Over the past few weeks, additional details around Unrivaled Basketball League have been disclosed as the the league gets increasingly close to its launch. Unrivaled, a 3-on-3 women’s professional basketball league in Miami, is set to tip-off on January 17th in Miami, and include a total of 36 WNBA players split among six teams. The full list of players will be revealed by November 20th.
The 8-week league, which was co-founded by Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart, gives all inaugural players equity and aims to provide an alternative option for WNBA stars who have historically had to go overseas to make supplemental income in the offseason. Now, players can stay in the U.S., earn a minimum salary of $100,000, and play along some of the best basketball players in the world, all on TNT.
Who is playing in Unrivaled?
Initially, Unrivaled was slated to include 30 players, but last month, Collier revealed on social media that that number will increase to 36 players. The list of initial 30 players — 14 of whom were All-Stars in 2024 — has been announced, while the league will disclose its final six players by November 20th.
“We’re able to do this because we outperformed our financial projections, and so now we get to do something that we wanted to do in the future, which is give more people spots in Unrivaled,” said Collier. “This is such an amazing time in women’s sports, and we’re so thankful to all the positive people who have come out and supported us.”
Here’s the full list of confirmed participants:
- Aaliyah Edwards (Mystics)
- Aliyah Boston (Fever)
- Allisha Gray (Dream)
- Angel Reese (Sky)
- Arike Ogunbowale (Wings)
- Azura Stevens (Sparks)
- Breanna Stewart (Liberty)
- Brittney Sykes (Mystics)
- Brittney Griner (Mercury)
- Chelsea Gray (Aces)
- Courtney Vandersloot (Liberty)
- Courtney Williams (Lynx)
- Dearica Hamby (Sparks)
- DiJonai Carrington (Sun)
- Jackie Young (Aces)
- Jewell Loyd (Storm)
- Kahleah Copper (Mercury)
- Kate Martin (Aces)
- Kayla McBride (Lynx)
- Kelsey Plum (Aces)
- Lexie Hull (Fever)
- Marina Mabrey (Sun)
- Napheesa Collier (Lynx)
- Natasha Cloud (Mercury)
- Rhyne Howard (Dream)
- Rickea Jackson (Sparks)
- Satou Sabally (Wings)
- Skylar Diggins-Smith (Storm)
- Shakira Austin (Mystics)
- Tiffany Hayes (Aces)
As it currently stands, notable omissions include Caitlin Clark, A’ja Wilson, Sabrina Ionescu, and Alyssa Thomas, among others. But, with six additional players to be added, it’s possible some of these players will added to the list.
How will teams be constructed?
Unrivaled has already hired six coaches — all of whom have yet to be disclosed — and announced its six official club names: Lunar Owls, Laces, Mist, Rose, Phantom and Vinyl.
Head coaches will meet to construct the rosters, and ultimately divvy up playing time as well. Each team will have six players, with three on the floor at once, and three substitutes.
Alex Bazzell, Collier’s husband who also happens to be the league’s president, hopes to eventually increase Unrivaled to eight teams with 48 roster spots, per Sportico.
How do games (and the season) work?
Games will be played in Miami on a compressed 70-by-50-foot compressed full-court. The exact rules have yet to be disclosed, but Collier has previously said it won’t follow the fast-placed Olympic 3×3 basketball format, rather follow “normal basketball” with 4 quarters.
The season will begin on January 17th, and go on for 8 weeks. The league has already signed a media rights deal with TNT, and games will be broadcast twice a week, on Mondays and Fridays. The season will also include a 1-on-1 basketball tournament.
Who is invested in Unrivaled?
Unrivaled has a number of high-profile backers, including U.S. soccer legends Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe, former NBA stars Steve Nash and Carmelo Anthony, UConn basketball coach Geno Auriemma, and numerous others.
Will Caitlin Clark play?
Everyone wants to know if Clark — the Rookie of the Year who has helped elevate the league to new heights this season — will partake in Unrivaled. Of note, three of her closest friends were the latest Unrivaled announcements: from the Indiana Fever, Aliyah Boston and Lexie Hull will both be playing, while the Aces’ Kate Martin, who Clark played with at Iowa, has also committed.
Clark hasn’t yet revealed whether she’ll play.
“We’ll see,” Clark told ESPN during Stephanie White’s introductory press conference on Monday. “I don’t know. Just taking it as it goes, and see if I want to play eventually.”
Alex Bazzell has made clear that signing Clark is a priority.
“We’re always going to have a roster spot for Caitlin Clark,” Bazzell told Sportico. “We’re not applying a full court press the way people think. We are letting her decompress from basketball… She knows that we have a spot for her when she’s ready.”
