Unrivaled Basketball has revealed the head coaches who will lead the six 3-on-3 teams when the season begins in January.
The league announced a roster of six head coaches on Friday, headlined by former Chicago Sky head coach Teresa Weatherspoon. Other coaches include Phil Handy, Adam Harrington, Nola Henry, DJ Sackmann and Andrew Wade.
Weatherspoon, a Hall of Fame player and former New Orleans Pelicans assistant, was kicked out of the sky after just one season with the team, marking one of the most unexpected layoffs in a many WNBA head coaching positions are vacant this offseason.
Overall, Unrivaled’s head coaches offer a range of experience: Handy is a longtime NBA assistant coach with stints with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Toronto Raptors and Los Angeles Lakers. Harrington also has experience in the NBA, most recently as an assistant coach for the Brooklyn Nets.
Henry is the current player development coach for the Los Angeles Sparks, while Wade is the head video coordinator and assistant player development coach for the Washington Mystics. Sackmann, the founder of HoopStudy, is a trainer and skills coach who works with NBA and WNBA athletes.
Last month, unmatched revealed the names and logos of the six teams this will constitute the league. The teams, which will each have six players, will be called Laces, Mist, Rose, Lunar Owls, Phantom and Vinyl.
The league, which initially planned for 30 places in its squad, recently expanded to 36 with the hope of hunting even bigger fish, reportedly included Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark.
The selection process for the six teams will take place on November 20 and will follow an interesting draft-style format. Each player will be placed in one of six groups, with a plan for one player from each group to end up on each team. The six coaches will then work together to distribute the pod players to the six teams.
Coaches will only be assigned a team once rosters are established, with the goal of creating balanced rosters at all levels. Unrivaled also hopes to give fans the chance to see different pairings that they may not have the opportunity to see during the WNBA season.
The league, founded by WNBA stars Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier, will play in Miami and the season will begin on January 17. Unrivaled will air on TNT. after signing a media rights deal in October.
