{"id":568941,"date":"2026-02-05T21:08:20","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T21:08:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/568941\/"},"modified":"2026-02-05T21:08:20","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T21:08:20","slug":"unrivaled-power-rankings-2-0-laces-maintain-top-spot-as-phantom-breeze-rise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/568941\/","title":{"rendered":"Unrivaled power rankings 2.0: Laces maintain top spot as Phantom, Breeze rise"},"content":{"rendered":"

We are now halfway through the Unrivaled season, which means it\u2019s time to check in with the eight club to see where they stand. Which clubs are up, and which are down, since the last power rankings<\/a>?<\/p>\n

1. Laces<\/strong> (7-2)\"\"<\/p>\n

Nothing that\u2019s happened since power rankings 1.0 has knocked Laces from that top spot; if anything, the gap feels bigger. Through the first rankings, they were 4\u20131 leading the league in scoring, and while their offense has cooled off a little bit, they have always been able to fall back on defense to win grind-it-out games.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

Dan Falkenheim from SI Now<\/a> recently started tracking lineup data for Unrivaled, which is a huge development and it only reinforces how deep this roster is. While the Alyssa Thomas-Brittney Sykes-Jackie Young trio popped on film, the Jordin Canada-Sykes-Naz Hillmon group has quietly posted a +14.6 net rating over 152 possessions. When your reserves are putting up those numbers, it\u2019s hard to see anyone unseating Laces from No. 1 right now.<\/p>\n

2. Phantom<\/strong> (6-3)\"\"<\/p>\n

Phantom jumps into the No. 2 spot on the strength of both results and lineup sustainability. They\u2019ve been trending upward since Week Two powered by Kelsey Plum and Aliyah Boston, and it comes as no surprise that their best trio\u2014Tiffany Hayes, Plum and Boston\u2014is one of the league\u2019s most balanced groups, posting a +27.5 net rating over 208 possessions with no single player accounting for more than 41 percent of the lineup\u2019s points.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

I think an interesting point to monitor for this team is how well Kiki Iriafen has played off the bench replacing Boston. Swap Boston for Kiki and that lineup is a +29.2 in 34 possessions. It\u2019s not a lot, but it\u2019s still very good.<\/p>\n

3. Breeze<\/strong> (5-4)\"\"<\/p>\n

Breeze sticks at No. 3, still sitting firmly on the contender line. They were 3\u20132 and bullying teams on the glass in the first rankings, leading the league with 38.0 rebounds per game and 3.8 blocks. That physicality has translated directly into elite lineup metrics: Paige Bueckers, Kate Martin and Cameron Brink own a ridiculous +44.2 net rating over 127 possessions, with that trio posting a +15 in just 33 possessions.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

Even the secondary lineup of Bueckers, Rickea Jackson and Brink has smashed teams with a +30.7 net rating in 108 possessions, largely because they can all defend and Paige and Rickea are nightmares to guard in space. The lingering question remains the same as a few weeks ago: Can they consistently find a second and third scorer behind Bueckers when the game slows down and turnovers spike?<\/p>\n

4. Mist<\/strong> (6-3)\"\"<\/p>\n

Mist feels like the classic \u201cnobody wants to see them in a one\u2011game setting\u201d team, and the numbers back that up. In the first power rankings, they were 3\u20132 with a middle\u2011of\u2011the\u2011pack offense (71.8 points per game) but elite on the glass and in the passing lanes, ranking first in offensive rebounds and near the top in steals and blocks. Since then, they\u2019ve become the best offense in the league (now 74.2 points per game) and are 3-1 in that span.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

Allisha Gray, Veronica Burton and Breanna Stewart have posted a ridiculous +42.9 net rating over 272 possessions. One thing about the Mist is that they get scoring production from everyone on the roster. It\u2019s truly a dynamic team that has put together to some statement wins.<\/p>\n

5. Rose<\/strong> (4-5)\"\"<\/p>\n

Rose drops from the No. 2 slot, but still profiles as a sleeping giant. They started off 3\u20132 with a smothering defense and a balanced offense, powered by Chelsea Gray, playing at an MVP level, and Shakira Austin. The main variable issue has been their struggles since incorporating Kahleah Copper back from injury.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

