Unrivaled announced the league’s All-Unrivaled First and Second Teams on Thursday — and the results were largely unsurprising.
Napheesa Collier, who has been the league’s most dominant player on both ends, was named to the first team, along with Kayla McBride (Laces Club) and Chelsea Gray (Rose Club).
The All-Unrivaled Second Team was comprised of Skylar Diggins-Smith (Lunar Owls), Rhyne Howard (Vinyl), and Angel Reese (Rose Club).
All three had standout seasons; Diggins-Smith averaged 17.9 points and 4.8 assists, while clinching 5 games with game-winners. Howard averaged 20.5 points and 1.3 steals per game, while Reese averaged 13.1 points and 12.1 rebounds per game.
Each of the league’s top two teams was honored with two All-Unrivaled selections; the Lunar Owls were represented by Collier (First Team) and Diggins-Smith (Second Team), while the Rose was represented by Gray (First Team) and Reese (Second Team). The other two postseason teams were each awarded one All-Unrivaled player, with Kayla McBride repping the Laces and Rhyne Howard repping the Vinyl.
Who were the biggest snubs from the All-Unrivaled Teams?
SB Nation previously delineated Unrivaled picks, and there were discrepancies between our picks and the actual selections.
Official All-Unrivaled Teams [actual results]:
First Team: Napheesa Collier, Chelsea Gray, Kayla McBride
Second Team: Skylar Diggins-Smith, Rhyne Howard, Angel Reese
SB Nation All-Unrivaled Teams [our votes]:
First Team: Napheesa Collier, Chelsea Gray, Kayla McBride
Second Team: Allisha Gray, Rhyne Howard, Dearica Hamby
Allisha Gray averaged 19.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game — she was the Lunar Owls’ second-leading scorer and the 7th-leading scorer overall. But, Diggins-Smith handled more playmaking responsibilities and did have 5 game-winners, so recognizing her as an All-Unrivaled Second Team member makes sense.
Dearica Hamby, meanwhile, was the league’s fifth-leading scorer, averaging 19.9 points per game and 10.1 rebounds. She was probably the biggest snub from the All-Unrivaled Team, and probably would have secured a spot if she closed the final weekend out better (she averaged just 10.5 points per game on 37.5% shooting in the final two games.
Still, she battled well against the league’s top bigs and was a big part of why Vinyl ultimately secured a postseason berth.
Other players also had All-Unrivaled cases but were largely kept out of our consideration due to their team’s lack of success. Brittney Griner, for example, averaged 16.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks, but her Phantom Club finished with a league-worst 4-10 record and was outscored by 137 points across 14 games. Breanna Stewart averaged 19.1 points and 10.1 rebounds per game, but her Mist club missed the playoffs. Sabrina Ionescu was also individually effective — averaging 18 points, 7 rebounds, and 4.1 assists — but missed 5 games due to prior commitments and was also a member of the league-worst Phantom.
Several players could have made stronger cases if they were more available; Alyssa Thomas, for example, averaged 11.3 points, 11.5 rebounds, and 4.5 assists, while helping to anchor the Laces’ defense. But, she only played in 8 games due to a knee injury she suffered in the opening weeks. Jackie Young has been great for the Laces — averaging 15.5 points and 3 assists — but she’s only appeared in 6 contests for the Laces.
