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- [00:00]
Tommy Alter
Foreign.
- [00:09]
Jason Gallagher
Hey everybody, welcome back to Bird's Eye View. Today we're giving you a little preview of the league that has the off season feeling very much in season for women's professional basketball. I mean, it's all over social media and in the group chats and you know what that is? That is Unrivaled. It is year two for the new league, new energy and let's just say they're about to have some fun and compete like no other. Between the player led vibes and the way the game is being experienced for fans, there's a lot to unpack and even more to be excited about this season. So this is a special Sue's View. I'm breaking it all down with my guy Tommy, having some fun and talking about why Unrivaled already has us locked in. Let's do it. Support for this show comes from TNT Sports. Do you know what it's like to get up on a Saturday morning, walk to a court with nothing more than just a ball and a water bottle in your hand and spend hours getting buckets? It's just about that's the type of energy found at Unrivaled. That's right. Season 2 of Unrivaled is back on TNT, TruTV and HBO. Max Games will air Friday through Monday beginning January 5th at 1pm Eastern. For more information and to stay up to date with league news, Visit Unrivaled on tntsports.com follow nrivaledbasketball and rwsports on social platforms and subscribe to the league's newsletter. Found at Unrivaled Basketball Newsletter Support for.
- [01:27]
Odoo Sponsor
This show comes from Odoo. Running a business is hard enough, so why make it harder? With a dozen different apps that don't talk to each other? Introducing Odoo. It's the only business software you'll ever need. It's an all in one fully integrated platform that makes your work easier. CRM, accounting, inventory, e commerce, and more. And the best part, Odoo replaces multiple expensive platforms for a fraction of the cost. That's why over thousands of businesses have made the switch. So why not you try Odoo for free@odoo.com that's o d o o.com.
- [02:08]
Jason Gallagher
All right Tommy, it's time for Unrivaled. It's unrivaled time. What do you got for me?
- [02:13]
Tommy Alter
It's about that time we are taping this end of December. Happy Holidays everybody where we want to put this out. Leading into the unrivaled season, early January. I think my first question for you, broadly, after year one, heading into year two, with the, with the gameplay overall, what did you enjoy the most about last season on unrivaled and what are you looking forward to off of that heading into year two from the gameplay specifically?
- [02:40]
Jason Gallagher
Yeah, I think I enjoyed the Elam ending the most. I loved that with each game, you know you were going to get something exciting at the end no matter what. Like even technically in a blowout, you're still going to get something. There's going to be a game winner. So that's by far my favorite part. I really liked watching because the skill sets that can have impact in this league are kind of different from what you'd see in the wnba. What you'd see even five on five. So it was really interesting to see like which player skill sets, right, going to come out. It was also interesting to see like who figured the three on three game out the quickest. I think there were some teams that figured out quicker. I think there were some teams that took them a second at the end though. What ended up happening was those that made plays and know how to win games, they won the championship. I'm talking about Chelsea Gray.
- [03:30]
Tommy Alter
Well, so I was going to, I was going to ask specifically, did you feel like we talked about before last, before the first season, just three at three being different and how the basketball overall is different because of it. But did you feel like there was an advantage for the teams with the better guards and especially the better point guards?
- [03:51]
Jason Gallagher
Man, yes and no. I think it was the way it stuck out to me was there was an advantage to teams that had players who are like Swiss army knives. When you had players on your team, regardless of position, that could do multiple things and obviously the less weaknesses you have, the better. But when you could do multiple things, when one player could do multiple things, I feel like those teams did well and it didn't really matter, guard or forward. From my memory, like, obviously the player that jumps out, Nafeesa Collier, she can pretty much do everything on the basketball floor. Not a lot of weaknesses, if any, in the three on three format. So. So she obviously did super, super well. Another player that comes to mind is like Alyssa Thomas, total Swiss Arvey knife, right? She got hurt, the Laces suffered. Same with Jackie Young. But Jackie Young, that's definitely someone who this year, if she's healthy for the full season, unlike last year, I mean, that's going to be, if you could call it a breakout performer, like everybody knows her, but that could be the unrivaled breakout performer.
