Is Unrivaled’s Hype Wearing Off in Season 2?

WNBA players continue to make waves into Hollywood! Zena, Sabreena, and Ben discuss the crossover of women’s basketball stars into the entertainment world, looking at the history of WNBA players making media appearances and the cultural significance of these transitions. Next, Zena and Sabreena dig into Unrivaled’s Season 2 TV viewership decline, unpacking everything from sophomore-season challenges and launch timing to competition with the NFL playoffs. They discuss how media rights and cross-promotion affect visibility—especially after last year’s NBA-on-TNT boost—plus how roster turnover impacts team-building. To close, they highlight the player pairings that have stood out most so far. They also dive into roster turnover and what it means for team cohesion, along with the player pairings that have caught their attention so far. Finally, we close things out with a major news update about one of our hosts. No Offseason is a part of The Athletic Podcast Network: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/ 00:00 Intro 00:59 Angel Reese and A’ja Wilson voice characters in an upcoming animated film 06:51 Courtney Vandersloot made a guest appearance on Chicago Med 07:22 Skylar Diggins attended the 2026 Golden Globe 08:15 Players and the league agreed to a moratorium on free agency 11:23 Unrivaled Week 1 Preview 11:30 Project B announces its first tour stop 14:53 How will Project B fill its roster? 16:14 What effect will Project B have on Unrivaled? 19:30 Potential Impacts of Project B on the WNBA 21:34 What to make of Unrivaled’s Season 2 debut TV viewership drop? 28:43 How does roster turnover impact interest in Unrivaled?  32:29 Which teams have impressed so far this season? 37:23 Which Unrivaled player pairings look good? 48:10 Special News Announcement Related links and articles: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6964515/2026/01/12/wnba-union-free-agency-moratorium-cba/ by Sabreena Merchant Follow and listen to the audio podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/no-offseason-the-athletic-womens-basketball-show/id1699815468 Get in touch! Leave a comment wherever you’re listening, or email us at NoOffseason@TheAthletic.com Show Links: -YouTube: @No-Offseason -Instagram: @tanooffseason [https://www.instagram.com/tanooffseason] -TikTok: @no_offseason [https://www.tiktok.com/@no_offseason] Credits: -Zena on BlueSky: @zenakeita -Ben on BlueSky: @benpickman -Sabreena on BlueSky: @sabreenajm -Chantel on BlueSky: @chanteljennings -Produced by Taneka Burrell -Executive Produced by Andrea B. Scott Visit the Yahoo Women's Sports Hub: https://sports.yahoo.com/womens-sports/?guccounter=1 Full Episodes Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5UWQzuMYdm7txmok7cpMB3YlgkwrT2E0 Shorts Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5UWQzuMYdm72uhBjsd24rsh5teZtgUpS