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Former Chicago Sky coach Teresa Weatherspoon and longtime NBA assistant Phil Handy headline the list of inaugural coaches for the new Unrivaled women's professional 3x3 basketball league. Unrivaled, founded by Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier, launches Jan. 17 in Miami and provides WNBA players an alternative to playing overseas during their offseason.  The Unrivaled season will last eight weeks. Its players will be paid the highest average salary in women's pro sports league history and will receive equity in the league. Notable players appearing in Unrivaled's debut season include Stewart and Collier, Chelsea Gray, Arike Ogunbowale, Brittney Griner and Angel Reese. The rest of the coaching staff is rounded out by Adam Harrington, DJ Sackmann, Nola Henry and Andrew Wade. Henry and Wade most recently served on the staffs of the Los Angeles Sparks and Washington Mystics, respectively; Sackmann is a NBA/WNBA skills coach, and Harrington is a former assistant and director for player development for the Brooklyn Nets. Weatherspoon, a WNBA legend and Naismith Hall of Famer, joins Unrivaled following her unexpected firing as coach of the Sky 11 months after being hired. Before her time in Chicago, she served as the director of player and franchise development for the New York Liberty and then worked as a player development coach and assistant for the New Orleans Pelicans from 2019 to 2023. Handy most recently served as an assistant for the Los Angeles Lakers from 2019 to 2024, also previously working with the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Toronto Raptors. He was part of the staffs for three NBA titles and is best known for his work in the player development space. Unrivaled president Alex Bazzell posted on X this month that the league hired six coaches "all with extensive player development background across the NBA & WNBA that I will work with to develop the practice & workout plans to assure each player is focused on improving weaknesses during their time with us." Unrivaled has announced the names and branding for its six teams and has announced 32 of its 36 players. Collier recently said the league could add six spots after outperforming its financial projections. Unrivaled recently announced former Minnesota Lynx GM Clare Duwelius as its general manager. Micky Lawler was named its commissioner earlier this year.
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