The Business of Women's Sports: Pivotal Play: Women’s Basketball in 2026

Wednesday, February 18 | 12:30 PM ET

The Business of Women's Sports

Pivotal Play: Women’s Basketball in 2026

Women’s basketball enters 2026 with both unprecedented momentum and existential complexity. The WNBA–WNBPA negotiations remain front and center, with players stressing the importance of playing next season as talks continue. Meanwhile Unrivaled’s second season expands on TNT Sports and a global 5-on-5 initiative known as Project B has begun signing A-list talent on multimillion, equity‑inclusive deals. This SBJ Live episode will examine all the dynamics at play at this critical juncture for the business of women’s basketball.

What We Will Discuss:

• WNBA CBA status and season continuity: what ‘far apart’ means for calendars, rosters, budgets and sponsor assurances
• Media & programming: Unrivaled’s primetime cadence, studio storytelling and cross‑platform discovery
• Sponsorship signals: Sephora Arena and the rise of non‑endemic partners with measurable on‑site integrations
• Project B’s model: tournament format, compensation/ownership structures and coexistence scenarios with the WNBA

Who Should Attend:

• Women’s sports team and league executives
• Media and content leaders
• Brand and sponsorship professionals
• Agency strategists and consultants
• Investors and operators focused on women’s sports

Featured Speakers

Alex Bazzell, one of the world’s top NBA and WNBA trainers, is Co-Founder and President of Unrivaled, the groundbreaking women’s professional basketball league built in collaboration with the biggest stars in women’s basketball. Bazell oversees and manages the business operations for the league, including driving direction and strategy, securing investors, and overseeing all revenue verticals. A former professional basketball player in Germany, Bazzell returned to the States in 2014 to become a skills trainer fulltime for NBA athletes. While building his resume, Bazzell was mentored by the late Kobe Bryant while helping to run various camps at Mamba Academy.

In 2020, Bazzell launched a digital training company called Through The Lens with Carmelo Anthony. The platform is aimed to empower athletes to scale their individual business and brand objectives while maintaining ownership of their personal brand identity. As the CEO, Bazzell leads a team of experts in marketing, media, and technology, who work with clients such as Kyrie Irving, Candace Parker, and Trae Young, to create and execute customized strategies that align with their vision, values, and goals.

Rushia Brown, the South Carolina native has made the world her home. As a professional athlete, Rushia played 17 seasons of basketball in 6 different countries. The Furman University and Southern Conference Hall of Famer, was one of the original pioneers in the WNBA.

After retiring, Brown earned her Executive MBA from George Washington University. Her entrepreneurial spirit led her to start several companies, including the Women’s Professional Basketball Alumnae, ServCom, INC, and Young Black Entrepreneur Magazine.

Brown has spent the last 5 years working in the front office of professional sports where she worked at the NBA Corporate offices in NY, was Player Programs & Franchise Development Manager for the Las Vegas Aces and the Director of Community Relations & Youth Sports for the LA Sparks. Brown currently sits on the Board of Directors for the National Basketball Retired Players Association and has made her mark in various sectors and continues to travel the world sharing her testimony and inspiring others to use their gifts and talents to pursue their dreams.

Sascha Malas is the vibrant, passionate, all‑around powerhouse leading OT Select as Head of OT Select. A 2025 AdWeek Sports Marketing MVP, she has reshaped the growth and development landscape for women’s basketball nationwide.

Malas built OT Select from the ground up, redefining women’s college basketball and creating a clear pathway for players aspiring to be the next stars of the NCAA and WNBA. Under her leadership, OT Select empowers top young athletes to maximize the value of their name, image, and likeness while elevating the visibility of the women’s game.

Since its inception, OT Select has become a cornerstone in women’s basketball—working with standouts like Paige Bueckers, JuJu Watkins and Flau’jae Johnson. This year alone, 14 of the 24 athletes named to the 2026 McDonald’s All American Girls roster come through OT Select, cementing Malas’s impact on the next generation of stars.

Donna Orender is a respected corporate leader, board member, and changemaker with a proven track record in strategic growth, brand revitalization, and innovative business development across sports, entertainment, and digital media. She brings a unique combination of strategic focus, operational expertise, and entrepreneurial vision to every role, having guided organizations through transformation, economic challenges, and rapid growth.

Donna currently serves as CEO of Orender Unlimited and as the founder, investor, and Commissioner of the Upshot League, a newly launched professional women’s basketball league created in partnership with Zawyer Sports. Headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, the Upshot League brings fresh energy to the sport, expanding opportunities for women athletes and creating new connections with fans nationwide.

Her board experience includes serving as a founding member of the World Surf League (WSL)—where she contributes to the global media and digital committee—and as Audit Committee Chair for the publicly traded Goal Acquisition Corporation, where she has played a pivotal role in shaping acquisition strategy. She also serves on the boards of the V Foundation for Cancer Research (nominating and compensation committees) and the Jacksonville Public Education Fund.

A trailblazer in sports leadership, Donna served six years as Commissioner and President of the WNBA, revitalizing the brand and driving growth in attendance, TV ratings, sponsorship, merchandise sales, and digital engagement. Before that, she spent 17 years at the PGA TOUR as an executive in the Office of the Commissioner, leading global production, programming, distribution, brand, and digital businesses. Her vision fueled groundbreaking innovations, including the creation of PGA TOUR Radio, SHOTLINK (the TOUR’s data and technology platform), and transformative television rights strategies.

Donna’s achievements have earned her recognition as one of the Top 10 Most Powerful Women in Sports, one of Newsweek’s 100 Most Influential People in Sports, and recipient of honors including the March of Dimes Sports Leadership Award and the UJA-Federation of New York’s community leadership award. A Hall of Fame athlete at Queens College and inductee into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, she is also the best-selling author of WOWsdom! The Girl’s Guide to the Positive and the Possible.

Registration is free. All registrants will receive a recording of the webinar following the event.

***