It was announced Wednesday that Angel Reese, the LSU legend and WNBA two-time All-Star, will be representing Team USA and returning to her former Unrivaled squad.
The Unrivaled basketball league announced that Reese has rejoined her former squad, Rose BC, and will compete with the club for the remainder of the season. Reese missed the last two games of the 2025 WNBA season with the Chicago Sky due to a back injury.
After the Sky’s season ended, Reese announced she was not playing in Unrivaled this winter. Unrivaled is the 3-on-3 offseason women’s basketball league co-funded by WNBA superstars Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart. In the league’s inaugural 2025 campaign, Reese won Defensive Player of the Year honors and her team, Rose BC, won the championship. Reese missed the team’s postseason run after re-aggravating a prior hand injury.
This year, she rejoins the team after a busy offseason of business investments, a Victoria’s Secret runway appearance and watching her boyfriend, Orlando Magic center Wendell Carter Jr., play in Berlin and London.
“Good morning to my Rosebuds, and my Rosebuds ONLY!” Reese posted on X after the announcement.
Goodmorning to my Rosebuds & my Rosebuds ONLY! 🥹😉🌹 #BTA
— Angel Reese (@Reese10Angel) February 11, 2026
Also on Wednesday, Reese was named to the Team USA World Cup qualifying roster. She will make her U.S. senior national team debuts along with Angel Reese and Paige Bueckers.
Duke coach Kara Lawson will coach the team in San Juan, Puerto, as it participates in the qualifying tournament from March 11-17.
— Angel Reese (@Reese10Angel) February 11, 2026
WNBA faces lockout
The “Bayou Barbie”’s return to the sport comes while the immediate future of the WNBA is uncertain.
The league and the players’ union still haven’t come to an agreement on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement. Among other things, the players want a larger share of the league’s revenue. Currently, the players receive 9.3% of the league’s revenue. In the NBA, players receive 49-51% of the league’s revenue. Despite the league releasing team schedules for a 2026 season, everything else has halted until an agreement is reached, which includes the expansion draft for the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo. Player unions from other major American sports leagues have released statements in support of the WNBPA in their negotiations.
If the two sides can not reach an agreement, the WNBA faces its first lockout in the league’s 29-year history.
Reese and the rest of the 2025 WNBA All-Stars wore shirts that read “Pay Us What You Owe Us” during warmups before the midseason exhibition.
A lockout would also postpone the professional debut of LSU senior guard Flau’jae Johnson, who is projected to be selected in the first round of the 2026 WNBA Draft.
Unrivaled’s second season has been a success, adding popular players like Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers into the mix. This year, the league took a trip from its main stomping grounds in Miami to play in Philadelphia on Jan. 30. The event brought out 21,490 fans, a record for a regular-season women’s basketball game in the XFinity Mobile Arena.