Unrivaled announced its final slate of players set to join the 3-on-3 league in its second season. Among them were Indiana Fever guard Aari McDonald and Chicago Sky guard Rebecca Allen.
The best was saved for last with the addition of 2025 No. 2 overall pick Dominique Malonga, making her the fifth WNBA rookie from the 2025 class to join Unrivaled and adding to the league’s pool of international stars. Malonga averaged 7.7 points and 4.7 rebounds in her first season with the Seattle Storm.
“We’re excited to have Dom join Unrivaled as she was signed as a player that was not under contract with any other club,” a spokesperson for Unrivaled said in a statement to Front Office Sports.
Malonga’s late addition to Unrivaled comes less than two weeks after Turkish club Fenerbahçe made public that she had “unilaterally terminated her professional player contract with our club without any just cause.” In response to the termination of her contract, the club also announced it would be exercising “all our legal rights to seek compensation for any material and moral damages incurred by our club during this process,” FOS previously reported.
Unrivaled isn’t beholden to the same operational standards as the WNBA because it isn’t signed to FIBA’s “letter of clearance” system. Under this system, players are required to obtain a letter of clearance from their teams and federations establishing that all duties within their contract have been fulfilled, making them eligible to play elsewhere.
The WNBA has had this agreement with FIBA since its inaugural season requiring players to be cleared in both directions when playing internationally and in the WNBA. Unrivaled does not require a letter of clearance.
Multiple sources told FOS that the WNBA already provided Fenerbahçe with Malonga’s letter of clearance. This means in order for Malonga to return to the WNBA in 2026 a letter of clearance will be required from the Turkish federation and Fenerbahçe, which could be withheld if they feel she violated the terms of her contract.
In October, Unrivaled general manager Clare Duwelius shared a statement after the league announced all but two players for the Season 2 roster.
“A few of the players we’re in productive negotiations with just need a little extra time, and we’re all about giving our athletes the space to make big decisions on their own terms,” Duwelius said.
An additional roster spot became available to replace guard DiJonai Carrington, who will miss the entire 2026 season due to ongoing recovery for a foot injury sustained during the WNBA season. According to a league source Carrington will receive half of her Unrivaled salary.
Unrivaled players are restricted from competing elsewhere during the eight-week season, which begins in January. Multiple players are currently on Euroleague rosters, including Allen and Monique Billings, who both play for Fenerbahçe.
Included in Thursday’s announcements were Unrivaled’s eight coaches. Teresa Weatherspoon, Nola Henry, DJ Sackmann, and Andrew Wade are the league’s four returning coaches. Unrivaled’s new coaches are former Storm coach Noelle Quinn, Chicago Sky assistant Rena Wakama, Connecticut Sun associate head coach Roneeka Hodges, and New York Liberty assistant Zach O’Brien.
