New Women’s Basketball League ‘Unrivaled’ Opens Season

Professional women’s basketball grew last year by leaps and bounds, driven by the mushrooming popularity of women’s college basketball, which has been on the upswing for years. Now, there is a new professional league hoping to capitalize on the trends.

Unrivaled, a new 3-on-3 league, is designed to give WNBA players a place to compete in the off-season, and to showcase their skills in a competition that more closely resembles playground basketball.

“Everything was built for the players,” said Luke Cooper, president of basketball operations for Unrivaled. “The business was built for the players. The facility was built for the players. And the actual game – the 3-on-3 full court – is rooted in how you would play basketball as a kid.”

Unrivaled was built for the players, and by two of the best players in the sport. Unrivaled’s cofounders are Breanna Stewart, a three-time WNBA champion, and Napheesa Collier, a four-time WNBA all-star. Both women won gold medals last summer in Paris, and Collier is the VP of the Women’s National Basketball Players Association.

Unrivaled’s Construction

The WNBA has a long seven-month off-season, and as a means of supplementing their income and sharpening their game against top talent, a lot of WNBA players have gone overseas to play. The hope of the new league is that Unrivaled keeps the talent in the United States and playing during the prime basketball months of January, February, and March.

The league tips off on January 17 and runs until March 17, with all games played at a dedicated arena in Miami. There are six teams and six players per team, providing 36 of the best women’s basketball players in the world to watch for the next eight weeks.

Unrivaled boasts 17 former Olympians and seven different players that were selected No. 1 overall in the WNBA Draft. Paige Bueckers, the expected No. 1 pick in the 2025 Draft, has already signed an NIL deal with Unrivaled that will put her in the league in 2026. Current USC star JuJu Watkins is an investor, and she’s expected to join the league when she’s done playing college basketball.

However, the biggest draw in the WNBA last season, or any season, was Caitlin Clark. She has opted out of the league for this season, as has the 2024 WNBA MVP, A’ja Wilson.

Unrivaled’s cofounders and investors – a group that includes Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, women’s tennis star Coco Gauff, and South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley – are banking on viewers tuning in, even without Clark.

First Weekend Betting Lines

The first game is the Mist (-1) vs. the Lunar Owls. The Mist features Aaliyah Edwards of the Washington Mystics and Rickea Jackson of the Los Angeles Sparks. The Lunar Owls are led by cofounder Napheesa Collier and the Atlanta Dream’s Allisha Gray, a two-time all-star.

In game two on Friday night is Rose vs. Vinyl, with Rose favored by one point. Angel Reese plays for Rose, and Vinyl is led by Aliyah Boston, the No. 1 overall pick of the Indiana Fever in 2023.

There are two more games on Saturday, with Phantom favored by 4.5 points over Laces, and the Lunar Owls as 3.5-point favorites over Rose. Phantom has Brittney Griner and 2024 WNBA Finals star Sabrina Ionescu. The Laces have Jackie Young, the No. 1 overall pick by the Las Vegas Aces in 2019, and five-time all-star Alyssa Thomas.

Each team will play 14 regular season games, and the top four teams will go on to play single-elimination semifinals and finals.

All games will be played on Monday, Friday, and Saturday.