Unrivaled is a chance for former teammates like Sabrina Ionescu, Satou Sabally to reunite

Sabrina Ionescu joining Unrivaled made headlines across the WNBA last week. The New York Liberty guard — one of the league’s most visible stars — is fresh off of a career season that was punctuated by one of the biggest shots in WNBA history.

To some fans, perhaps the coolest part of Ionescu joining Unrivaled is that she’ll be reunited with former Oregon teammate Satou Sabally on the Phantom club. Sabally and Ionescu played together for four seasons, and their senior year season at Ducks was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, more than four years later, the duo will join forces once again.

Ionescu and Sabally didn’t get a chance to compete for an NCAA championship in 2020, and while they’ll never get that chance, this winter they’ll get an opportunity to compete for an Unrivaled title.

Unrivaled, the new 3-on-3 basketball team formed by Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart, tips off next month in Miami. Ionescu and Sabally are one of many duos that will get to reunite in this brand-new basketball environment.

We took a look at some of the fun pairs and reunions that will take place this winter in each club.

Jackie Young (Aces), Tiffany Hayes (Aces), Kayla McBride (Lynx), Alyssa Thomas (Sun), Kate Martin (Valkyries), and Stefanie Dolson (Mystics).

The Laces are fittingly named. Three of their six players (Jackie Young, Tiffany Hayes, and Kate Martin) were on the Las Vegas Aces last season. And Kayla McBride was on the Aces from 2014 to 2020 and was teammates with Young for two seasons.

There are a few other reunions on this roster; Jackie Young and Alyssa Thomas, for example, are reuniting after playing together on the U.S. Olympic team in Paris.

Satou Sabally (Wings), Marina Mabrey (Sun), Brittney Griner (Mercury), Natasha Cloud (Mercury), Katie Lou Samuelson (Fever), and Sabrina Ionescu (Liberty)

Satou Sabally and Sabrina Ionescu, teammates at the University of Oregon for four years, will reunite.

Additionally, the Phantom Club features two Mercury players — Brittney Griner and Natasha Cloud — who shared the floor in 2024.

The Phantom will also double as a Dallas Wings reunion of sorts — Marina Mabrey, Katie Lou Samuelson, and Satou Sabally were all teammates in Dallas in 2020, and Mabrey and Sabally ultimately played three seasons together before Mabrey was traded to Chicago.

Like several of the other clubs, there’s also an Olympic connection on the Phantom — Griner and Ionescu played together on Team USA this past summer.

Arike Ogunbowale (Wings), Rhyne Howard (Dream), Aliyah Boston (Fever), Jordin Canada (Dream), Rae Burrell (Sparks), and Dearica Hamby (Sparks)

The Vinyl Club will several WNBA reunions. Rhyne Howard and Jordin Canada are currently Atlanta Dream teammates, while Dearica Hamby and Rae Burrell are teammates on the Sparks. Canada previously played with Hamby and Burrell for one season in Los Angeles, so she’ll get to share the floor with some familiar ex-teammates.

Perhaps the most interesting Vinyl club reunion is between Howard and Hamby, who were teammates on the U.S. Olympic 3x3 basketball team in Paris. While Unrivaled’s 3-on-3 format is different than FIBA’s — games are full-court and the same length as a typical WNBA game — the duo did learn to play through some of the challenges of 3-on-3 en route to a Bronze medal.

Jewell Loyd (Storm), DiJonai Carrington (Sun), Breanna Stewart (Liberty), Courtney Vandersloot (Liberty), Rickea Jackson (Sparks), and Aaliyah Edwards (Mystics)

For Breanna Stewart, the Mist club is an opportunity to reunite with multiple teammates she’s won WNBA championships with. Stewart and Jewell Loyd won two championships together on the Seattle Storm — as well as an Olympic gold medal in Paris. Stewart and Courtney Vandersloot will also reunite after winning a WNBA championship in October.

Chelsea Gray (Aces), Kahleah Copper (Mercury), Angel Reese (Sky), Brittney Sykes (Mystics), Lexie Hull (Fever), and Azura Stevens (Sparks)

Kahleah Copper and Azura Stevens — former teammates on the Chicago Sky — will be reunited on the Rose Club. Chelsea Gray and Brittney Sykes — teammates on the Sparks in 2020 — will also once again join forces. Angel Reese and Lexie Hull don’t have significant playing stints with other Rose club players.

Napheesa Collier (Lynx), Courtney Williams (Lynx), Skylar Diggins-Smith (Storm), Allisha Gray (Dream), Shakira Austin (Mystics), and Cameron Brink (Sparks, will only play beginning in 2026).

Napheesa Collier and Courtney Williams will continue playing together after leading the Lynx to the WNBA Finals this past fall — a remarkable run that ended in a last-second loss to the Liberty. Williams said that Colliers’ leadership with Unrivaled encouraged her to play.

Williams was excited to learn that Unrivaled would be broadcast on TNT.

“I was like, ‘Damn, that’s crazy,’ because I definitely didn’t know that’s how they was getting down,” she told SB Nation in October. “But that’s what’s up man. The fact that they able to get on that platform is crazy.”