Unrivaled: Are Napheesa Collier’s Lunar Owls the league’s top team?

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Unrivaled is serving up a Saturday matinée for the new 3×3 pro league’s second gameday.

First, Phantom BC and Laces BC make their debuts at 2 p.m. ET. The Lunar Owls BC and Rose BC face off in their second games of the season at 3 p.m. ET. Both games will be broadcast on TruTV.

Can the Laces tie up the Phantom?

On Thursday, it was announced that the Phantom’s Marina Mabrey has a right calf injury and will be sidelined for two to four weeks. Friday, the league added Natisha Heideman as a relief player; she’ll join the Phantom.

However, the club might still have a lingering injury concern, as Sabrina Ionescu is who is not 100 percent healed after undergoing surgery for the torn UCL in her right thumb, which she suffered in the 2024 WNBA Finals. Yet, any cause for concern might be unnecessary, as Ionescu reportedly made 33-straight 3-pointers in practice last week.

This matchup could present an interesting contrast of styles. Can the Phantom exploit Brittney Griner’s size advantage, as no one on the Laces, nor in the league, can match her 6-foot-9 frame? Or, will the game’s faster pace result in BG being played off the floor? The Laces, certainly, have the kind of personnel that could exploit Griner’s possible weakness, with a transition demon in Alyssa Thomas and top-tier stretch big in Stefanie Dolson, who, as 3×3 Olympic gold medalist in Tokyo, should be comfortable operating in the 3×3 halfcourt. Add in the high-level athleticism of Jackie Young and Tiffany Hayes, the shooting of Kayla McBride and the gap-filling play of Kate Martin and the Laces could have the Phantom on the ropes.

Alternatively, Satou Sabally, already the belle of the forthcoming WNBA free agency ball, could further have WNBA general managers salivating for a shot at her services by leading the Phantom to the win. Some disruptive defense from Natasha Cloud and timely shotmaking from Katie Lou Samuelson also could help the ghosts escape victorious.

Are the Lunar Owls the league’s best?

After launching the league with thrilling win over the Mist, earned via a Skylar Diggins-Smith game-winning triple, the Lunar Owls are back on the court, taking on Rose, which lost to Vinyl in their season opener.

With both teams on a back-to-back, it will be interesting to see how the head coaches—DJ Sackmann for the Lunar Owls and Nola Henry for Rose—manage their rotations. Will they opt for more frequent substitutions in order to keep players fresh as they race up-and-down the court in this fast-paced style of play? Or, do players want to play for longer, albeit more tiring, stretches so that they can establish a rhythm?

The Owls’ Napheesa Collier logged the most minutes on opening night across the two games, spending almost 19 minutes on the court. She appeared immune to exhaustion, playing better over the course of the matchup against the Mist. Rose, which struggled to contain Vinyl’s Rhyne Howard and Dearica Hamby in their opener, could have issues with Collier, whose enviable blend of guard and posts skills makes her difficult to handle for even the best perimeter defenders, such as Rose’s Brittney Sykes and Lexie Hull, or a post player like Angel Reese.

And while Collier often finds favorable matchups on offense, she also unlocks versatility on defense—a prerequisite to success in this version of the sport. The 2024 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year is capable of manning the post or switching out on the perimeter, and she is supported by another dogged, malleable defender in Allisha Gray, a pair of absolute perimeter pests in Diggins-Smith and Courtney Williams and an athletic interior presence in Shakira Austin. While Diggins-Smith’s 3-point fireworks sealed the opening win for the Owls, it was the club’s defense, holding the Mist to seven fourth-quarter points, that helped them earn the comeback victory.

Rose might need a scoring explosion from Kahleah Copper or Point Gawd masterclass from Chelsea Gray to overcome the perfectly optimized Lunar Owls.