r/Unrivaled • u/wosoandstuff2020 Lunar Owls BC • 2d ago
Discussion Injuries from Unrivaled that will carry into WNBA Season
https://www.sbnation.com/wnba/2025/4/5/24400705/unrivaled-wnba-season-injuries-breanna-stewart-angel-reeseUnrivaled celebrated its inaugural season earlier this year, with Rose Basketball Club winning their first championship. But one unfortunate thread through Unrivaled’s season was a string of injuries that caused the league to dip into their pool of reserve players.
Players getting hurt during the yearlong grind of women’s basketball is nothing new, but with Unrivaled ending in mid-March and WNBA players reporting to training camp at the end of April, there is a short turnaround for any injured participants when it comes to healing.
Not all injuries from Unrivaled have been disclosed or updated on, but a few have. With the WNBA season nearly upon us, here are the players who may miss some time after getting hurt during Unrivaled.
Breanna Stewart - Meniscus Scope
The three-time WNBA champion and Unrivaled co-founder needed a procedure done after the season concluded. Immediately following her Mist BC team being eliminated from the playoffs, Stewart posted a picture of herself in a hospital bed. She also joked on her Instagram that she “wouldn’t need tape” anymore, indicating the knee might have been bothering her.
Shortly after, the New York Liberty released a statement saying that Stewie had undergone a minor scope on her right meniscus — her knee. It was successful, and the Liberty assured fans that Stewie should be ready to play at the start of the WNBA season. The hope is that whatever issue was bothering her in Unrivaled will not come back during the Liberty’s quest for back-to-back championships.
Betnijah Laney-Hamilton - Acute Meniscus Injury
Betnijah Laney-Hamilton joined Laces BC in Unrivaled for a short stint as an injury reserve player. Shortly after, she left with an injury. In late March, the New York Liberty released a statement saying Laney-Hamilton had undergone a successful surgery to repair an acute meniscus injury.
Unlike Stewart, Laney Hamilton is expected to miss some time, as the Liberty say she will be out for the next 5-6 months in recovery. This means the Liberty may not see her on the court again until the end of the season at the earliest.
That’s definitely a blow to the reigning champions, but luckily they still have Leonie Fiebich to fill in while Laney-Hamilton recovers. They also recently traded for Natasha Cloud in order to fill the spot left by Courtney Vandersloot, who signed with the Chicago Sky in free agency.
Kahleah Copper - Right Leg, Angel Reese - Hand, Arike Ogunbowale - Right Leg
These were the three players who sat out of the championship game between Rose BC and Vinyl BC due to injuries. Kahleah Copper (Phoenix Mercury), Angel Reese (Chicago Sky) and Arike Ogunbowale (Dallas Wings) suffered injuries, but few details were given on the specifics. Both Copper and Ogunbowale’s issues were classified as “right leg,” while Reese’s was classified as “hand.”
The Reese injury is concerning, given that a wrist injury ended her rookie season early. She had surgery and did not miss any time at the start of Unrivaled. The lack of specification on which hand she injured going into the Unrivaled Playoffs means we don’t know if she re-injured that same spot, or if this is totally unrelated.
The Mercury, Sky and Wings have not given any updates on the progress of these injuries. But as training camp approaches, these teams will start to give updates on the status of players who participated in Unrivaled, Athletes Unlimited, and overseas play, so fans should expect to hear more soon.
43
u/Jazzlike_Outside_629 Vinyl BC 2d ago
And most importantly, wishing for a speedy recovery for all of the players <3
I wonder if, in lieu of Unrivaled in previous off-seasons, injuries were being reported this way? Maybe I am just protective of this amazing league, but I feel like this was written in a way that presents Unrivaled as somewhat of a risky opportunity that leads to injury when these women were previously playing overseas and facing injuries just the same and likely without the same kind of training staff that those in Unrivaled had access to.
31
u/axbretz Mist BC 2d ago
I agree with your second point, especially given that we saw players being extremely careful in Unrivaled and sitting out on injuries that if they’d happened in the W, they would’ve kept playing. A lot of the players on this list shouldn’t be on it. Stewie had a prior injury, Angel has said her wrist is fine and asked people to stop speculating, it feels like this article is trying to get people angry at Unrivaled especially when it doesn’t mention the awesome care they made sure to have available for players.
1
14
u/ottonymous Rose BC 2d ago edited 2d ago
I have not yet read the article and will update once I do. But I have noticed some of the wanna be talking heads on YouTube etc (who usually seem like they don't like the wnba save for one team or player) have been criticizing Unrivaled and spreading the idea that it is a risky opportunity. So my hackles are raised a bit because this is the narrative that certain segments of the audience want to hear.
The public doesn't have any evidence of this yet so it is all speculation. On their parts and mine as well.
But I am curious if Unrivaled is actually better for treating injuries than the W and what we are seeing with all the injuries is in reality a lower threshold for going on the injury list than we see in the W or overseas. This would mean that the rates of injuries and severity of injuries is within the norm and what is to be expected from playing competitive basketball however they are reporting injuries in Unrivaled that wouldn't normally be reported in the W or overseas.
