Hive BC head coach Rena Wakama has assembled a group of women with plenty to prove as it enters Unrivaled play.
“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, BIL takes a look at each of the eight squads in a dedicated analysis. Next up in the unveiling is Hive BC, the latter of two expansion clubs set to begin play this year …
The Team: Hive BC
The Debut: Expansion Team
The Coach: Rena Wakama
The Team
—Monique Billings
—Sonia Citron
—Natisha Hiedeman
—Ezi Magbegor
—Kelsey Mitchell
—Saniya Rivers
There are “prove it” deals, and then there’s working with Hive BC: with the exception of Kelsey Mitchell (2018, 2nd overall) and Sonia Citron (2025, 3rd), no WNBA lottery picks reside in the honeycombs.
Wakama is used to guiding improbable new causes: her previous head coaching experience saw her guide the Nigerian women’s national basketball team that stole the show at the 2024 Olympics in Paris. That landed her the “Best Coach” Olympic honor from FIBA in a field that featured Sandy Brondello. Rachid Meziane, Cheryl Reeve, and Lisa Thomaidis. The grinding aura that allowed the D’Tigress to become the first-ever African team of either gender to advance to a ringed knockout round was on display when Wakama assembled her squad.
Sonia Citron, Kelsey Mitchell Headline Hive BC at Unrivaled
Even Citron and Mitchell, each making their respective Unrivaled debuts (though the latter did play three years on the Athletes Unlimited circuit), have overcome some recent doubts: Citron’s selection might’ve been overshadowed by Paige Bueckers being one of the picks in front of her, but she made a name for herself on the developing Washington Mystics. Invites to both Team USA’s preliminary Olympic training camp and her Unrivaled invite have kept her busy this offseason.
Photo Courtesy of Unrivaled
Mitchell essentially took over Indiana Fever operations after a plethora of injuries took out her fellow headliners, and her efforts dragged Indianapolis to the doorstep of the WNBA Finals. It got to a point where her body almost literally shut down on her, but Mitchell labeled herself healthy and able as she and the rest of the Hive touched down in South Beach.
Elsewhere in Wakama’s stable of fighters, defensive standouts of both the seasoned and fresh variety should shrink space, as the tenured second-round choice Billings unites with Rivers, who made a tenacious name for herself amidst the Connecticut Sun’s chaos. The list is rounded out by the reliable talents of Magbegor (fresh off a EuroLeague title with USK Prague) and Natisha Hiedeman, who will look to take a bounce-back year with the Minnesota Lynx in as a carry-on.
The Spotlight’s On: Natisha Hiedeman
Hiedeman’s contributions to the hardwood social sphere as one half of the popular “StudBudz” content duo (the other, Courtney Williams, is repping Vinyl) did wonders for women’s basketball and the culture that surrounds it. Her more conventional contributions should draw equal attention moving forward.
Wakama’s search for solid two-way talents created a natural draw to Hiedeman, who resumed her status as a sterling depth star for WNBA-leading Minnesota. Hiedeman improved in almost every major category from the year prior, and she complemented her defensive antics with a smarter shot selection that saw her tie her career-best in scoring and shoot over 54 percent from two-point range.
Once a walking, breathing case for WNBA roster expansion, Hiedeman has now established a professional residency no matter how many teams take the floor, as evidenced by her Unrivaled invite. Now comes the task of proving she deserves to stay.
Firmly entrenched in the Lynx’s current set-up, Hiedeman now has an Unrivaled foundation to work with: she joined Phantom just before last year’s tip-off and also took the floor with the Laces.
They Said It
“I want to get up and down. I want to disrupt defensively. I was purposely drafting players that buy in on both ends of the floor. I’m looking forward to playing with an up-tempo pace, a disruptive defensive system, and, obviously, scoring a lot of baskets … A lot of the players I drafted were kind of overlooked in their process at some point. They kind of play with a fire, an edge about them, and that’s what who I am too, as well. A lot of people don’t think I should be in this spot, or in this seat. But, by the grace of God, I’ve been able to claw my way to where I am today. So I wanted to make sure I drafted players with similar backgrounds.”—Wakama on her team.
“I feel great. I feel fine. I think I just had a, hopefully, once-in-a-lifetime experience, so hopefully I don’t have to experience anymore. I think I did play until the wheels fell off, literally. But I think it was for the better. Because of what our season was, I would do it all over again.”—Mitchell on her health and returning to action after the painful end to this Fever season.
Hive BC: Outlook
Before Santa Claus got to the Island of Misfit Toys, it appears Wakama made off with quite a haul.
Hive doesn’t have the stacked trophy cases or All-Star Game appearances its counterparts may have, but that’s no slight to its buzzers, who may offer a significant sting once it’s time to take the floor. Wakama’s gritty effort on display in the Olympics (which has since made its way to the WNBA as a Chicago Sky assistant) should mesh well with the group she has built in Miami and give her a brilliant opportunity to make a statement to the basketball world as she seeks a head coaching job that will last her more than 10 weeks.
The three-on-three game has sometimes marketed itself as an offensive explosion due to its relatively open floor, and Unrivaled is perhaps no exception to that trend. Hive can find success in its first year by defying that narrative, and it has brought in the authors of some beautiful basketball twists in recent memory to help them pick up a stubborn pen.
Schedule
Hive BC Schedule
Date
Opponent
Approx. Time (ET), TV
January 5
Mist
1 p.m., TruTV
January 9
Breeze
8:45 p.m., TNT/TruTV
January 11
Vinyl
8:45 p.m., TruTV
January 16
Rose
8:45 p.m., TNT/TruTV
January 18
Phantom
8:45 p.m., TruTV
January 24
Laces
8:45 p.m., TruTV
January 26
Lunar Owls
7:30 p.m., TNT/TruTV
January 31
Mist
4:30 p.m., TruTV
February 2
Vinyl
7:30 p.m., TNT/TruTV
February 6
Breeze
7:30 p.m., TNT/TruTV
February 17
Laces
7:30 p.m., TNT/TruTV
February 20
Rose
8:45 p.m., TNT/TruTV
February 22
Phantom
7:30 p.m., TruTV
February 27
Lunar Owls
8:45 p.m., TNT/TruTV
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