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Unrivaled—a new three-on-three basketball league that debuted Friday in Miami—was the brainchild of two of the WNBA’s brightest stars.
Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier and New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart, observing winter’s dearth of women’s professional basketball, put together a league that would disincentivize players from spending the offseason overseas.
It was only appropriate, then, that Stewart would provide the first basket in the history of the new league Friday evening—a midrange jumper that put her team, Mist BC, ahead of Lunar Owls BC 2–0.
Not to be outdone, guard Skylar Diggins-Smith scored to tie the game at 2–2 12 seconds later.
Breanna Stewart scored the first basket in Unrivaled history pic.twitter.com/0SPKQzNVc3
— Ben Pickman (@benpickman) January 18, 2025
Stewart, 30, has won two MVP awards and three WNBA titles in a career that will almost assuredly land her in the Hall of Fame. In addition to her professional accolades, the UConn product is a three-time Olympic gold medalist and a four-time college national champion.
For trivia-minded fans: the first basket in WNBA history was scored by Los Angeles Sparks guard Penny Toler in 1997, and the first basket in NBA history was scored by New York Knicks guard Ossie Schechtman in 1947.
