Ex-Lakers coach dishes 5-word response on working with Breanna Stewart during Unrivaled

Former LA Lakers assistant and current Mist BC coach Phil Handy delivered a message to Breanna Stewart. Handy and Stewart are working hard to hand the Mist their first win of the Unrivaled season. After the first two weeks of play, they have a 0-4 record.

In a post on Instagram, Stewart shared a bunch of images and videos following the second week of Unrivaled games. One of the photos featured the three-time WNBA champion and Handy discussing something on the sidelines during practice.

Handy re-shared the image on his Instagram stories, dropping a five-word caption to explain what was happening.

"Always learning about this game," Handy wrote.

Phil Handy shared this on his Instagram stories. (Photo: Screengrabbed from @thereal94feetofgame on IG)

Phil Handy started his coaching career in player development for the LA Lakers in 2011. Handy would serve five seasons as an assistant for the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2013 to 2018, winning an NBA championship in 2016 under coach Ty Lue.

Handy won two more titles in 2019 as a part of the Toronto Raptors coaching staff and in 2020 during the Lakers run inside the NBA bubble. He was dismissed as an assistant at the end of the 2023-24 season along with Darvin Ham's entire staff.

Fast forward to the 2024-25 season, Handy accepted a coaching gig at Unrivaled for its inaugural campaign that started on Jan. 17. He took charge of Mist BC and drafted players like Breanna Stewart, Jewell Loyd, Rickea Jackson, DiJonai Carrington, Courtney Vandersloot and Aaliyah Edwards.

The problem for the Mist is that they are off to a 0-4 start to the season after losses to the Lunar Owls BC and the Laces BC in the first week. They then lost to Phantom BC and Rose BC over the weekend. NaLyssa Smith was brought in as a relief player due to injuries to Carrington and Loyd.

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Breanna Stewart reveals the origin of Unrivaled

Breanna Stewart reveals the origin of Unrivaled. (Photo: IMAGN)

The co-founders of Unrivaled, Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier, sat down with Unrivaled to discuss their vision for the league. They also discussed the origins of the idea about it, which Stewart revealed to be from Collier's husband, Alex Bazzell, who also serves as the president.

Bazzell came up with the idea, with Stewart loving it due to not wanting to spend more time overseas during the offseason.

"I was like, this is amazing because I’ve played overseas a lot," Stewart said.

"I’ve been in China, Russia and Turkey, and this is a way to really be home and be appreciated. The timing is also very perfect for where we are in women’s sports. But to have this done, ready to go in two years, what an incredibly quick timeline. But also, I’m really excited to be here."

Unrivaled is off to a great start with record-breaking viewers for women's basketball under TNT and TruTv.