The women's basketball boom will continue this winter with the launch of a new women's 3-on-3 basketball league called Unrivaled. Shams Charania reported this morning that WNBA stars Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier co-founded the league which will set the record for "paying the highest average salary in pro female sports history." According to Charania, the league will be played in the winter, opposite to the WNBA season. There will be six teams and 30 players, with the founding players receiving equity in the league.
With Stewart, a two-time MVP and two-time WNBA champion, and Collier, a five-time All-Star involved, the league is immediately legitimized. The launch should take advantage of the current surge in popularity in women's basketball, as well as the rise of 3-on-3 basketball, which will make its debut at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The new league begins its first season in January and will take place in the winter, which is opposite of WNBA season. The initial 30 players also receive equity ownership in the league.
Notable signings will be announced soon, but until then we'll have to speculate whether Caitlin Clark will be involved. It seems like a necessity given her popularity and the fact that the Big3 already made a public offer of a $5 million contract to Clark in April. Clark would ensure the league debuted with the most possible hype.
And if she's not involved, well, Stewart and Collier don't need to need to do much beyond scroll through the UConn rolodex to load the rosters anyway. Whoever is involved, Unrivaled already has a leg up on the Big3 because it will consist of active players, while Big3 relies on mostly retired NBA players.
If the league is successful and the money is there, this could provide more options for WNBA players beyond overseas basketball in the offseason. With the current popularity of women's basketball and the current state the streaming wars, the money should be there. Broadcasters are desperate for live sports programming and this league should be able to offer the content everyone is looking for right now.
Whatever happens, Stewart and Collier are striking while the iron is hot and people will definitely be paying attention.
STEPHEN DOUGLAS
