A new opportunity has arisen for professional women’s basketball players that doesn’t require overseas travel, called theUnrivaled Women’s Basketball League.
The league, created by WNBA stars Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart, was founded in 2023 with the hopes of creating a league for other WNBA players to play domestically and navigate the WNBA’s prioritization rule for those who choose to play overseas during the offseason.
The prioritization rule requires women who choose to play in overseas leagues to prioritize the WNBA, returning by the time the league resumes play. Many women in the WNBA cannot afford to not play overseas, with a significant pay gap between the league and its male counterpart, the NBA.
Unrivaled will play as a 3-on-3 basketball league, with six teams playing against one another for two months. The season will conclude with a playoff tournament consisting of four teams, which will take place on March 17. There are also plans for a 1-on-1 tournament to take place in the middle of the season.
The games will be played on a court that is smaller than the usual WNBA court. However, the court will still be standard with two ends.
Each game will consist of three seven-minute periods, and a fourth “winning score” period. Unrivaled will then use an Elam Ending format for the fourth period, which will eliminate the game clock and replace it with a shot clock. The shot clock gives a set time for each team to take a shot.
In order to win a game, the teams will be aiming to achieve a target score instead of the highest score in a set period of time. At the end of the third period, the team with the lead will see 11 points added to their score. If there is a tie, each team will gain 11 points. The Elam Ending ensures in the Unrivaled league that there is a clear winner with no overtime.
The Unrivaled Women’s Basketball League was able to acquire a roster full of current WNBA stars. Co-founder Stewart was the first player announced to the league on July 9, 2024. Since then, 36 total players have been announced, with many recognizable names for both fans and nonfans alike including Angel Reese, Sabrina Ionescu, Arike Ogunbowale and more.
The six teams are the Laces, Lunar Owls, Mist, Phantom, Rose and Vinyl Basketball Clubs. The clubs are coached by a mix of former coaches, professionals and development trainers alike.
The WNBA stars laced up their sneakers for the first round of games on Jan. 17. The Lunar Owls currently lead with two wins and zero losses. The games are aired on TNT and TruTV, and available to stream on Max, free for on-campus students with their Xfinity subscription.
