🏀 Unrivaled Weekly: Smiling because it happened
From The GIST (hi@thegistsports.com)
Leveling The Playing Field
Eight weeks of glorious hoops later, it’s nearly trophy time. Just as Nelly Furtado foretold, all good things come to an end — be it regular seasons or weekly newsletters.
- So, for the final time this season, let’s break down the league’s hottest hands, vibe-check the top off-court moments, and unpack the plays that hit different.
- ☝️But before we drop dimes, might we suggest snagging tickets to the best women’s basketball has to offer? This year’s semifinals (part of the Unrivaled Playoffs sponsored by Samsung) are in New York City at the 19K-seat Barclays Center. Consider us sat.
Ever done a trust fall with your bestie? There’s a brief heartstopping moment and then pure magic — just like when Mist BC’s Arike Ogunbowale tossed a backwards overhead pass to a perfectly located Allisha Gray for an easy bucket on Monday. Friendship goals, but make it hoops.
🏆 Unrivaled superlatives: The GIST’s edition
The GIST: The four-game regular-season finale tips off this afternoon, closing out an unforgettable stretch of hoops. Before the postseason fun begins, we’re handing out some end‑of‑season Unrivaled superlatives. A little extra shine for the season’s brightest stars? Nothing but net.
🪣 Certified bucket award: We have to go with the aforementioned Allisha Gray. This year’s 1-on-1 Tournament presented by Sprite runner-up, Gray’s posting 21.8 points per game, but it’s her efficiency that’s dropping jaws: She’s one of the league’s top-five scorers but is putting up big numbers in fewer minutes and with fewer shots than her high-scoring peers.
🐣 Most likely to start a daycare: Breeze superstar Paige Bueckers — and not just because she’s the defacto leader of the babysitter’s club. As the driving force behind Unrivaled’s youngest team, the two-way guard has been leading the kids all season long, averaging 23.7 points and 5.8 assists per game. Not bad for her first year in the league.
🍪 The cookie monster: There’s one hooper who always has their hands in the cookie jar, and that’s Mist BC’s Veronica Burton, who’s snagging a league-best 1.8 steals per game. One of the best defensive guards in basketball, Burton regularly generates extra possessions for her team — all while averaging just 0.5 turnovers per game on offense. C is for changing the game.
🧪 Best chemistry: Also known as the pick-and-roll partnership of the year award, Phantom’s Kelsey Plum and Aliyah Boston have been electric. Not only did they make history as the first Unrivaled tandem to drop 30 points each in a single game, but both can score in a variety of ways. These hoopers contain multitudes.
Six players are shooting better than 40% from beyond the arc this season — widely considered to be an elite three-point shooting percentage — but if we dig a little deeper, one sharpshooter stands alone as Unrivaled’s long-range queen: Rose BC’s Chelsea Gray.
- Of those six hoopers, two have played fewer than four games (the Hive duo of Haley Jones and Aziaha James). It’s just not a large enough sample size.
- Vinyl’s Erica Wheeler and Lunar Owl Rachel Banham are shooting 42% and 40.4%, respectively, with about three three-point attempts per game. The accuracy is impressive, but the load isn’t there.
That leaves Gray and Laces star Brittney Sykes, who’s shooting 40.6% from three and taking 5.3 three-point shots per game. That’s top-tier play…until you look at Gray’s numbers.
- The Point Gawd is shooting a mind-boggling 48% from three-point land, but she’s also shot the second-most threes in the league this year, averaging a whopping 7.5 per game. Shooters shoot, after all.
🌹 Rose BC will be back-to-back Unrivaled champs
Mist and Phantom are the favorites to take home this year’s title, combining for a mere seven losses total this season and likely earning the top two playoff spots. But there’s just something about the Rosebuds — and that something isn’t only the inimitable Chelsea Gray’s heroics.
- Angel Reese’s highly-anticipated return unquestionably elevates this squad. Reese is the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, an absolute force on the glass, and authored the league’s first-ever 20-point/20-rebound game last season. This Barbie’s a difference maker.
Until next season, thanks for shooting hoops with us.
Yours through timeouts and technicals,
The GIST Team
Today’s email was brought to you by Lisa Minutillo. Fact-checking by Elisha Gunaratnam. Managing edits by Lauren Tuiskula. Head of content Ellen Hyslop.