Which Liberty Players Will Play in Unrivaled?

New York Liberty star Breanna Stewart and Napheesha Collier’s offseason league, Unrivaled was a big success during their inaugural season.

Natasha Cloud, Sabrina Ionescu, Betnijah Laney-Hamilton and of course, Stewart played in the offseason league in Miami. Laney-Hamilton played in only two games before dealing with an injury that actually carried over to the regular season, which caused her to not suit up for the Liberty in their title-defending season. Ionesco did not play in the Unrivaled postseason due to prior scheduling conflicts. 

With the league expanding with new teams and adding more players to rosters, a few Liberty players opted out to return.

Ionescu and Laney-Hamilton will not return to the 3-on-3 league. Most likely, Laney-Hamilton will be focusing on her health, so she can get ready for the 2026 WNBA season. Ionescu’s reason for missing Unrivaled may be the same, as she suffered a toe injury late last season. The new 44-game WNBA season might have took a tool on some of the players who played this offseason. 

Liberty Players Returning to Unrivaled

Natasha Cloud and Breanna Stewart will return. Stewart’s return comes as a surprise, since she was playing in the postseason with a MCL injury. Natasha Cloud was at the Unrivaled event in Philadelphia when theleague announced they will play two games at Xfinity Mobile Arena January 30th, 2026. 

Stewart alongside Collier created this league to give players an option to stay domestic during the offseason and can still play competitive basketball. If the WNBA collective bargaining agreements don’t come to a deal soon, Unrivaled may become the women’s main basketball league soon.