Paige Bueckers didn’t exactly land in the ‘perfect situation’ during her rookie season with the Dallas Wings. The roster was shaky, the expectations were unfair, and the pressure was constant. But in Unrivaled? Oh, the script is getting flipped… This time around, the WNBA Rookie of the Year isn’t walking into a rebuild. She’s stepping into a super-team that has fans excited!

Earlier this September, Unrivaled made one of its biggest moves yet, adding two new franchises, Breeze BC and Hive BC, for the 2026 season, thereby expanding the league to eight teams. The announcement came just days after Unrivaled revealed its eye-popping $340 million valuation, proving this new league is growing fast and gaining serious momentum.

With so much turnover in the player pool, Unrivaled hit the reset button on its rosters for 2026. Before the draft, the league split its 48 players into six groups, and each team had to pick one player from each group to ensure balance across the board. Teams that made the 2025 playoffs were allowed to hang onto two players from last season, while those that missed out could retain just one.

In this process, stars like Napheesa Collier and Skylar Diggins were retained by the Lunar Owls, who lost just one regular-season game, while Kahleah Copper and Chelsea Gray stuck with the defending champions. Dearica Hamby and Rhyne Howard remained with Vinyl, Satou Sabally stayed with Phantom, and Breanna Stewart continued with Mist. Over at Laces, Alyssa Thomas and Jackie Young were the two players held onto for another season.

Meanwhile, the league’s newest franchises — Breeze BC and Hive BC– were handed the first and second overall picks in the draft.

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With the first pick, Breeze BC made a statement by selecting Paige Bueckers. But they didn’t stop there. They surrounded her with elite young talent, adding Cameron Brink, Rickea Jackson, and Dominique Malonga to the roster. Between them, Breeze BC now boasts the first and second picks from the 2025 WNBA Draft, as well as the second and fourth picks from 2024. Naturally, after hearing this, fans went wild. Social media lit up the moment Breeze BC’s roster was unveiled!

Paige Bueckers’ Unrivaled entry has fans gearing up for massive box scores and ‘prayers’!

“Paige Bueckers, Rickea Jackson, Cameron Brink, Dominique Malonga, Kate Martin, Aari McDonald on the same team. Breeze BC may be my team this season of Unrivaled,” one fan commented, and can you really fault them for feeling that way?

We’ve already talked about the star power of Brink, Jackson, and Malonga, but this roster goes even deeper. Kate Martin is coming off a breakout Unrivaled season, dropping 52 points in just six games, while Aari McDonald was having a dream run in the WNBA, averaging 9.8 points and 4.7 assists with the Fever before a foot injury cut her season short. So, there’s a lot of excitement surrounding the team.

And let’s not overlook who’s running the show. It’s Noelle Quinn. With seven years of experience coaching the Seattle Storm in various roles, including a championship run, she brings some serious pedigree to Breeze BC. The 2018 WNBA Champ knows how to win, and now she’s got a roster loaded with young stars to mold. Excellent news for Paige Bueckers, too. Surrounded by talent and guided by an elite coach, she’s primed to take her game even further.

That’s exactly what the fans count on as well, with one of them saying, “she about to average 40 and a prayer 💪😂.” Of course, it was a joke, but when you’ve already broken the WNBA rookie single-game scoring record with 44 points, it doesn’t feel too far-fetched to think she could lead the league in scoring. Last season, Napheesa Collier topped the charts with 25.7 points per game. Could Paige beat that with Breeze BC’s stacked lineup behind her? We’ll find out soon enough.

Another fan said, “Paige Bueckers going to Breeze BC in her first year of Unrivaled is huge 👀. Even as a rookie, she’s already showing why she was such a standout in college and the WNBA her court vision, scoring ability, and leadership translate immediately. It’ll be fascinating to see how she adapts to a new league and team dynamics, but if her first-year stats are anything to go by, she could completely change the pace and style of play for Breeze BC. Year 1 is just the beginning of something special. Geeked up sha-ty” 

As a rookie with the Dallas Wings, Paige Bueckers rewrote the record books. The rookie was the fastest in WNBA history to reach 500 points and 100 assists, and the quickest ever to hit 450+ points, 100+ assists, and 100+ rebounds. All while averaging 19.2 points and 5.4 assists per game.

So, it’s easy to see why fans believe Paige could be the most essential piece for Breeze BC. She’s not just a bucket-getter; she’s someone who makes everyone around her better. And with all that talent around her, don’t be shocked if she ends up vying for the league’s top playmaker award instead of the scoring title.

That said, the LA Sparks fans wouldn’t exactly be thrilled to see what Breeze BC assembled this season. “Unrivaled giving the fans what the WNBA didn’t. Cameron Brink, Paige Bueckers, Rickea Jackson. CPR ➡️ Breeze BC 🌴,” said a fan, and he was joined by analyst Tyler DeLuca, who said, “Unrivaled letting us experience the timeline where the Sparks win the lottery and add Paige Bueckers to Rickea Jackson and Cameron Brink.”

For those who may not be familiar, the WNBA draft lottery is based on the combined winning percentage of the four teams with the worst records from the previous two seasons. So, heading into the 2025 draft, Sparks fans were feeling hopeful. After finishing near the bottom (12th and 9th, respectively) in each of the last two seasons, they thought the No. 1 pick was finally within reach. However, it actually fell to the Dallas Wings. For Sparks fans, it was a tough pill to swallow, and watching those three play for a team not named the Sparks was always going to sting.

Lastly, one fan highlighted a concern that’s hard to ignore: “I’m rooting for these women to succeed, but I can’t watch unless CC is playing. Do people actually watch this though?”

An interesting point. For the second straight season, Caitlin Clark won’t be part of Unrivaled. Adding to the disappointment, stars like Angel Reese, Sabrina Ionescu, and Kayla McBride are also sitting this one out. Even the reigning MVP won’t be taking the court in the W’s offseason.

That’s a lot of star power missing, and you have to wonder how it might impact viewership. Will fans still tune in without some of the game’s biggest names? It’s a question that could shape the future of the league, and one we’ll be watching closely once the tournament tips off.