team, Aliyah Boston was named the Defensive Player of the Year. Boston set a new single-season Unrivaled scoring record with 29 blocks in 14 games and ranked first for blocks per game (2.1).
She also finished the regular season ranked second league-wide in total defensive rebounds (111).
Phantom BC head coach Roneeka Hodges, in her first professional head coaching position, has been named Coach of the Year.
She led Phantom BC to the top seed in the playoffs with an 11-3 record. Phantom did not make the playoffs in 2025, finishing in last place in Unrivaled’s inaugural season.
Now, Hodges and Phantom will compete for their first championship as well.
Rose get knocked out in first round
The first round of the 2026 playoffs began on Saturday, featuring two games, Vinyl BC v. Laces BC and Breeze BC v. Rose BC. The top two seeds earned a bye and automatically advanced to the semifinals in Brooklyn.
In the first game, the Breeze knocked off the reigning champion Rose BC in a 69-50 win. The Breeze asserted their dominance early on, while the Rose had some troubles knocking down a three-pointer and shooting only 25% from the arc.
Bueckers scored a game-high 29 points to help her team advance to the next round.
Vinyl upset Laces
In the second game, the Vinyl BC took down the higher-seeded Laces BC 82-69. Vinyl forward Dearica Hamby notched 25 points and wing Rhyne Howard recorded 30 points and eight rebounds in their win.
Laces head coach Andrew Wade weighed in on his team’s performance and praised the Vinyl for their elite shot making, despite their loss.
“Truthfully, we were executing coverages, and they hit some really tough shots,” Wade told reporters. “And that’s what some of the greatest players in the world do. And so again, proud of our effort. It’s unfortunate to go out the way we did, but sometimes shot goes in, and you got to live with it.”
Free throw challenge complete
Allisha Gray was announced as the second free-throw challenge winner of the season, earning a $50,000 prize. Gray was recognized in Brooklyn, N.Y., on Tuesday for her accomplishment after shooting a perfect 14-for-14 from the line.
The contest was renewed by Unrivaled and Xfinity after a successful first run, where Bueckers won the challenge. Players had the chance to compete for the highest free-throw percentage throughout the entire regular season.
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