The Unrivaled League, the brainchild of UConn Women’s Basketball alums Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart came to fruition this past weekend, after kicking off in Miami.
So, if you happen to be asking, ‘What is the Unrivaled league?’ Then, you have to come to the right place.
How does it work?
With star players like Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers and Angel Reese on collegiate basketball and WNBA rosters, the popularity of women’s basketball has grown exponentially.
Not only will this new league be great for further exposure of women’s basketball, it’s also a tremendous opportunity for the 36 WNBA players taking part in it. It’s a custom for athletes in the WNBA to play overseas during the offseason, but now, they can play in the U.S. and get paid doing so.
Unrivaled gives fans a chance to see their favorite WNBA stars on the court during the offseason, but with a twist. It’s a 3-on-3 league that’s designed to be fast paced and high scoring. To put it into simpler terms, it’s a revolutionized version of the classic game of street ball.
The league will last a total of eight weeks with all games, regular season and playoffs, being played in Miami at the MediaPro Center. Playoffs begin on March 16, with two elimination games ending in the Championship on March 17.
The Unrivaled league has a total of six teams and each game the teams play will have a similar process to games you see in the WNBA and collegiate basketball. The games will be split into four quarters. However, the first, second and third quarters will each be seven minutes long, but the fourth will be untimed until a team reaches the “winning score.”
The winning score is calculated based on the score of the leading team by the end of the third quarter, with an addition of 11 points. Let’s say if Team A finishes the third quarter with a leading score of 56 points, the winning score to reach in the fourth quarter is 67 points.
In addition to the games being shorter, fans will see a compact court as well. Instead of the 94’-by-50′ basketball court you see in 5-on-5 games, and a half court you see in regular 3-on-3 games, Unrivaled will have a 72’-by-49′ court for quicker, faster gameplay, per Unrivaled on X.
The three players each squad will have on the court at all times will consist of a guard, forward and center.
Who’s playing?
The six teams in the league are the Laces, Lunar Owls, Mist, Phantom, Rose and Vinyl.
For the UConn fans out there, there are various alums playing for various teams. Stefanie Dolson and Tiffany Hayes will put on the Laces jersey, whereas Collier will play for the Lunar Owls, Stewart and Aailyah Edwards for the Mist and Katie Lou Samuelson.
In addition to the Connecticut alumnae, there are many other big names throughout the rosters including Sabrina Ionescu, Kate Martin and Angel Reese.
With names like these, there’s no doubt of the popularity the Unrivaled League will find, as it will continue to bring exposure to women’s sports.
Where can I watch it?
Having kicked off this past weekend, each game for Unrivaled will take place on Monday, Friday and Saturday and fans can tune in on TNT and or stream on Max.