- [04:52]
Tommy Alter
Is there anyone else who really stands out as maybe kind of another breakout, um, who people aren't really thinking about so much?
- [04:59]
Jason Gallagher
Um, yeah, definitely. Well, first of all, I just want to reiterate Jackie's only. I'm only considering her a breakout. Cause she didn't really get to be like at full strength last year.
- [05:09]
Tommy Alter
Yeah.
- [05:09]
Jason Gallagher
So we didn't really see like a full version of her. And I think she's going to kill it in this format. A lot of what we saw last year, like Aaliyah Edwards was a breakout performer last year. And that does, to answer your previous question, that does kind of show you how size can impact in this, in this format, like her size, especially in that one on one competition, she had an advantage. But you know, outside of obvious players that we know, like again, the Nafeesa Colliers, I think Stewie wasn't super healthy last year. You know, right after unrivaled. She had to get her knee. She had to have surgery on her knee. So obviously she wasn't 100%. So I'm looking to see what she's like in a full healthy season. But then there's some other names maybe, maybe names people aren't thinking about. I think Nas Hillman is set to be a breakout performer. She had a great WNBA season. Her skill set at her size I think is going to kill. She can post up hurt you on the inside has gotten so much better from three and then another player. And there's a theme here we'll see if our listeners can pick up on it is Veronica Burton. Here's a guard that is just super feisty defensively, has really developed her offensive game. Um, and then the theme that I'm talking about is the, the last name I'm gonna throw in there is Alicia Gray. Again, not a breakout performer because we know her. She actually did really well last year. But I think it's just gonna be more about seeing the same. And you know, three of the names I just named were on the 3x3 USA basketball team.
- [06:38]
Tommy Alter
I was also gonna say three of those names are on the Mist, you know, and two of those other names are on the laces. So I, I feel like we're getting a little bit of a prediction of on success with.
- [06:49]
Jason Gallagher
With maybe not really, but maybe.
- [06:51]
Tommy Alter
What do you think about the team I wanted to ask you about? And we can run through some of the other rosters, but the Breeze in particular just have an interesting group. It's Paige, Ria Jackson, Cambrink, Ari McDonald and Kate Martin. Lot of good pros obviously on that in that group. I'm curious how you feel like that particular group meshes and fits.
- [07:17]
Jason Gallagher
Yeah. We didn't even talk about this beforehand, but great segue, Tommy. Because at first glance this team, I was like, oof, they're kind of young. They don't really have like just experience in general. And I was like, oh, we'll see. But then you look closer, you start to like really take a peek and you're like, wait a minute. All these like Swiss army knife type players that I was mentioning earlier, they've got like three or four of them. Three for sure.
- [07:46]
Tommy Alter
High upside.
- [07:47]
Jason Gallagher
Yeah. You know those Swiss army knives. So you're talking Cameron Brink, you know, Dom Dominique Malanga and then Rekia Jackson. I mean those three, you could put them anywhere. And then I would even Kate Martin, she's really become like a super steady player who. I love players like this, like role players in the WNBA who know how to highlight their strengths, hide their weaknesses. And that's what this three on three format again really pulls out. And then you get to the guard spot. I mean it kind of goes without saying. It's like Paige is Paige. She's really proven herself. She's going to be even more difficult to guard in this. And then Arie McDonald, that's a change maker with her speed on both sides of the ball, like that's a change making player. So again, like at first glance I was like, oof, young. And then you pull back and you kind of let it settle in and you're like, wait a minute. This. This might, this team might be a problem.
- [08:41]
Tommy Alter
How about the. You mentioned Fee before. How about the Lunar Owl? So it's Fee, Skyler Diggins, Aaliyah. You mentioned Rebecca Allen, Mabry, Marina Mabry, and Rachel Banham. I have a question. Actually, it is interesting. The. The Vets versus The. The Vets versus the youth dynamic in this. In the like. With a team like the Lunar Owls, it is like this is such a veteran bunch.
