Women's Basketball To Get New Professional League

Fans of the women's Olympic 3v3 basketball won’t have to wait until 2028 to watch another game.

A new professional basketball league for women is set to debut in January 2025. Co-founded by Minnesota Lynx’s Napheesa Collier and New York Liberty’s Breanna “Stewie” Stewart, Unrivaled is a league belt in collaboration with the biggest stars in women’s basketball, according to Unrivaled’s bio on X.

Collier and Stewart, former University of Connecticut teammates, aimed to create a league where WNBA players don’t have to play overseas for the off-season.

“Obviously, in a typical women’s basketball life, you play in the WNBA, you go overseas, and there’s a seven-month gap when our W players aren’t home, aren’t in-market,” Stewart told Good Morning American in May. “[Unrivaled] will be top 30 athletes, and we’ll be able to be home, be in-market, and be in a market that will continue to grow the game.”

Stewart also boasted that Unrivaled has the “largest average woman’s salary” in women’s sports. Each player is making a minimum of $100,000 during league play.

“Making sure that not only are we going to have the best product, but also that the product gets what we deserve,” Stewart said.

All thirty players that will play for Unrivaled will have equity in the league.

The Set-Up.

While Unrivaled will feature 3-on-3 play like the Olympics, the set-up will be a little different. Instead of the ten-minute Olympic quarters, Collier wrote the games would be “normal basketball”—four quarters at the normal time—with more spacing.

There will be two back-to-back games on a night for three nights a week. Collier also stated they are in the “final stages” of their media negotiation on X, and that Unrivaled will be “highly accessible” to fans.

The home base for the league will be in Miami; however, there will be a tour model where they will hit a few different cities each year.

Who Will Play?

So far, Unrivaled has announced 11 out of 30 players. In addition to Collier and Stewart, the league also has the following eight WNBA All-Stars: Arike Ogunbowale of the Dallas Wings;  Las Vegas Aces teammates Chelsea Gray, Jackie Young, and Kelsey Plum; Jewell Loyd of the Seattle Storm; Rhyne Howard of the Atlanta Dream; Kahleah Copper of the Phoenix Mercury; Dearica Hamby of the Los Angeles Sparks; and Angel Reese of the Chicago Sky. Six of those women - Stewart, Collier, Young, Plum, Lloyd, and Gray - all played on the United States Olympic Basketball Team, while Howard and Hamby played on the 3-on-3 Olympic team.

When asked why she joined Unrivaled, Reese said,  “Nobody wants to go overseas.”

Collier’s announcement on X that four rookies are joining the new league stirred speculation as to who the other three rookies could be. Caitlin Clark is at the top of the list, especially considering Collier wrote, “Angel is a businesswoman and knows the power of ownership. This is the one investment as basketball players we can control. Angel is part of this group that’s bringing in a ton of viewership, she should have long-term upside in the growth of basketball!”

Rookie Kate Martin (Aces) also commented on a podcast that she will be “doing another basketball job” in the offseason, which sparked so-far unconfirmed Unrivaled rumors.

There will be six total teams in Unrivaled, and each team will have five players, a head coach, an assistant coach, and a team manager. Not all coaches will be from the WNBA.

A selection committee will split the teams by positions and skills, and there will be some movement like in the WNBA, but the teams will remain “somewhat consistent,” according to Collier.

In addition to 3-on-3 play, there will be a 1v1 tournament, and the winner will take home a minimum of $250,000, Collier wrote.

Fans will be able to purchase tickets and jerseys.

What does this mean for the WNBA?

Currently, Unrivaled is a different professional league that allows players to stay in the United States instead of going overseas to make extra money. Not only does this allow players to stay close to fulfill endorsements and sponsorships, but it also keeps players like Brittney Griner safe. Imagine if Unrivaled had existed, and Griner had been able to stay and play nationally.

According to USA Basketball, 3x3 allows coaches and players to evaluate and improve individual skills and development. Having fewer players on the court means more direct involvement. With four rookies (and counting), Unrivaled could help them develop their skills in a local environment with familiar faces. A current complaint about Sky's rookie Kamilla Cardoso is that she doesn't get enough time or touches, but Unrivaled could change that if selected. Cardoso currently is averaging a near double-double in the WNBA - 8.2 points and 7.8 rebounds. Her professional game could grow exponentially if given the ability to have more time and touches.

Unrivaled could very well bring more fans to the WNBA as well. In 2022, USA Basketball wrote how 3v3 basketball was rapidly growing in popularity among fans. Considering there is a media deal in the works (John Skipper and David Levy, both who signed paperwork in 2014 with the NBA to extend media deals to TNT and ESPN into 2025, are spearheading this deal), 3v3 fans can tune in, and, possibly, find their favorite player. In addition, with the teams being mixed up, a Sky player may spend the season watching a Liberty player, and pay attention to other teams besides their own.

As it stands now, Unrivaled founders have not announced all the details of their new professional league. As more information becomes available, it will be easier to determine what impact this new league will have.

Subscribe to Unrivaled at WWW.Unrivaled.Basketball for more announcements.

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