As much as Unrivaled is about reunions, it’s also bringing some… less-than-friendly ones to share the court. The season opener of Unrivaled promised to be an epic faceoff between co-founders Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart, but honestly, fans were way more interested in seeing Skylar Diggins-Smith and Jewell Loyd share the court—not as teammates, but as opponents—after all the Seattle Storm locker room drama. 

We know that the Storm has been in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons lately. The franchise was already swimming in drama after allegations of player mistreatment within the coaching staff surfaced earlier this offseason. Though the staff was cleared of any wrongdoing, the whispers didn’t die down. 

Jewell Loyd’s trade request immediately after the investigation wrapped only made it worse, with many assuming she was the one who initially raised concerns. And if that wasn’t enough, social media only exposed more crack.

Loyd and her teammates Skylar Diggins-Smith and Nneka Ogwumike seemed to sever ties online, unfollowing each other and sparking rumours of a major fallout. To add to it, WNBA legend Tina Thompson posted a cryptic Instagram caption—complete with Loyd’s exact shooting percentages—that called out “using your assumed power to harm others.” Diggins-Smith chimed in with a “A word 🦌🏾” comment, which fans took as confirmation of the fight.

Fast forward to today, and Unrivaled’s first matchup featured the Storm teammates going head-to-head on the court. Loyd dominated early, leading all scorers with 25 points at halftime. At one point, she even swatted a shot from Diggins-Smith, drawing cheers from the crowd. 

Diggins-Smith, however, had the last laugh. She drained a clutch three-pointer to seal the Lunar Owls’ 84-81 victory over the Mist BC, finishing the game with 11 points and three rebounds. But it didn’t end there. Post-game, the press conference setup had one player from each team sharing the same podium. 

While the league paired Napheesa Collier with Loyd, fans were hoping to see another kind of duo. 

Fans craved drama, wanted Diggins-Smith & Loyd to face press together

Alex Bazzell had said earlier that entertainment comes with the league because it’s a lot of the top women in the world who play basketball at the highest level, but you could tell they didn’t want things to get too wild. But still, fans were kind of disappointed. One fan said, “wrong pair 😭.” 

Now, having 1 player from each team in the presser is a pretty rare move. We’re usually used to one team being there, then the other. They switched up the format, but still, it didn’t quite hit the mark per fan. Another pointed out, “And they still missed the assignment. Should’ve been Jewell and Skylar lmao.” 

Then there was this whole “we were so close to the greatest presser of all time” moment. Fans were absolutely buzzing with the idea that this could’ve been fiery. Like, just think of the drama and juicy questions that could’ve come out of it. 

Echoing the same, another added, “Should have been SDS & Jewell!” Pressing about the Skylar and Jewell Storym connection, media would’ve definitely tried to get all those personal life deets. 

Meanwhile, others highlighted, “I see they abandoned it in the next presser. I don’t want the player that just beat me sitting next to me & gloating.” The setup itself was a little awkward too. No one wants to sit next to the person who they just lost to. But seems like they ain’t planning to repeat it. 

And not to forget, this was just day 1 of Unrivaled and we already have a lot cooking. The Lunar Owls will be facing Mist multiple times in the next two months, and we can’t wait for more Skylar and Loyd’s fiery moments.