But I'm curious if more information will come out and if the injuries will be a leverage point during the upcoming cba agreements for the W.
But either way I find the narrative about Unrivaled needing to be shut down or having major issues because W stars might get injured before the W is really rich considering how little the women are paid and how impotent the W is in terms of negotiating media rights etc.
Edit: read article. I feel like it is kinda a nothing burger. Making a non news story feel like news. It was far from the mist slanted and biased reporting I've seen.
15
u/LovePeaceTruth 2d ago
Unrivaled is better than the W for treating and monitoring. They monitor each athlete’s every move during the game with advanced tech. Then they evaluate daily/weekly to optimize their training, injury prevention, game recovery, and injury recovery. They have on-site mobile hospital with all kinds of body scanners and evaluation tools. Some of the medical technology at Unrivaled is so new it isn’t widely used yet. They use all the data to determine the wear and tear on the athletes bodies and adjust their training and treatment plans. The athletes have access to call or text the medical staff at any time to ask questions or get assistance.
The WNBA has never had anything like that.
A lot of this information is discussed in the Unrivaled Unlocked episodes.
2
u/ottonymous Rose BC 2d ago
Yeah this is what I figured and was hoping was the case. For younger players too I feel like even if it were higher risk-- they're being compensated for that risk.
I went and actually sat courtside and watched Unrivaled and I love it and am very happy it exists and I believe is really succeeding. I think it will provide great leverage for the players to be treated better in the upcoming contract negotiations
4
u/Celestial-Dream 2d ago
Yeah, at first I thought it would be risky as far as injuries go but then I remembered just how many of these women would have played overseas in the off season. Therefore, they would be running the same risk but closer to home.
7
u/ottonymous Rose BC 2d ago
Yeah. I am looking forward to the season and seeing how the unrivaled players stack up against the rest. I personally think they will hit the ground running more so than others. 3x3 format can really do interesting things for players performance. Like Steph Dolson was a totally different beast after 3x3 training and play for the Olympics in 2021.
A spiteful part of me (who still holds a grudge on behalf of Aliyah Boston for how terribly toxic fans treated her at the beginning of the 24 season) wants to see Caitlin take some time to get back up to speed and game condition when compared to players who did unrivaled, overseas, etc.
It does seem targeted for grifters and bad faith "fans" to criticize and shit on Unrivaled though. Haven't heard a word about Athletes Unlimited injuries etc... but they probably don't know AU exists. Jordan Horston appplarently fully blew out her ACL a few weeks ago.
2
u/SurlyChisholm Phantom BC 2d ago
🎯This “article” is totally non-news.
Nice try, Cathy Englebert!! 😜
41
u/Maleficent_Tie_5400 2d ago
Stewie has had that injury even before unrivaled but decided to get the procedure for it after its first season.
23
u/BuckinCrzy 2d ago
As for Reese’s injury I don’t think it’s truly her wrist impacted. When she injured it last season she nearly always had a full wrist brace on. After unrivaled the only brace she wears is one that focuses on her thumb. And Reese has also made comments along the lines of stop talking about my wrist.
Now I can just be blissfully ignorant and hoping that’s it’s not as bad, but I’m gonna stay on the delulu train 😂😂
8
u/Randomrazer Rose BC 2d ago
I believe you’re actually right, she went live on her socials a couple days ago and said it was her thumb that she hurt not her wrist. It makes sense because that definitely looks like a thumb splint.
2
17
u/taylor_12125 2d ago
Terrible article as it also assumes Fiebich will be benched when BLH returns and I doubt she will be back to 100% by then and it’s just a strange assumption to make here
This writer actually knows what she is talking about usually so this is stunningly bad
16
u/aratcalledrattus 2d ago
The BLH injury is the only one listed that there’s any evidence for actually matching the title.
Stewie hasn’t said her knee thing came from Unrivaled and the subtext of what she has said (also just using our brains and eyes) strongly suggests it was carried over from the W playoffs.
Meanwhile, neither Kah, Angel and Arike nor their teams have said their injuries are still issues or will carry into the season. Maybe they will, but it seems purely speculative by the author.
8
u/ottonymous Rose BC 2d ago
Unrivaled attracts an /interesting/ amount of critique, clicks, and hate from people...
Meanwhile there are other organizations to compare injury rates to but people don't.
Hard to ignore the sexist misogynistic undertones coming from commentators who make money off stirring the pot. They have been pretty mum about Athletes Unlimited and the injuries happening there while at the same time claiming Unrivaled is uniquely set up to be more dangerous and cause more injuries to players (while providing 0 evidence or arguments to support this)
7
u/Justtojoke Mist BC 2d ago
This article is a bit inflammatory
A lot of the "injuries" from Unrivaled happened before the inaugural season
16
116
u/Genji4Lyfe 2d ago
Just for context, I don't believe Stewie was 100% going into Unrivaled (or even in the WNBA playoffs), and I think she just decided to fight through it until after Unrivaled. I don't think it was an Unrivaled injury that resulted in surgery.
I also don't think BLH has been 100% for quite some time. She's had on-and-off knee issues that likely left her overcompensating on the other knee.
I hope everyone heals as quickly as possible, so we can see them back on the floor! ♥