With the tip-off on January 5, 2026, the players of the Unrivaled league are ready to take their talents to the courts of Miami. During press days, numerous players from various basketball clubs answered questions about their expectations for year two. The topics ranged from ongoing WNBA negotiations to expectations for season two. In a media sitdown with the co-founder of the premier three-on-three women’s league, Unrivaled, Breanna Stewart addressed the elephant in the room–and no, not Big Ellie–the question asked was regarding the New York Liberty’s shocking move from management to replace the head coach who brought New York its first championship.
Stewart expressed gratitude for her time with Coach Sandy and looks forward to welcoming their newly announced head coach, Chris DeMarco, a former assistant coach for the NBA’s Golden State Warriors. “Yeah… as far as Sandy, I really loved and appreciated playing with her. Like, I’m happy I got to do that. And while it’s sad that we’re no longer, we had some great years together, and winning a championship is going to be like the cherry on top of that and [I’m] excited to see what she does in Toronto.”
She continued, “And having Chris come from the Warriors coming to the Liberty, I’m excited, you know, I’m excited to see what he brings, his basketball IQ, like knowing that the NBA is kind of… they just do different things than the W and bring in that analytical side to what we do. But I’ve only talked to him on the phone, so I haven’t met him in person yet. And hopefully, I’ll meet him soon.”
“…knowing that…everything is working together, like in a tangent to just give me the rhythm that I need. So going to be confident going into unrivaled and really just getting back to myself. That’s my main idea.”
When reflecting on the recent disappointing ending to the WNBA season, Stewart explained, “….I think, as far as like the way that my season ended, obviously not happy with the Liberty and what happened…” The championship-winning team suffered a heartbreaking first-round elimination in the 2025 playoffs. Stewart continued, “But it gave me time…. it gave me time to be off from the court and really work on my body. And I think just really getting the fluidity and the flow back, like I was on the court with Zach earlier, and I just go back to myself, which I’m happy about.”
The focus then shifted to the ongoing WNBA CBA contract negotiations, whose deadline keeps being extended as players continue to advocate for themselves and the women’s sports profession.
“Well… you guys saw most of our [negotiation proposals]. I feel like most of the stuff got leaked from the latest proposal. And that’s where we’ve been at since the start,” she admitted.
She continued, “Like, more often than not, we’re the ones that are willing to compromise, and they still aren’t budging,” She admitted with a hint of frustration. “ So if they’re not going to budge, like, we’re going to get to this point where we’re just going to be at… a standoff. And that’s kind of where we’re at right now.”
“I think that we know how important as players that it is to play and to be on the court. But at the same time, if we’re not going to be valued the way that we know we should be in the way that every kind of number situation tells us, then we’re just not going to do something that doesn’t make sense for us. Makes sense,” Stewart concluded.