Right now, Copper has a negative net rating in almost every three-player lineup she\u2019s included in. If you replace her with Sug Sutton or Lexi Hull in the starting lineup, the Rose are positive. It\u2019s a bit of a surprise given Kah is familiar with the team.<\/p>\n

When Gray, Hull and Azur\u00e1 Stevens share the floor, Rose posts a +24.7 net rating over 129 possessions. There\u2019s also a scary\u2011good big\u2011big look with Gray, Stevens and Shakira Austin that\u2019s sitting on a massive +67.1 net rating in a smaller sample. The question for Rose isn\u2019t ceiling\u2014it\u2019s whether they can rediscover the right combinations and rhythm in time.<\/p>\n

6. Vinyl<\/strong> (4-5)\"\"<\/p>\n

The Erica Wheeler, Rhyne Howard and Dearica Hamby trio has a solid +4.8 net rating over 125 possessions, with its best showing coming in a win over Laces.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

What gives Vinyl some upside is that a lot of their best stretches track back to smaller sample lineups featuring Brittney Griner. The Williams, Howard and Griner trio has a gaudy +68.6 net rating in limited minutes, and Wheeler\u2011Howard pairings have finished with a positive plus\u2011minus in five of seven games. One thing that\u2019s interesting to note is how few minutes their guards have been playing compared to the wings. It\u2019s likely a strategic approach to have size and versatility on defense, but the guards will still be needed down the line for their ball handling and pick-and-roll abilities.<\/p>\n

7. Lunar Owls<\/strong> (2-7)\"\"<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, it hasn\u2019t been Lunar Owls\u2019 year, but at least we got a generational Marina Mabrey performance<\/a> in Philly! Her 47-point performance broke an Unrivaled record on a night where they broke the professional women\u2019s basketball attendance record.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

The primary trio of Rebecca Allen, Marina Mabrey and Aaliyah Edwards has a \u20136.2 net rating over 382 possessions overall, but that group has quietly improved. Edwards has been a bright spot as a high\u2011volume scorer, and a secondary group built around Diggins gives Owls more upside. There\u2019s a path to climbing, but for now their full\u2011season profile keeps them at No. 7.<\/p>\n

8. Hive<\/strong> (2-7)\"\"<\/p>\n

The encouraging sign for the Hive is that there\u2019s one small lineup giving them real juice. The Natisha Hiedeman-Kelsey Mitchell-Monique Billings group is a blistering +89.7 per 100 possessions in 39 possessions. This was the lineup that propelled them to beat Lunar Owls, when captain Sonia Citron lobbied to keep Hiedeman on the floor to close the game.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

The only problem is that\u2019s two small guards in a 3\u00d73 lineup, which is an issue against bigger teams. Until those pockets of success translate into more units, though, Hive remains at the bottom of the rankings.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"We are now halfway through the Unrivaled season, which means it\u2019s time to check in with the eight…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":568942,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[49],"tags":[9778,1491,1522,9777,5336,1512,10587,15535,10589,100254,48329,20022,5610,34429,233511,21825,2471,247667,94785,10592,1521,10594,12795,34428,62,71569,226089,9771,67,132,68,43950,232],"class_list":["post-568941","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-aaliyah-edwards","tag-aliyah-boston","tag-allisha-gray","tag-azura-stevens","tag-breanna-stewart","tag-brittney-griner","tag-cameron-brink","tag-chelsea-gray","tag-dearica-hamby","tag-dominique-malonga","tag-erica-wheeler","tag-kahleah-copper","tag-kelsey-plum","tag-kiki-iriafen","tag-laces","tag-marina-mabrey","tag-paige-bueckers","tag-possessions","tag-power-rankings","tag-rebecca-allen","tag-rhyne-howard","tag-rickea-jackson","tag-shakira-austin","tag-sonia-citron","tag-sports","tag-sug-sutton","tag-the-breeze","tag-tiffany-hayes","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us","tag-veronica-burton","tag-wnba"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/568941","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=568941"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/568941\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/568942"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=568941"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=568941"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=568941"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}