Elon Musks New $1 Quadrillion Opportunity

What's in a sleeper pick? ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Unrivaled Weekly   •   Edition #6   •  Feb 13, 2026

Leveling The Playing Field

Hey, bestie!

It's not just any Unrivaled week, it's 1-on-1 Tournament week, meaning the next two days are all about pure hoops — just ask Lola Bunny. If Space Jam taught us anything, it's that Lola knows her stuff. That's why no one calls her doll, and everyone's tuning in. As always, we're here to break down the league's hottest hands, vibe-check the top off-court moments, and unpack the plays that hit different. Let's hoop to it.

✨ Vibe Check ✨

Angel Reese is back. ICYMI: The superstar is returning to Unrivaled, reuniting with Rose BC for the remainder of the season. That's it. That's the vibe check.

The Latest

😴 What's in a sleeper pick? Source: Unrivaled and The GIST The GIST: The first round of the 1-on-1 Tournament presented by Sprite is done and dusted, narrowing the field to 16 contenders. Ready the crown because one Unrivaled athlete is about to be $200K richer as the tourney continues tonight at 7:30 p.m. ET before wrapping tomorrow. But who will it be? We could focus on the voting favorites, like Pod A's No. 1 seed Kelsey Mitchell or Pod B's expected representative Paige Bueckers — but we won't. Instead, let's discuss our sleeper picks from each group. This one's for the underdogs. 🌧️ Veronica Burton (Pod A): Burton authored the only first-round shutout, blanking Courtney Williams 11–0. And we didn't even see VB's lockdown defense because Williams never touched the ball. After her one and only miss, Burton hauled in the offensive rebound to maintain possession. Burton's size (she's just five-foot-nine) could disadvantage her if she advances beyond positional pod play, so expect her to make up for it with that aforementioned relentless D. 👟 Arike Ogunbowale (Pod B): Pod B was all chalk, leaving Ogunbowale as the lowest remaining seed, but she certainly didn't look like it in her first-round win. Widely considered one of the best 1-on-1 players in the game, Ogunbowale's bag is the deepest in the league. Whether it's a spicy step back, a slick hesitation move, or a fadeaway, she's an isolation expert and can create space in a multitude of ways. Oh, and she's as clutch as they come. 💿 Rae Burrell (Pod C): Length, athleticism, and versatility are Sweet Baby Rae's biggest assets. Burrell's lightning fast, and at six-foot-two, she has the length to disrupt defensively. Not to mention, she can score at all three levels: at the rim, in the midrange, and from beyond the arc. At her best, Burrell is a force to be reckoned with, but she can sometimes struggle with consistency. If she can put it all together, a lucrative payday just might be coming her way. 🌹 Shakira Austin (Pod D): Post players are doing it all — and Austin's the perfect archetype. She's a towering six-foot-five with handles and uses her speed and physicality to dominate both sides of the ball. Case in point? Those two first-round blocks on Wednesday. Perhaps Austin's biggest strength is her brain: She adjusts to matchups exceptionally well and loves to lean on counter moves, like reverse pivots and stepthroughs. Buckets, loading.

Numbers do lie

They say numbers never lie, but we beg to differ. We'll pull a stat from the previous week's action and dig into why it might be misleading. Mist BC's (and last year's 1-on-1 runner-up) Aaliyah Edwards secured an 11–8 win over Breeze's Dominique Malonga, but the first-round dub isn't as straightforward as it seems: Edwards was the only player to shoot a worse percentage than her opponent and still win, making just 33% of her shots, compared to Malonga's 40%. How'd she flip the script? Edwards pressured Malonga into four turnovers (three shot clock violations and a lost ball), neutralizing Malonga's hotter hand. Turns out the math doesn't always add up.

The Hot Hand

The hottest take of the week with the hoops analysis to back it up. 🔥 Seventh-place Hive BC will make the postseason Two squads have already punched tickets to the six-team playoff: the top-seeded Laces (8-2) and Phantom BC (8-3). With two games slated for Tuesday night, four teams have an extra game to play before the final two weekends of action — and one of them is Hive. This team has been buzzing lately, beating Breeze 70–68 in their most recent tilt. Their remaining slate includes a struggling Rose squad that's lost three of their last four and the last-placed Lunar Owls. They'll need some help, but stranger things have happened.

As always, thanks for crashing the boards with us. Yours through timeouts and technicals, The GIST Team

Today's email was brought to you by Lisa Minutillo. Fact-checking by Elisha Gunaratnam. Managing edits by Lauren Tuiskula. Head of content Ellen Hyslop.

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