Say Hello to the $400 Billion AI Bazooka Aimed at the Market

That's that growth mindset ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Unrivaled Weekly   •   Edition #7   •  Feb 20, 2026

Leveling The Playing Field

Hey, hoops fan!

The playoff race is heating up, MVP votes are being cast, and Unrivaled's reminding everyone that basketball is supposed to be fun. That's why we're here to hopefully spark as much joy as Breeze star Dominique Malonga's second dunk of the season. Without further ado, it's time to break down the league's hottest hands, vibe-check the top off-court moments, and unpack the plays that hit different. Let's shoot some hoops.

✨ Vibe Check ✨

You know the rule: look good, feel good, play good. It's the mindset many hoopers live by. And now, Unrivaled is turning that mantra into The Beauty Playbook — an opportunity to explore the rituals, routines, and self-expression that fuel your fave player's game. Say less.

The Latest

✨ The ultimate glow-up Source: Unrivaled and The GIST The GIST: Unrivaled doesn't give out an award for Most Improved Player (at least not yet), but in the spirit of personal growth, let's discuss The GIST's hypothetical finalists. 🥇 Aliyah Boston, Phantom BC: AB joining the Ghost Gang is the definition of a symbiotic relationship. Last year, Phantom finished the season with a league-worst 4-10 record and were outscored by 10 points per game on average. Meanwhile, Boston saw limited minutes with Vinyl in 2025, averaging a pedestrian 5.9 points per game and tallying just eight assists total. Together, they've enjoyed the ultimate glow-up. Boston's averaging a double-double (points and rebounds) for the playoff-bound Phantom, while leading the league in blocks. Plus, Phantom lead the league in assists with Boston acting as both a facilitator and a beneficiary. 🥈 Brittney Sykes, Laces BC: Slim has drastically improved her scoring production in 2026, averaging 19.6 points per game compared to 11.6 last season. Yes, her shooting percentage is better (42% in 2025 vs. 49.4% this year), but it's how she's getting shots that's particularly interesting. Sykes has been more patient coming off the ball screen this year, allowing her to make better decisions, whether it's a higher-percentage shot or the correct read. What's more, despite an increase in playing time, Sykes' turnovers per game have stayed relatively consistent this year. 🥉 Shakira Austin, Rose BC: Austin spent much of 2025 playing behind reigning league MVP Napheesa Collier with the Lunar Owls, but 2026 has been a different story, particularly over the last five games. Austin's averaging 16.5 points and 8.6 rebounds per game as a Rosebud, literally doubling up on her 8.6 and 4.3 averages from last season. Perhaps even more impressive is that her increase in usage hasn't impacted her efficiency — in fact, she's more efficient this year, improving her shooting percentage from 50.6% to 56.3% despite taking double the amount of shots. Glowing on up.

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. 🌬️ Breeze BC shot 57% from the field in their 75–70 loss to the last-place Lunar Owls on Tuesday, a much more efficient performance than their opponents' 50% outing — but they still lost. Why? As is often the case when it comes to disappointing defeats, the answer is in the possession battle. Breeze gifted the Owls 18 bonus possessions between their nine turnovers (four being unforced) and the nine offensive rebounds they forfeited. When it was all said and done that only amounted to three extra shots, but they lost by just two possessions. Oof.

The Hot Hand

The hottest take of the week with the hoops analysis to back it up. 🔥 Lunar Owl Aaliyah Edwards will finish the season with eight straight double-doubles We don't want to toot our own horn, but five weeks ago we predicted Edwards would set Unrivaled's double-double record, and that's exactly what the 23-year-old did in Tuesday's aforementioned 75–70 win. The 24-point, 10-rebound performance marked Edwards' fifth straight double-double, surpassing Angel Reese for most consecutive double-doubles in Unrivaled history. Just how good has Edwards been? Averaging 22.4 points and a whopping 13.2 rebounds per game, she's logged eight double-doubles in nine games played, the only "blemish" coming on January 17th against Mist, when she put up 22 points and seven boards.

As always, thanks for breaking the press 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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