Paige Bueckers once said Kaitlyn Chen has “one of the best layup packages I’ve ever seen.” She said it after Chen scored 15 points on her in a Valkyries win over the Wings. Next January, Bueckers will not have to guard those layups. She will get to pass to them.

On Wednesday night, Unrivaled revealed the 2027 rosters for its eight clubs. The Breeze posted theirs with a graphic showing six names: Bueckers, Kahleah Copper, Dominique Malonga, Chen, DiJonai Carrington and Monique Billings.

Fans quickly spotted the reunion. Bueckers and Chen, two former UConn teammates who helped the Huskies win the 2025 national title, will play on the same team again.

They only played together for one season, but it was a big one. Chen came to UConn from Princeton for her final year of college eligibility, after three seasons as an Ivy League star. She took over as the Huskies’ point guard, while Bueckers was the face of the team.

That season ended with another national championship for the Huskies. UConn beat No. 1 UCLA 85-51 in the Final Four to claim its 12th national title.

After that championship season, their paths soon split. Bueckers went No. 1 in the 2025 WNBA Draft and won Rookie of the Year with the Dallas Wings. Chen only went to the draft to cheer on her friend. Golden State picked her 30th, waived her before the 2025 season, and then re-signed her that summer. She became the first Taiwanese-American player to score a regular-season WNBA point.

Even after going their separate ways, the mutual admiration never stopped. In October 2025, Chen was asked on Azzi Fudd’s podcast to name her favorite UConn alum. She took only a couple of seconds and said Bueckers. 

Bueckers returned the love. After the Valkyries beat the Wings 91-80 in June, she said Chen had always worked hard and ran with the chance when it came. She called her confident and said she affects the game in many ways.

That recognition continued in August, when Sports Illustrated asked a group of players who the most underrated WNBA player was. Bueckers named Chen.

Chen backed up that recognition with the best season of her WNBA career. She averaged career highs of 7.2 points and 1.9 assists in 2026 while improving her shooting percentage from 38.0% to 52.7%. She also helped the Valkyries win the WNBA title.

Chen’s rise also earned her a place in Unrivaled. The league announced on Oct. 28 that it had signed her to a one-year deal, after Aliyah Boston withdrew with an injury and Kate Martin agreed to a contract termination. She is the seventh former Husky in the league, joining Napheesa Collier, Breanna Stewart, Aaliyah Edwards, Bueckers, Gabby Williams and Tiffany Hayes.

That combination of experience and chemistry is something Breeze coach Jarell Christian is looking forward to. He said he is excited to welcome Bueckers and Malonga back for their second season, and that their “familiarity and chemistry” will be valuable. He said Chen, Carrington and Billings bring a team-first mindset. The Breeze went 6-8 last season, and Chen is the only new face to the league on their roster.

Unrivaled Season 3: Schedule, Cities And Teams

While the Breeze reunion is one of the interesting storylines heading into the new season, Unrivaled is also expanding its reach with another city tour.

Season 3 starts on Friday, Jan. 8, 2027, with games in Boston and Inglewood, California. Boston gets its first Unrivaled games at TD Garden, and the Los Angeles night is at Intuit Dome. The league is taking its 3-on-3 games on tour in eight cities.

After the opening night, Detroit (Little Caesars Arena) and San Francisco (Chase Center) are Jan. 11. New York (Barclays Center) is Jan. 22, Minneapolis (Target Center) is Jan. 24, Houston (Toyota Center) is Feb. 12, and Philadelphia (Xfinity Mobile Arena) is Feb. 15.

Each stop is a doubleheader, and one ticket covers both games.

Miami is still home. Most of the regular season is at Sephora Arena in Medley, Florida, starting Jan. 19. The one-on-one tournament is Feb. 18-20, and Chelsea Gray won it last year. The regular season ends March 5 with four games over two sessions.

Games air on TNT and truTV and stream on HBO Max. The prize pool is $600,000. Last year, a Philadelphia stop drew a reported 21,490 fans, and that helped fuel the tour. Tour tickets listed in September started at $52 in Philadelphia and $55 in Detroit.

The Breeze have company at the top. Reigning champion Mist BC keeps Stewart, Arike Ogunbowale, and Veronica Burton and adds Kiki Rice. Hive BC is led by Olivia Miles, last season’s Rookie of the Year, with Sonia Citron and Cameron Brink.

Laces BC is led by newcomer Gabby Williams, the 2026 Finals MVP, with Jackie Young and Marine Johannès, her French national team teammate. Lunar Owls BC has Collier, Skylar Diggins and Marina Mabrey. Phantom BC has Kelsey Plum, Natasha Cloud and Hayes.

The Valkyries’ championship team is now spread across different Unrivaled clubs, with several players taking on new teammates. But Bueckers gets something familiar in the Breeze. After sharing a national championship at UConn, she and Chen will get another chance to play together. This time, those layups she once praised will be coming from her own teammate.