- [09:05]
Jason Gallagher
Yeah.
- [09:06]
Tommy Alter
You know, versus The. Versus. Versus. Versus The Breeze, which is all, you know, kind of upside and just like even what makes more. What lends itself better to success in a format like this? I guess.
- [09:18]
Jason Gallagher
Yeah. I mean, I think there's so many ways to skin the cat in this. In 3x3 you can go in so many different directions. The draft played out the way. It played out the way they did. It was the. The. The teams that were in the playoffs. So you had the Owls, the Roses, the Laces and The vinyl, they got to two on their roster. The teams from last year that didn't make the playoffs, Phantom miss, they got to protect one. And then the new teams, the Breeze and the Hive, they just had like good draft position. I could argue that having experience, I could argue that 100% argue that having versatility matters. But as far as experience versus youth, man, I think there's pros and cons to both. There's pros and cons to both. I'll tell you what though, just being at USA camp, you know, a couple weeks ago, having all those young players, there's an energy to youthful teams and I think when you're in the slog of a season, that energy can, can help. But they have to click and that's really the difference. Experienced teams generally click quicker. So to talk about the Owls, the Lunar Owls, I think on paper, like this is the strongest team. It's the most well balanced. They have a great mix of versatility. Everybody's kind of bringing something different last year, you know, there's some, you know, Fee sky, there's some, there's probably some, you know, residual feeling around how last year finished. So they're probably coming in motivated. But yeah, I like, I like their mix of playing and, and they added Marina Mabry who's just like, like she doesn't give a fuck. Like she's going out there to win.
- [10:52]
Tommy Alter
Yeah, she's, she's just going to let it fly to that, to that point. About the. I'm curious what you think about just especially with a condensed season like this, you know, a two month run, who that, who that plays into advantage for more, you think?
- [11:08]
Jason Gallagher
Man, I think when you have a short season, it's kind of up for grabs. The longer the season goes, that's when I think you start to see more implications of the youth versus experience. So it's kind of hard to say, but I do think the experience might win out in the shorter season. Because of what I just said, you're likely going to click quicker. You just know what it takes and what it is to click, but you never know. You never know. And that's what's exciting about this season. Like every single team has such a different makeup.
- [11:40]
Tommy Alter
I have a 3 out of 3 broad 3 on 3 question for you which is definitely relevant to unrival, but I feel like just in general for three on three games that matter because there's a distinction in this obviously with versus five on five if you, if you have a, an elite scorer ar whoever it is you know, just take her as an example, an elite scorer who gets hot. And we've all seen her do that in W games, in college games, whatever it is, where she's just taken over a game. Do you feel like there's a different dynamic about just fully taking over when it's three on three versus. Versus five on five, where you. Does it feel harder to do. Does it feel like more selfish to doing three on three, or is it more just kind of like if you're hitting shots, you're hitting shots and it doesn't really make a difference either way?
- [12:27]
Jason Gallagher
I think it's. God, three on three just is different. So, you know, I'm going to start by saying there's some things that are easier in 5 on 5 that are harder in 3 on 3. There's some things that are easier in 3 on 3 that are harder in 5 on 5. It's just so different. But with 3 on 3, I actually don't think it's selfish. It's less selfish. There's less of you. So if someone's hot, you cannot ignore it. Plus, it's easier in three on three to put them on an island, right? To put them out there on the wing. Everybody clear out. It's just so much. So what's easier offensively on three on three is what makes defense so hard in three on three. I mean, there's a reason why when you are training 5 on 5 and you're working on. On your 5 on 5 teams, there's a reason you go to a lot of three on three drills, because it's how you exploit, right? If you're on defense, you're getting exploited. And so it's really hard to work that. So from an offensive standpoint, when somebody is on fire, when something's clicking, you can go to that. I mean, it's really on the defense to figure it out. And it's not easy to figure out.
