FOR ROSE BC, VICTORY TASTES SWEET!

Congratulations to Chelsea Gray and Rose BC for winning the inaugural Unrivaled Championship!

After being counted out in several preseason polls, Rose BC forged through the thorns to claim the first-ever Unrivaled Championship.

Rose BC took down Laces BC to punch their ticket to the Championship game. They took on Vinyl BC, who knocked off league MVP Napheesa Collier and Lunar Owls BC. After a back-and-forth contest, Rose BC overcame nine lead changes en route to victory.

“We know what we are capable of, and we know what we can do,” an impassioned Kahleah Copper told media after the win.

Unrivaled Playoff MVP Chelsea Gray admitted some of the noise surrounding her after the 2024 WNBA season motivated her performance at Unrivaled.

“Last year was hard,” Gray said. The Las Vegas Aces guard missed significant time after recovering from an injury in the 2023 WNBA Finals against the New York Liberty. Although Gray was named to the 2024 Olympic Team, Gray played limited minutes en route to an eighth Olympic medal for USA Basketball.

“I came back, and I still wasn’t 100 percent,” Gray said. So, while much was made about her performance ahead of Unrivaled, she stayed quiet, put in the work, and bided her time.

“I just do my job and talk after winning … yeah, I had a chip on my shoulder and that $50k on the line,” Gray added.

The bag is secured. So, what will Gray spend her prize money on?

“My son needs milk,” Gray said, referring to Lennox, who celebrated a first birthday last month.

Message sent. Never count out the Point Gawd.

  NEW YORK GETS ITS POINT GUARD

During Sunday’s Selection Sunday show and right before the second Unrivaled playoff game, the New York Liberty shook up the WNBA landscape.

The team announced that they acquired All Defensive Team guard and former WNBA Champion, Natasha Cloud, from the Connecticut Sun.

The Liberty will send the Sun their first-round pick this year (originally acquired in 2023 as part of the Marina Mabrey trade) and their first next year. The Sun will continue their rebuild as they work to re-establish themselves as contenders.

For the champs, this helps offset the loss of Courtney Vandersloot at point guard, shores up their defense even more, and gives them a player who can do a little bit of everything on the court.

The New York Liberty also re-signed another key player, Marine Johannès. We’ll have more to come on the Cloud trade and the Jojo re-signing Sunday morning on Gotta Get Up: A Podcast for New York Liberty fans, and here at the Women’s Basketball Roundup!

 💰 MONEY MOVES

The road to CBA negotiations

Later this year, the Women’s National Basketball Player Association (WNBPA) and WNBA will negotiate a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). Since the last CBA agreement in 2020, the league has taken big steps forward as it relates to visibility, funding, marketing, etc. With the players becoming more well known and expanding their reach, the time has come to maximize those gains.

Minnesota Lynx superstar, Unrivaled co-founder, and WNBPA Vice President Napheesa Collier recently appeared on CBS Sports’ We Need to Talk with Alicia Jay and discussed a variety of topics. Towards the end of the episode, they discussed CBA negotiations and the possibility of a player walkout. Phee mentioned that there has been a power shift towards the players in recent years and discussed the players’ push for revenue shares similar to their peers in the NBA:

I’ve started reading Theresa Runstedtler’s Black Ball, and it’s a fascinating book so far. It discusses the fight NBA players had in the 1970s to obtain labor rights, equal treatment, etc. In the foreword, Basketball Hall of Famer Spencer Haywood discussed his history of advocacy and one of his newest goals:

I was shocked at that and a bit ashamed that I didn’t know this. I did some research and saw that Sheryl Swoopes spoke about this very issue on Unapologetically Angel with Angel Reese last September:

You rarely have chances to totally reshape the past, present, and future of the league. As Collier noted, players have more power in the upcoming CBA negotiations than they did in past years. The players have helped drive massive amounts of new interest into the game and the players coming up the ranks will continue building on it. And with the influx of money coming in, the league office won’t be able to run their usual “we’re losing money!” play.

With the momentum the WNBPA has built, they have a chance to chart a new path for players while also ensuring the heroes of past generations get the support and rewards that they deserve.

📰 WHAT WE’RE READING!

At Black Rosie Media, we love to give flowers to other writers and creators in women’s basketball.

Here’s what we’re reading:

• Is 2025 the Year the Connecticut Sun Flames Out? Exploring the Future of the WNBA Team by Brian Fleurantin for Black Rosie Media

• NY Liberty acquire Natasha Cloud from Connecticut Sun in exchange for two first-rounders by Brian Fleurantin for Netsdaily

• The Future of the WNBA Looks a Lot Like Dominique Malonga by Mark Schindler for The Ringer

• Why has this season entered a danger zone for No. 6 Notre Dame women's basketball? by Tom Noie for South Bend Tribune

• Here are four ways Unrivaled could change the WNBA by Ben Pickman for The Athletic

• Is 2025 the year UConn returns to the top of the sport? by Tee Baker for The Next

• 68 Teams, 68 Stats: Previewing the 2025 NCAA Tournament by Jacob Mox for Her Hoop Stats

• 6 women’s college basketball teams that could make their first ever Final Four by Justin Carter for Fansided

• LSU Star Flau'jae Johnson to Help Wipe Out $5 Million in Debt for Louisiana Families by Joe Price for Complex

• Q&A: Napheesa Collier on Unrivaled pushing personal brands, March Madness and more by Meghan L. Hall for For the Win

• McKayla Maroney opens up on finding peace, letting go of guilt and grief by Scott Bregman for Olympics

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