Unrivaled Basketball is a new 3v3 professional women’s basketball league founded by Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart. The league began unveiling their 30 player roster which will be spread across 6 teams with 5 players on each team. The inaugural season is January of 2025 in Miami.
Format
According to their website, the game will be played on a compressed full-court (70×50 feet). The league is also setting a record with the highest average salaries in women’s sports history and all 30 initial players will receive equity ownership.
The season will be 8 weeks of total play including playoffs with the teams playing in a round robin schedule. The top 4 teams in the standings at the conclusion of the regular season will make the playoffs.
The games will mimic traditional basketball games with 4 quarters of play and a game clock and shot clock. However unlike WNBA games, they will be played in a 1-hour broadcast window.
Each team will have a head coach, assistant coach and team manager.
1v1 Tournament
Unrivaled will also feature a 1v1 single elimination tournament in February. They state this will, “determine the best 1v1 player in the world”. Realistically, this will determine the best 1v1 player in this 30 player league. However, 1v1 is an integral part of pick-up basketball culture and it will be a unique opportunity to watch professionals play head to head.
The closest concept to this style was the Ones Basketball League founded by Tracy McGrady. In the pilot season, they visited 7 cities in 2022 and awarded prize money for the “Ruler of the Court”. However, unlike Unrivaled there were no professional men’s players from the NBA playing. Additionally, a season two has yet to come.
Unrivaled Roster
The Unrivaled social media team is actively dropping hints and roster announcements. The hints are reminiscent of when Breanna Stewart dropped clues on her social media during her 2023 free agency.
The 13 out of 30 roster players revealed so far:
- Breanna Stewart
- Napheesa Collier
- Chelsea Gray
- Arike Ogunbowale
- Jewell Loyd
- Kelsey Plum
- Rhyne Howard
- Kahleah Copper
- Jackie Young
- Angel Reese
- Dearica Hamby
- Kayla McBride
- Marina Mabrey
Unrivaled posted their latest hint video on August 19.
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