- [13:27]
Tommy Alter
I was going to. I was going to say you can. You can. If you're on the other side of that, that's not fun because there's not really any place to hide.
- [13:35]
Jason Gallagher
No, you are literally on an island. You can never hide. Support for this show comes from TNT Sports. If you listen to this podcast, I have to believe that you're into basketball. And you know what the best thing is about ball? Getting to show who's really the best of the best. When it's not just for money or fame or endorsements, it's just simply about putting a team on the court to show who's best. That type of energy is simply unrivaled. That's right, Season two of Unrivaled is back and they are ready to ball. This season will feature an exciting fourth night of basketball, providing Unrivaled with four consecutive nights of game action. Friday through Monday, games will air on TNT, TruTV and HBO Max Fridays and Mondays, while games scheduled on Saturdays and Sundays will air on TRUTV and HBO Max. Get ready to see Nafeesa Collier, Brianna Stewart and Kelsey Mitchell take on newcomers Paige Beckers and Kelsey Plumb for the right to be called champions. The fun begins January 5th at 1pm Eastern. For more information and to stay up to date with league news, Visit Unrivaled on tntsports.com, follow nrivaledbasketball and rwsports on social platforms and subscribe to the league's newsletter found at Unrivaled Basketball Newsletter.
- [14:46]
Odoo Sponsor
Support for this show comes from Odoo Running a business is hard enough, so why make it harder? With a dozen different apps that don't talk to each other? Introducing Odoo. It's the only business software you'll ever need. It's an all in one fully integrated platform that makes your work easier. CRM, accounting, inventory, E commerce, and more. And the best part? Odoo replaces multiple expensive platforms for a fraction of the cost. That's why over thousands of businesses have made the switch. So why not you try Odoo for free@odoo.com that's o d o o.com.
- [15:27]
Richie Bozek
Okay, so you may have heard New York City gets a new mayor this week. 34 year old Democratic Socialist Zoran Mamdani. Mamdani's election was one of the biggest wins for the left in 2025. But since then he's been quietly going about a new task, trying to make sure his sweeping campaign promises can actually happen.
- [15:48]
Jason Gallagher
An agenda that will freeze the rents for more than 2 million rent stabilized tenants, make buses fast and free and deliver universal childcare across our city. I'm a little skeptical about how he's gonna get everything done. I think that's what a lot of people are promised. So many things like free buses, housing and all that. Promises, promises.
- [16:10]
Richie Bozek
Can this new kind of politics succeed or is this Mamdani's high point? The days before he gets into office? On this episode of Today Explained from Vox, we sit down with New York City City's mayor elect and ask him directly, is he for real? That's this week on Today Explained.
- [16:29]
Tommy Alter
If you had played, if you had been in this format, looking back at it now, who's your ideal team that you would be a part of? Okay, who do you just not. You have to. It doesn't be like a specific number of them. Who do you think, like, would crush historically in this format, in particular in threes would be hard to play against, man.
- [16:54]
Jason Gallagher
Maya Moore crush crushes this format. She's a offensive nightmare from a matchup standpoint. Like, who is guarding her? She does it all. I also think defensively, when you can have a player who both is offensively impossible to guard, but then defensively can switch. Because back to this whole conversation. If you can have players, three players on the floor that can switch different actions, I think you have a better chance of not getting put on that island. Right. It's when you end up becoming, you know, you're putting Arie McDonald on Brittney Griner because you switched. That's not gonna work. So I think someone like Maya Moore, obviously Diana Taurasi as well, like in the guard spot. I don't think my 5 on 5 team would be that different from who I would say. But then, you know, you want an Elena Deladon, a Candace Parker, Stewie and Nafisa. Are those players now. I mean, you could. There's more than just them, but we'll give a shout out to the founders, you know, those players that have a ton of size and can do it all. And then to me, like, and this is probably just me giving a nod to myself, but also to like a Chelsea Gray, when you can outsmart the three on three game. Yeah, you exploit even more than you can in 5 on 5. Cause if you can pick things apart, which you can super easy here, and you're one step ahead of everybody from like an IQ standpoint, you can really, really exploit.
