For much of the WNBA’s history, its best players left home as soon as the season ended to go play overseas, often for more money. Only in recent years, with the advent of higher salaries and better endorsement deals, has this trend begun to change.
But Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier are looking to permanently alter the landscape of women’s professional basketball with their new league, Unrivaled, which will begin in January 2025 and look to provide an alternative source of competition and income for WNBA players during the offseason.
“For a long time, going overseas was the only option people had in the off-season, so this kind of changes the narrative around that and gives you another option,” Collier said earlier this year . “Overseas is a great option for some players, but it shouldn’t be the only thing you can do to make money and play basketball and get better.”
Ahead of what should be a fascinating winter, here’s everything you need to know about Unrivaled.
Who’s playing?
This is perhaps the most important question. Originally, Unrivaled stated that it would feature “30 of the best professional women’s basketball players.” However, Collier announced on October 31 that the league would be expanded to 36 players because they “have exceeded our financial projections”.
The full list has not yet been published, but 29 of the 36 places have been filled.
Stewart and Collier lead, of course, alongside other stars like Brittney Griner, Jewell Loyd, Chelsea Gray, Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young. So far, there are three members of the excellent rookie class of 2024 in the mix: Angel Reese, Rickea Jackson and Aaliyah Edwards. Despite the league’s best effortsCaitlin Clark is not part of that group — at least not yet.
Here are the confirmed players for the first season of Unrivaled
There will be six teams with six players each, and the rosters will be chosen by a selection committee that “divides teams by position and skill,” Collier wrote on social media. It is not yet clear when this process will happen.
Here are the six teams:
- BC shoelaces
- BC Lunar Owls
- Fog BC
- BC Phantom
- Rose BC
- Vinyl BC
When does the season start?
The inaugural season will take place on January 17 and will run for eight weeks. The matches will be played on Monday, Friday and Saturday evenings.
TNT Sports has acquired the broadcast rights and will show Monday and Friday games on TNT and Saturday games on truTV. All games will be available for streaming on Max.
A full schedule will be published at a later date.
What will the games look like?
One of the many reasons Unrivaled is unique is that the games will be 3v3 but played on a slightly shorter full court. The unparalleled floor, which will be 70 feet long, is about three-quarters the length of the WNBA’s 94-foot court. The 50-foot width of the playing surface will remain the same. Additionally, they will play four, seven-minute quarters instead of the 10-minute quarters used by the WNBA.
A complete set of rules regarding the length of the shot clock, the number of fouls allowed, etc. has yet to be released, though Collier said on social media that it will look like “normal basketball with more spaces.”
What is the season format?
The season will last eight weeks, including the playoffs.
There will be two games on each game night, and the six teams will play each other in a round-robin format. The top four teams in the standings will advance to the playoffs. The playoff format has yet to be announced.
Unrivaled is building its own facility in Miami, which will be the league’s home base this season.
How much will the players be paid?
Exact salaries won’t be disclosed, but each player will make at least six figures and will also receive equity in the league.
One of the main reasons Stewart and Collier created Unrivaled was to give players the chance to earn significant money, not just now, but for years to come.
“Women’s sport is on such a rise and it feels like everyone is benefiting from that, except for the women in the sport, and obviously that’s something we’re trying to change and then create generational wealth for these women,” she said. Collier said. Need to Talk” last year. “From the beginning, [Stewart] and I really set out to create a league that was founded on the principle that players deserve compensation and ownership that reflects their value.”
Will there be coaches?
Yes, each team will have a head coach, an assistant coach and a team manager. There have been no announcements on this front.
When asked if the coaches would be from the WNBA, Collier said “Some will, some won’t! We will have a good collection of experienced coaches.”
What about the 1v1 tournament?
Another unique aspect of Unrivaled is that it will feature a mid-season 1-on-1 tournament to determine the best 1-on-1 player in the world. The single-elimination event will take place in February and the winner will receive a $250,000 prize.
More details on the rules and brackets will be released at a later date.
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