The Unrivaled spotlight has sharply shifted towards Paige Bueckers' Dallas Wings teammate Aziaha James.

The rookie made her first Unrivaled appearance in Miami after the Phantom BC roster sustained injuries.

Per sources, Phantom BC is uncertain about 3 of their 6 players. Satou Sabally is out with a concussion, Dana Evans is sidelined with a lower extremity injury, and Tiffany Hayes is also listed as questionable with a lower extremity injury. That leaves the club with only 4 fully healthy players, forcing Unrivaled to reach into its development pool.

James addition adds some flair to the roster featuring Kelsey Plum, Aliyah Boston, Natasha Cloud, and another rookie, Kiki Iriafen. The 12th overall pick in the 2025 draft, James put up an impressive rookie season, playing 38 of 44 games while averaging 7.5 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.6 assists in 17.7 minutes per game.

She now becomes the first Unrivaled development player to earn a call-up. James is one of 7 Unrivaled players in the league’s development program.

The remaining players in the pool include Chicago Sky guard Hailey Van Lith, Dallas Wings guard Haley Jones, Washington Mystics forward Emily Engstler, Golden State Valkyries forward Laeticia Amihere, Indiana Fever forward Makayla Timpson, and former WNBA player Kiana Williams.

As Phantom BC faced the unbeaten Mist on Monday, Hayes managed to play, but Phantom relies heavily on star power. Kelsey Plum made 18 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 assists. Boston added a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds while Mystics rookie Kiki Iriafen posted 19 points.

Phantom BC defeated Breanna Stewart’s Mist in a close 64-61. James was listed in the bench players but did not end up playing.

Unrivaled deals with other issues

With the surge of problems coming from officiating horros, Unrivaled seems similar to the WNBA in this context.

As Front Office Sports’ Annie Costabile noted, “One similarity between the WNBA & Unrivaled: officiating needs work.” Recent controversy, including Cameron Brink’s foul-plagued outing, has only sharpened scrutiny on the league’s officiating concerns.

As a player who has cemented her name in the game for physicality and presence in the paint, this kind of officiating completely changes the way Brink plays. Its not just a waste of time at this point.

But this is not what Aziaha James will be focused on at the moment. James will probably face a Dallas Wings teammate next as Phantom BC prepares to take on Laces featuring Maddy Siegrist.

Written by

Fatema Kapasi

Edited by

Oajaswini Prabhu