- [18:17]
Tommy Alter
That's what's interesting. That's what. That's what we were talking about before, about just the point guards in general, how you just have the ability to take it over. There are fewer variables that you have to account for. So once you sort of have the understanding of it.
- [18:30]
Jason Gallagher
But real quick, real quick, this is the. This. So this is the one big difference. Because it's three on three. You are literally in every single play. Offense, defense, there is no, like, get a breath, take a breather. Oh, sit in the corner of this possession, or the player I'm guarding is sitting in the corner of this possession. So that's where, like, who's in shape? Who plays well when they're tired. These are other factors that are hard to see, like naked eye hard to see, but. But play huge, huge roles.
- [19:04]
Tommy Alter
Know what? I'm also interested in it be. It'd be a good convo when the season's done maybe for you to have with a coach. I'm interested in the, in the, in the difference in the prep for this in terms of game planning. Because some of what you're describing is a little bit just like it just go out there and play, you know, like it doesn't seem as much strategic as it is just that you are like. It's like bare knuckle brawl a little bit.
- [19:30]
Richie Bozek
Yeah.
- [19:30]
Tommy Alter
And so if they are able to like strategize and also if that comes over time where like maybe they're able to figure it out by end of January, but not, you know, week one or something like that.
- [19:42]
Jason Gallagher
Yeah, no, it'd be great to talk to a coach to see like how they game plan it all. My guess would be that a large part of your impact as a coach is just trying to find moments to stay steal possessions. Like do something tricky on defense. Right. Set up a play. Cause you do see during the course of the game, the camera goes in the huddle, you're gonna see the coaches draw plays up. So they are drawing stuff up. But who can do better, like atos to get you just easy buckets. Cause I think the more you can steal, that's where you can have impact. Cause the reality is I'm not religious, but I know this is a saying. I bet those coaches are just like letting go and let God. Like they have no say that game gets going and they, it's like they, they just have to hope that they prepared their team well enough because it's just going to happen so fast. You can't always get in there.
- [20:36]
Tommy Alter
That's what I mean. It's just, it just is a, it is a. It feels like it's a preparation when the season is going. That's going to be happening before the game where you're going to be like, you know, you're going to have scouts and you're going to have different things just based off of, you know, film and things that have happened so far in the season for sure. And then maybe like out of bounds and things like that, like plays like that where you can draw something up.
- [21:01]
Jason Gallagher
Yeah, but other to your point, I think pre game prep same. I think adjustments in the game, they're gonna try to do their best. And I think like reviewing, going over the film, learning from it. Oh, you could have Been here, you could have been there, that kind of a thing. But because the games are so unpredictable, you're really just preparing for like hopefully we, maybe we see that again. It's never going to be the same thing from one game to the next to the next. And then yes, stealing possessions in the after timeout moments. That's what ATO is. For those that don't know it's after timeout, which is like there is a timeout. You're in a huddle. What play can I draw?
- [21:36]
Tommy Alter
So, so Rose BC the one last year, do you remember much about like what they got?
- [21:45]
Jason Gallagher
They got hot. Yeah, they got hot. They got hot. Kah and Chelsea, they ended up becoming like this backcourt that was virtually not unstoppable. Cause the game, it was, the games were really good, but just they willed it. They found a way, they figured it out and that's what is interesting. Right. Like the Laces started out hot, had injuries, kind of, you know, fell off and then it was the Owls. The Owls, they were the tip top of the league the whole time. And then the Rose got hot at the right time. So you know, that's what's, that's why you got to like stay with it because the, the season could really turn at any moment for any team.
