Incoming squad Breeze BC is storming its way onto the Unrivaled circuit with several rising young stars in tow.
“Bienvenidos a Miami,” women’s basketball.
Some of the game’s finest are taking their talents (back) to South Beach as the second season of Unrivaled is set to tip off on Jan. 5.
Co-founded by Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart and backed by a lauded group of investors, Unrivaled is a domestic three-on-three league that can and is meant to host more localized offseason endeavors for players who have made their names in the WNBA. Many familiar faces are making their way back to the action, which will briefly make its way to Philadelphia, while others will join the fray for the first time.
In anticipation of tip-off, Ballislife takes a look at each of the eight squads in a dedicated analysis. First up on the list is Breeze BC, one of the two incoming squads …
The Team: Breeze BC
The Debut: Expansion Team
The Coach: Noelle Quinn
The Team
—Cameron Brink
—Paige Bueckers
—Rickea Jackson
—Dominique Malonga
—Kate Martin
—Aari McDonald
Paige Bueckers is the undisputable headliner of not only the Breeze but perhaps the new batch of Unrivaled participants. The reigning WNBA Rookie of the Year finally has some accumulated momentum after a banner year that saw her chase down an elusive national championship with the UConn Huskies before living up to her inflated hype with the Dallas Wings. Bueckers previously shined in three-on-three activity at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics in Argentina, capturing gold at the end of a perfect 7-0 run for the United States.
Bueckers, Malonga Headline Breeze BC
With a Storrs degree and expanded business portfolio matching her on-floor prowess, Bueckers could well become the face of Collier and Stewart’s brainchild down the road, and she’ll have an instant opportunity to prove it as the headliner of the young Breeze. Professional sophomores Cameron Brink and Dominique Malonga will also be spotlighted, as will 2024’s No. 4 pick Rickea Jackson, who joins Breeze after spending last year with the Mist.
Scary hours loading…Paige Bueckers throwing lobs to Dominique Malonga
pic.twitter.com/aWiGgiBj3N
— WNBA Got Game (@wnbagotgame) December 20, 2025
Like Bueckers, the Sparks teammates Brink and Jackson have adorned gold medals for their work in the American three-on-three program, the former landing MVP honors at the 2023 FIBA World Cup. Malonga reunites with head coach Noelle Quinn, who oversaw her expanded first season with the Seattle Storm before the latter was succeeded by Sonia Raman.
Rounding out the depth are Kate Martin and Aari McDonald, who stepped up in their own special ways on the most recent WNBA tour: Martin (who spent last year on the Laces) is no stranger to expansion team endeavors after working with the original Golden State Valkyries, while McDonald helped keep the flushed Indiana Fever season on track in 20 showings before she too fell victim to the Indianapolis injury bug.
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The Spotlight’s On: Cameron Brink
Brink and Malonga, the latest entrants in the WNBA’s second-pick sisterhood, have had challenging starts to their respective professional careers. Buried behind veterans at first, Malonga was at least able to establish some momentum in the Pacific Northwest after some space opened up on Quinn’s final depth charts.
Brink’s freshman follies were also beyond her control: she was meant to be one of Unrivaled’s original attractions, but a torn ACL, endured with the Los Angeles Sparks, stifled her progress. She was able to make it back on the floor by mid-summer, but the focus primarily centered on her re-acclimation.
Even with a relatively pedestrian return from a conventional standpoint, Brink’s year ended in relative triumph, getting an invite to Team USA’s mainstream camp in anticipation for the road to the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, her professional home.
Brink’s legs will get a solid test on the open floors of Miami, and who knows when she’ll have another opportunity to flaunt her progress with the uncertainty surrounding the WNBA labor situation. The axiom of “better late than never” is often used in a remorseful sense, but it could be a blessing for Brink as she seeks to recover from some early, unavoidable roadblocks.
While there’s perhaps no better brain to pick than that of Bueckers, who isn’t far removed from her own triumphant return from injury, Brink is fully capable of penning her own breakout, especially with her prior success in the compacted yet expanded three-on-three game.
They Said It
“I haven’t played with Cam since we were probably 17 years old. We’ve always been a fan of each other, we’ve always supported each other and we’ve always talked about being teammates in the future. To have that opportunity again is going to be really fun. I’ve always enjoyed playing with Cam and all that she does on the basketball court, and also who she is as a human. Along the same lines of who we have on our team, top to bottom, I think we just have really good human beings first and then people who love the game, who live the game, who just want to play, compete, and win…There’s no ‘vet’ on our team, so we’re going to have to all collectively be the voice on the team and lead each other, help each other, and grow and learn through mistakes. I think that will be a lot of fun in terms of challenging each other and finding our voices and how we want to use that. It’s going to be a real group effort.”—Paige Bueckers
“There’s going to be a learning curve and kind of understanding of how I want to approach the teaching aspect. But, at the end of the day, it’s still hoop. I think these young athletes, they’re youthful, but they’re very talented. They’ve all spent a year-plus now playing in the W, playing against the players they will be playing against this year in Unrivaled. The advantage I think about right at the top is the pace, having young players, and the pace we want to play at.”—Quinn on how she’s approaching coaching a young team
Breeze BC: Outlook
Toniiiiiiiiiiiiiiight … Breeze is youngggggg … will they set the world on fire? Will they go higher?
Breeze is packed with potential in all areas of the floor and offers an intriguing glimpse into basketball’s future. Bueckers will, of course, be the focal point, and Quinn, who surrounds her in the primary trio, should be one of the more intriguing subplots on the path ahead: do they have Brink and Malonga clog the paint, or try to bludgeon opponents on the scoreboard with a hardly-hesitant shooter like Jackson in tow?
An experienced coach like Quinn also has plenty to prove with her new proteges: while she put up an admirable effort in the immediate aftermath of the post-Stewart/Sue Bird era in Seattle, the progress apparently wasn’t enough, as it plans for a Malonga-led future. Breeze is packed with relative kids, but don’t expect them to keep quiet at their own table.
Schedule
| Breeze BC Schedule | ||
| Date | Opponent | Approx. Time (ET), TV |
| January 5 | Phantom | 9:15 p.m., TNT/TruTV |
| January 9 | Hive | 8:45 p.m., TNT/TruTV |
| January 11 | Rose | 7:30 p.m., TruTV |
| January 17 | Vinyl | 8:45 p.m., TruTV |
| January 19 | Mist | 8 p.m., TNT |
| January 24 | Lunar Owls | 7:30 p.m., TruTV |
| January 26 | Laces | 8:45 p.m., TNT/TruTV |
| January 30 | Phantom (at Philadelphia) | 7:30 p.m., TNT/TruTV |
| February 1 | Rose | 8:45 p.m. TruTV |
| February 6 | Hive | 7:30 p.m., TNT/TruTV |
| February 17 | Lunar Owls | 8:45 p.m., TNT/TruTV |
| February 21 | Vinyl | 8 p.m., TruTV |
| February 23 | Mist | 8:45 p.m. TNT/TruTV |
| February 27 | Laces | 7:30 p.m., TNT/TruTV |
Geoff Magliocchetti is on X @GeoffJMags
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