Alyssa Thomas and Jackie Young will return to Laces BC amidst a hodgepodge of potential-packed Unrivaled newcomers.
“Bienvenidos a Miami,” women’s basketball.
Photo courtesy of Unrivaled
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. A familiar face is next on the list as we take a look at Laces BC …
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The Team: Laces BC
The Debut: 7-7 (lost to Rose in semifinals)
The Coach: Andrew Wade (2nd season)
Laces BC: The Team
—Jordin Canada
—Naz Hillmon
—Maddy Siegrist
—Brittney Sykes
—Alyssa Thomas*
—Jackie Young*
(*-Returning to team)
While fueled by the seasoned shooting of Kayla McBride in the first go-around, the Laces were untied far too often last season.
It got to a point where not only did they have to forget a February game after a 4-1 start, but even the replacements needed replacements: Betnijah Laney-Hamilton memorably burst onto the Unrivaled scene in March but wound up enduring an injury that wiped out both her three-on-three endeavors and, somewhat indirectly, her WNBA tour back in New York.
That was far from enough to dissuade both Young and Alyssa Thomas from another go-around, and they’re joined by several recent breakouts that could light up the scoreboard: Hillmon has another sixth woman honor under her belt, setting the WNBA’s most recent equivalent trophy next to the 2019 Big Ten title. She even has the mighty Young beat in terms of recent three-on-three experience, as she recently repped Team USA in a gold medal run at November’s AmeriCup tournament in Mexico.
Sykes, Siegrist, Canada Join Laces
Hillmon will be joined by fellow Atlanta Dreamer Canada, who repped Vinyl on the first Unrivaled tour. Sykes brings over championship pedigree from last year’s Rose group (it was she who sank the final shot of the debut season in the title game) and brings a sense of something to prove after her in-season move to the Seattle Storm produced up-and-down results.
Having become a respected name in the player development realm after a championship run with the 2019 Washington Mystics, Wade played last season’s success into a spot with Stewart’s New York Liberty and is sticking around despite an on-floor regime change.
Ten weeks of working with Wade should do wonders for Siegrist, who is finally generating some professional momentum after leaping into the Dallas Wings’ rotation and a championship run with Athletes Unlimited, though her shooting could use a little work before her potential is fully realized. He’s no longer working with Kate Martin (now on expansion club Breeze), but the latter improved in almost every major category after working with Wade on last year’s Laces.
If that doesn’t work, then the return of Thomas is certainly one of the finest rebounding insurance policies any team could have.
The Spotlight’s On: Jackie Young
It feels like Jackie Young, fresh off earning another WNBA Finals ring, is the headliner here, especially after injuries and illness prevented her from leaving a mark on last year’s Unrivaled activities.
This time, Young is unburdened by any ailments and is fresh off one of her finest professional showings to date. Young’s next entry onto the injury report might have something to do with a sore neck or hand: in addition to her WNBA championships with the Las Vegas Aces (not to mention a collegiate national title with Notre Dame), she has also adorned two gold medals from the Olympics’ three-on-three tournament.
All that and more yielded an invite to Team USA’s five-on-five camp, where she was an elder stateswoman of sorts amidst the “young and turnt” newcomers.
Already capable of turning five-on-five into one-on-one, Young’s prowess can help the Laces tighten their game and take a few steps forward. Unabated by any injury, Young will have a legitimate case at the league’s second MVP award, especially if the Laces make a rise up the leaderboard.
They Said It
“When I was building up this roster, I was looking for competitive natures, high-character people in the locker room, and truthfully, speed and athleticism. Obviously, adding Brittney Sykes, Jordin Canada, Naz Hillmon, three really explosive athletes in our league. That became a priority…Maddy’s reputation around this league is that she’s a phenomenal person, phenomenal teammate, and the ultimate competitor. You kind of combined that with our returners, Jackie and AT, I’m just extremely confident in this group.”—Wade on adding the newcomers to an elite duo
“Coming off a win, not having to have a procedure done, just being in a completely different space [was huge], being able to take that time off that my body needed in order to get ready for USA camp and now getting ready for Unrivaled. I’m kind of just building, not having to like start from zero, really, just trying to build, get back in shape, get my body to where it needs to be, and just working on new things going into this Unrivaled season.”—Young on her offseason
Laces BC: Outlook
Even with McBride sitting this edition out, Wade assembled a similarly-stacked squad that’s capable of turning the South Beach scoreboard into a pinball machine.
Familiar talents are set to pair with recent breakouts, and that could be dangerous for opponents featuring a developer like Wade. Combine with the powers of Young and the fact that the Laces are a team in the bittersweet spot of having something to prove in year two of a new league, and things could get downright explosive.
To top it all off, Laces boasts an exquisite amount of three-on-three experience from both before and after Unrivaled’s rise to power. Even with an expanded field, the Laces should be able to reprise their role on the playoff bracket. Staying healthy, of course, will be the key, but this is a team that paints a dominant picture on paper.
Schedule
Laces BC Schedule
Date
Opponent
Approx. Time (ET), TV
January 5
Vinyl
2:15 p.m., TruTV
January 10
Mist
8:45 p.m., TruTV
January 12
Lunar Owls
8:45 p.m., TNT/TruTV
January 16
Phantom
7:30 p.m., TNT/TruTV
January 18
Rose
7:30 p.m., TruTV
January 24
Hive
8:45 p.m., TruTV
January 26
Breeze
8:45 p.m., TNT/TruTV
January 31
Vinyl
5:45 p.m., TruTV
February 2
Mist
8:45 p.m., TNT/TruTV
February 6
Lunar Owls
8:45 p.m., TNT/TruTV
February 17
Hive
7:30 p.m. TNT/TruTV
February 20
Phantom
7:30 p.m., TNT/TruTV
February 22
Rose
8:45 p.m., TruTV
February 27
Breeze
7:30 p.m., TNT/TruTV
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