Paige Bueckers Selected No. 1 in Unrivaled Draft
The Unrivaled 3-on-3 basketball season kicks off on January 5, with some games starting earlier in Philadelphia on January 1. Paige Bueckers was chosen first overall by The Breeze during the Unrivaled draft held on Wednesday. This marks the second time Bueckers has been the No. 1 pick this year, having also been selected first in the WNBA draft by Dallas in April.
New Teams and Draft Structure
The Breeze is one of two new teams debuting in the league this winter in Miami, the other being The Hive, which had the No. 2 pick. The Hive selected Kelsey Mitchell.
Players were grouped into six position-based pods: guards, wings, and forwards. The draft included six rounds, with picks alternating among eight teams.
The Breeze Roster
- Paige Bueckers
- Rickea Jackson
- Dominique Malonga
- Aari McDonald
- Kate Martin
- Cameron Brink
The Hive Roster
- Sonia Citron
- Ezi Magbegor
- Natisha Hiedeman
- Saniya Rivers
- Monique Billings
Roster Protections
The league allowed the four playoff teams from last season — Rose, Lunar Owls, Vinyl, and Laces — to protect two players each, making them unavailable for the expansion teams to draft. The Phantom and Mist, which did not make the playoffs, were allowed to protect one player each.
Defending Champion Rose Roster
- Chelsea Gray
- Kahleah Copper
- Lexie Hull
- Azura Stevens
- Shakira Austin
- Sug Sutton
Lunar Owls Roster
- Co-founder Napheesa Collier
- Skylar Diggins
- Marina Mabrey
- Aaliyah Edwards
- Rebecca Allen
- Rachel Banham
The league divided players into pods by position and held six draft rounds with alternating picks among eight teams.
Author's summary: Paige Bueckers leads The Breeze as the top draft pick in Unrivaled's expanding 3-on-3 league, which introduces new teams and strategic roster protections for returning squads.