- [22:26]
Tommy Alter
It's a little, that's a little March Madnessy. Yeah, there's some of that. There's some of that.
- [22:32]
Jason Gallagher
Yeah. It, it only need, you only need to get hot for like a little period of time.
- [22:36]
Tommy Alter
The gameplay differences with the, with the W are obvious. Just what we talked about. Structurally. But do you think there's any, anything else from like a prep standpoint that you feel like is. Is particularly different prep standpoint?
- [22:51]
Jason Gallagher
You know, I've heard that. I actually think there was even some research done on the impact of playing in unrivaled three on three. But the fact that it's full court so there's a lot of start stop, way more start stop than in five on five. So a lot of D cells, which if anyone is in the world of sports D cells is something constantly talked about, has a lot of impact on your body. So I'm curious in terms of prep if that's not becoming more of a focal point. I know that unrivaled they eliminated back to backs last year. You played one back to back almost like every other week or give or take. So no more back to backs. There's more teams which means more games. There's trying to spread em out for players to have a chance to recover. So I'm curious in terms prep if players get on top of that, like which ones get on top of that quickly and does that pay dividends in the end?
- [23:44]
Tommy Alter
Yeah. The detail thing is really interesting too because obviously there's an injury risk associated with that and, and with these rosters, you know, there's not a huge amount of depth. And so you can't have a team, you know, you can't have a team that's ravaged by injuries in the, in the, you know, the fever. Were able to figure it out during the regular season because of the depth of a W roster versus a. You know, they could make something work. But it is just. That is a, it's a unique challenge and that you really have to keep the players on the court here as much as possible.
- [24:18]
Jason Gallagher
Yeah, I feel like. Yeah, mention it again. It happened to the laces. I do. Unrivaled. Also added, you know, because Natisha Heideman last year was like the great example of this. She was on, I think, I don't even remember like three or four different teams. She just kind of became like that replacement player. So this year they have players like in Miami, like at unrivaled, kind of like waiting for that moment. If it does, knock on wood. Hopefully it doesn't. But if it does happen. So I think they're trying to figure, figure that out because. Yeah, when it's a six person roster.
- [24:48]
Tommy Alter
Yeah.
- [24:49]
Jason Gallagher
It's not, I mean, two injuries and then you're down to one sub. Which is, which is not easy. It's not easy.
- [24:56]
Tommy Alter
I'm looking at these other. I'm looking at some of the other rosters. The Hive got an. The Hive are interesting. It's a good team.
- [25:05]
Jason Gallagher
Yeah. I would say from. In terms of like unrivaled, like specific unrivaled basketball.
- [25:10]
Tommy Alter
Yeah.
- [25:11]
Jason Gallagher
Between Mo Billings, Saniya Rivers, Natisha Heideman, who I just mentioned, Ezzy McGore, Sonya Citron, Kelsey Mitchell, they have the least unrivaled experience. Only Natisha was there last year. So do they pick it up quick? Because it is different. It is different. I remember Chelsea Gray talking to her about. It was actually more about when she went to the wnba and now all of a sudden, you know, passing lanes were a little smaller. Those moments reduced themselves. 3 on 3 is so spread out. But also that means everybody. It's spread out for everybody. It's, it's, you know, it's kind of like you could pick it apart for everyone. So you have to actually limit your mistakes in a sense because your mistakes are very, very costly. So we'll see how that plays out for that team. But Kelsey Mitchell, coming off a great WNBA season, can clearly. You know what I like about her? In this style, first of all, it translates. She's going to be running teams off the court on her own. She's gonna set the tone, set the pace. And what she's proven is she can get teams and her teammates to like follow her in that. Teams play faster when she's on it. They like follow her in that. So that could be a huge advantage for them if they lean into it.
- [26:30]
Tommy Alter
Well, they have. And they have two of the things we just talked about, which is, you know, the score that could completely take over the game. And then Sonya, who you talk about intelligence, you know, is somebody that can.
