Noelle Quinn Drafted Paige Bueckers & Dom Malonga & Chose Violence

Noelle Quinn Is Coaching the Breeze Like a Basketball Scientist Who Finally Got the Right Lab Ingredients

If you ever wanted to see what happens when a tactical genius finally gets handed a roster that fits her imagination, welcome to Noelle Quinn’s basketball laboratory.

Quinn isn’t just coaching the Breeze.

She’s engineering them, and doing it a little differently this time around.

The joy in Quinn’s voice sounds like she was blessed with a new fresh start and an opportunity to leave her mark once again in the basketball world.

With the amount of young talent she drafted, it’s safe to say the lessons Quinn will implement to her roster will stay with them for a long time.

To start with the headliner, and one of the most popular female athletes in the WNBA, Paige Bueckers is in for a grand time in Miami.

Quinn spoke about building around Paige, which with this roster feels like a cheat code for anyone with a brain, and Quinn laid it out as matter-of-factly as describing gravity:

“You start by building around a prominent player like Paige. She can do everything — score, defend, command the game. Then you add pieces that complement her. Rickea was an amazing addition.”

Boom.

Roster blueprint complete.

Quinn also spoke about how the youth on this team and how they are going to thrive in Miami because a fast paced, 3-on-3 full court game should fit this team well.

“Our team is young but very competitive. The skill sets they have are really going to be showcased because of the tempo and environment. I’m excited to watch them flourish.”

That’s the secret sauce: Unrivaled is fast.

Too fast for overcoaching.

Too fast for micromanagement.

Perfect for Quinn.

Because Quinn?

She’s the “teach you the concept, let you cook” type.

“I don’t want to overcoach — just give them instruction and let them do what they do best.”

She knows young players. She knows their pace is an advantage. She knows their freshness is a weapon.

And she REALLY knows what she can do with Dom Malonga.

You could practically hear her eyes light up:

“Dom’s in a new environment… you’re going to see some dunks. She’s so versatile.”

DUNKS? In Unrivaled?

Believe it will happen too and believe you’ll see more of Dominique Malonga expanding her game.

Inject all of that directly into the content pipeline.

But the real chaos comes when you pair Dom with Cameron Brink, a duo that looks like a basketball version of “good luck trying to score.”

“Dom and Cam both have great skill sets for their size, and the ability to defend multiple positions. Our roster is filled with versatility and different lineups.”

This isn’t even fair. Having two shot blocking bigs that can also defend on the perimter and are athletic enough to run in transition and shoot from multiple spots on the floor. Add that in with Paige Bueckers leading the way from the lead guard spot, and defenses will have their hands full.

Quinn is basically coaching positionless basketball with three future All-WNBA players and a track team.

And while she’s building a futuristic offense, she’s also living in a historical moment, one where Unrivaled now showcases five Black women head coaches.

Her thoughts on that?

Perfect. Powerful. Pointed.

“It’s powerful. It’s intentional. Unrivaled is leading the way and showing that Black women are capable. Representation is possible when leadership makes it possible.”

Every single sentence, we’re all straight facts.

Five Black women running teams at a time when the WNBA has zero Black women head coaches (it’s even wild to think about honestly).

Unrivaled did not stumble into that, they chose it.

And Quinn respects that.

Because she knows leadership isn’t just game plans and rotations.

It’s platforms.

Visibility.

Amplifying who has deserved seats for years.

If you want the full picture of Quinn’s coaching philosophy, here it is in one quote:

“You don’t want to overanalyze. You want rhythm — feel of the game, feel of each other. Efficiency. Intentionality.”

Quinn is someone who’s seen both sides of the sport, from the coaching aspect and the player aspect and at this point her basketball mind will not allow her to watch a game as casual fan.

However, she’s trying to also execute a different approach and coach like someone finally letting herself enjoy the moment:

“My goal is to have fun, loosen up, and show a side of me people may not always see… I want to win games.”

Miami will do that to you.

Year 2 of Unrivaled might be her perfect stage for her team…talented youth, versatile lineups, no time to overthink, and a league ready to highlight the voices the WNBA hasn’t historically elevated.

And the Breeze?

Yeah.

They might actually run the league if this whole “let them play free” thing works.

Noelle Quinn isn’t building a team.

She’s building a basketball experiment with unlimited upside.

And we get front-row seats.