Unrivaled announces rosters with 2 ‘wild-card’ spots. Caitlin Clark is out, but will A’ja Wilson or Sabrina Ionescu join?

After months of build-up and a slow roll-out of 34 of the 36 players participating, Unrivaled announced the rosters for its six teams Wednesday.

Each team will feature six players and play 14 games during the season that will begin Jan. 17, 2025, and end March 17, 2025, in Miami.

Teresa Weatherspoon, Phil Handy, Adam Harrington, Nola Henry, DJ Sackmann and Andrew Wade will serve as the six head coaches.

Unrivaled inaugural season rosters

Laces Basketball Club
Head coach: Andrew Wade

Players: Kelsey Plum, Kayla McBride, Alyssa Thomas, Courtney Williams, Kate Martin, Stefanie Dolson

Mist Basketball Club
Head coach: Phil Handy

Players: Jewell Loyd, DiJonai Carrington, Breanna Stewart, Courtney Vandersloot, Rickea Jackson, Aaliyah Edwards

Rose Basketball Club
Head coach: Nola Henry

Players: Chelsea Gray, Kahleah Copper, Angel Reese, Brittney Sykes, Lexie Hull, Azurá Stevens

Lunar Owls Basketball Club
Head coach: DJ Sackmann

Players: Skylar Diggins-Smith, Allisha Gray, Napheesa Collier, Natasha Cloud, Shakira Austin, wild card

Phantom Basketball Club
Head coach: Adam Harrington

Players: Jackie Young, Marina Mabrey, Satou Sabally, Tiffany Hayes, Brittney Griner, wild card

Vinyl Basketball Club
Head coach: Teresa Weatherspoon

Players: Arike Ogunbowale, Rhyne Howard, Aaliyah Boston, Jordin Canada, Rae Burrell, Dearica Hamby

The teams were created via a unique method. The 36 players were broken up into six pods, with one player from each pod being chosen for a team. Unrivaled’s coaches then worked together to distribute the players from the pods onto the six teams.

Coaches weren’t assigned to teams until the rosters were final, with the goal of creating evenly balanced teams across the board. The idea is to give fans a chance to see different pairings that they might not get to see during the WNBA season.

Where are Caitlin Clark, A’ja Wilson and Sabrina Ionescu?

The Lunar Owls and Phantom are the only two squads that currently feature five identified players. Both teams were given wild-card spots that will be filled ahead of opening night. There was plenty of speculation that Caitlin Clark, A’ja Wilson or possibly Sabrina Ionescu would be one of the final two players to join the league, but according to an ESPN report Wednesday afternoon, Clark will not play in the league this year.

According to Sports Business Journal, Clark and Unrivaled held talks about her participating, with an offer believed to be worth over $1 million, which would have included an equity stake.

“We’re always going to have a roster spot for Caitlin Clark,” Unrivaled president Alex Bazzell told Sportico last month. “We’re not applying a full-court press the way people think. We are letting her decompress from basketball. … She knows that we have a spot for her when she’s ready.”

In September, Wilson said she was not planning to join the league this year.

“Interested? I’m not going to completely cut it out, because you never know. But I will not be in Unrivaled this year,” Wilson said.

“I think that kind of squashes a lot of … people kept tagging me. But I love what it’s doing for my teammates, and it’s creating another avenue for players to play and stay in America. But I will not be doing that. I will be chilling.”

Ionescu suffered a high-grade UCL tear on her (right) shooting hand during Game 4 of the New York Liberty’s WNBA Finals victory. That could be a factor in her taking the winter off to rest and prepare for the team’s title defense in 2025.

Key Dates

Jan. 17, 2025: Regular season tips off in Miami (7 p.m. ET & 8:15 p.m. ET, TNT)
Feb. 10, 2025: 1-on-1 tournament (7 p.m. ET)
Feb 13, 2025: 1-on-1 tournament (6:30 p.m. ET)
Feb 14, 2025: 1-on-1 tournament (7:30 p.m. ET)
March 10, 2025: Regular season concludes (7 p.m. ET & 8:15 p.m. ET, TNT)
March 16, 2025: League semifinals (7 p.m. ET, 8:15 p.m. ET)
March 17, 2025: League championship (7:30 p.m. ET)

Format

Unrivaled will see six teams with five-player rosters play 14 games each, with the season ending with a single-elimination Final Four.

Games will be played on a 70-foot long, 50-foot wide court and feature an 18-second shot clock, three 7-minute quarters and a final 15-point runoff in the final quarter.

There will be an All-Star event on Feb. 10, as well as a 1-on-1 tournament featuring all 30 players. The winner will receive a $250,000 prize.

Salary

Each player will receive a minimum of $100,000 for the season. The total payout for the league will be around $3 million. The six-figure salaries are likely to be the highest average in U.S. professional women’s team sports.

The deal with TNT Sports will see more than 45 games broadcast in prime time three days a week. TNT will air games on Mondays and Fridays, while truTV will have coverage on Saturdays.

Notable investors

Carmelo Anthony, Geno Auriemma, Ashton Kutcher, Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe, Steve Nash, Michelle Wie West