- [26:40]
Jason Gallagher
So good. Yeah.
- [26:41]
Tommy Alter
Can look three steps at the other team. That is a pretty interesting group. The Phantom. Kiki, Kelsey Plum, Leah Boss and Dana Evans. Natasha Cloud, Satu. It's, it's one of the cool things about this, about unrivaled in general is like these weird, the weird combos and grab bags of players that, you know, you wouldn't necessarily associate playing together in general for an extended amount of time outside of maybe like All Star or something like that and seeing how they fit. Cause it's like there's a lot of really good players in that group.
- [27:12]
Jason Gallagher
Yeah.
- [27:13]
Tommy Alter
But it's kind of just like, how do they fit? Yeah, it could really work or it could like not work at all. And so I feel like that's kind of the thing which is like interesting about a team like that.
- [27:22]
Jason Gallagher
So I'm super excited to see Plum like get her, you know, first appearance, I guess with Unrivaled. It didn't work out for her last year. She decided not to do it. So now we finally get to see her. I think she's the type of player that will thrive in this. The way she play, she's just going to. She's going to thrive in it. It's set up for her to be successful. You could argue that's similar for Dana Evans. Right. I'm not saying their games are similar, but I do think that those types of guards can do well in this league. What sticks out to me is, well, first off, SATU is again recording this in December, but we don't know her status in terms of her concussion. From what I understand, she's still trying to back into like tip top shape. So they have Tiffany Hayes on there as kind of like this replacement. I mean, Tip showed us Last year, what she can do in this format. So that's, that's the guards. Who really stands out to me is Aaliyah Boston. Aaliyah Boston looks great right now. She looked great in USA camp. She's now really, I think like found her game and just has a confidence about this is what I do. And, and I'm gonna be great at these things. And one of those things is playmaking. And if you can have a post player who's gonna do all the things that post players do and the impact that post players have on the court. But if you could have a post player in 3on3 who can playmake. I mean, it's so hard to guard guards in this as it is because the floor is so open. But to have a post player who can make the pass, that's gonna be, that's gonna be so helpful to the Plums, the tips, the Dana Evans. And then you go down to the, you know, Natasha Cloud's on that roster. You already mentioned Kiki, Iriya, Finn.
- [29:05]
Tommy Alter
So do you think that like to that point, somebody like Aaliyah, it's a good opportunity to try certain things you wouldn't necessarily try in, you know, in week one of the W season. So like play a little bit more like perimeter out, you know, almost like shooting threes. Yeah, shoot threes. Take the ball at the dribble more. Just be. Just sort of be like. Well, it, it's a, it's a, it's a little bit of a. Not a free for all, but like there's an opportunity here because the game's so fast paced and almost open ended.
- [29:40]
Jason Gallagher
Yeah.
- [29:40]
Tommy Alter
If it doesn't work, it doesn't work. You don't have to keep doing it if it's not working. But it feels, it doesn't feel like you're going out of the structure of the team so much because it is such a new setup.
- [29:50]
Jason Gallagher
Right. You know, it's a really interesting, you know, comment because I think one of the hardest things to do when you're a player who's trying to add anything to their game, when you are adding something new, I don't care who you are. Yes, some people pick things up quicker than others, but when you're at that beginning point, it is so hard and frustrating because you are messing up. You are making mistakes. You know, let's say you're working on a certain shot, you're going to miss more than you make. And as a competitor, as an athlete, it can be really hard to overlook it and not Let it bother you. And the second part of that is when you try to start doing stuff in practice or you try to start doing stuff in games. Cause you don't want to. You don't want to be the player that had a turnover or made a mistake because you're trying something new. And that's why a lot of players end up going back to just what works for them.
- [30:46]
Tommy Alter
Yeah.
- [30:46]
Jason Gallagher
So you bring up a really interesting point with, is like finding that balance of wanting to extend yourself and stretch your game but not wanting to hurt your team. And I do think because there is so much space on the floor and because there is so many possessions, there might be opportunities for Aaliyah, especially like from the three. Just naturally, the way three on three works out, she will get open at the three point line. And I think if she adds that to her game in general, that's going to help her for years to come.
- [31:15]
Tommy Alter
Like looking back in the first couple years of this thing, I would be surprised if we didn't have a couple examples of players who found different parts of their game.
- [31:25]
Jason Gallagher
Parts of their game.
- [31:26]
Tommy Alter
Because you do have a. It's this weird hybrid of. It's competitive, you know, it's not just working on it in practice like you want to win. It matters. People are watching it. But this, you're not breaking. You're not breaking a system by going and doing this. You can almost create your own system. And so like all of a sudden now, now whether that transitions into the W, I mean, she may shoot threes down here and then go back to Indiana and be the exact same. I don't know. I think that's probably like person by person, but it does feel like it's. I mean, like, we've talked about this before, but so much of this is just confidence and seeing the ball go in. And if you start to see the ball go in down here and you're like, well, I've been working on this for years. You know, maybe I should just start shooting for real, you know. And so. So there are going to be players to sort of watch about if they are kind of playing differently because of, because of the space that this provides.
- [32:22]
Jason Gallagher
Yeah, I think you hit it. It's confidence if, if that's the other part of trying new things. When you do start to have success, it helps you build your confidence so that when you do go to other places, other leagues or, or even within this unrivaled season that it starts to snowball. Another example, like post players shooting threes in this is a great example. I think all of them will have opportunities to do that. Which by the way, makes me think of Azeray Stevens, who is another Swiss army knife that will be a problem in this league. Guards off the dribble. Guards off the dribble. If you're a guard that that's part of your game, you start to, I think you can start to develop little nuances to that. You know, maybe you add a euro at the end, but if you're a guard that maybe wants to work on that, breaking people down, you just naturally have opportunities. Actually, that is the best way to say what we're saying, Tommy. What three on three and unrivaled provides is these natural opportunities to get you out of your comfort zone. Because guards have to try to break people down. Post players at some point will have to shoot from the outside.
- [33:26]
Tommy Alter
Okay, before we wrap, just one thing you're excited for in the first couple weeks of January.
- [33:32]
Jason Gallagher
So I last year was really high on the laces mainly because of Alyssa Thomas and Jackie Young. Um, they also had Kayla McBride last year. They don't this year but they did add Nas Hillman. They did add Brittany Sykes or in Canada, Maddie Secrest. So what didn't come to fruition last year because of injury with the laces? I'm just really excited mainly be again because of AT and Jackie. To see what happens with them in the first couple weeks. I, I, I just want to see if, if the laces, I still think they have the best uniforms. I want to see what happens with the laces.
- [34:06]
Tommy Alter
I like it.
- [34:07]
Jason Gallagher
All right. That is our little preview of unrivaled year two. Big energy, a lot to be excited about. Some new players, some new teams. Definitely have our eyes on all of it. Big thanks to my guy Tommy for helping me break it all down and thank you guys for watching. We've got some exciting shows coming up throughout this unrivaled season, so stay locked in. Games start January 5th. That's it for the show. See you next time. This episode is a co production of two GetHer and Vox Media. Our producers are Tommy Alter, Jason Gallagher, Richie Bozek, Jess Clarendon and Melanie Carter. Support for this show comes from TNT Sports. Do you know what it's like to get up on a Saturday morning, walk to a court with nothing more than just a ball and a water bottle in your hand and spend hours getting buckets? It's just about getting wins. That's the type of energy found at Unrivaled. That's right. Season 2 of Unrivaled is back on TNT, TruTV and HBO. Max Games will air Friday through Monday beginning January 5th at 1pm Eastern. For more information and to stay up to date with league news, Visit Unrivaled on tntsports.com follow nrivaledbasketball and rwsports on social platforms and subscribe to the league's newsletter found at Unrivaled Basketball Newsletter.