Everything to know about the 3v3 women’s league

Founded by WNBA stars Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart, Unrivaled gives a unique opportunity for players this upcoming offseason.

It’s official. Unrivaled, an innovative 3-on-3 professional women’s league, will debut its inaugural season on Friday. Years in the making, it provides players with opportunities to pursue their basketball ambitions off-season while staying stateside. A solid portion of the league has spent time playing overseas for years. Although the players receive increased pay and playing opportunities, they often spend time apart from their families.

In addition to playing stateside, Unrivaled is paving the way in women’s sports. While the current players’ union recently opted out of the WNBA CBA (collective bargaining agreement), Unrivaled offers something no other league has ever done before.

The average player’s salary will tip north of $200,000 which is a fairly big deal. The average salary in the WNBA hovered around $119,000 in 2024, with rookies earning between $66,079 and $78,831. With a max salary set at $249,244 for the 2024-2025 season, this provides much-deserved and respected earnings for these athletes.

Unrivaled will offer the highest salary in women’s professional sports

Women deserve equal and fair pay in all sports. While Unrivaled is only beginning to address this long-overdue issue, they will offer the highest salary in women’s professional sports.

Even before its launch, the league has already made waves in the women’s sports industry. Highlighted by stars such as Sabrina Ionescu, Angel Reese and Brittney Griner, Unrivaled’s merch boxes sold out in an incredible seven minutes.

In addition to well-deserved wages, Unrivaled signed women’s basketball stars Paige Buckers and Flau’jae Johnson to NIL deals. Setting the bar high, both players will receive equity in the league.

Founded by former UConn and WNBA stars Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart, Unrivalved has finally come to fruition. Set to take place in Miami, the newly developed professional women’s 3×3 league team will consist of six teams. Over the last several months, the Unrivaled social media team has exclusively and diligently revealed each of the 36 roster spots. As of Halloween, the league announced the expansion from 30 player slots.

Please make no mistake—Collier wants fans to know she’s still a fan of playing overseas. While Stewart has likely closed the door on returning to play basketball thousands of miles away, Collier emphasized the importance of having options during the off-season.

“I think overseas is still a great option. We just think it shouldn’t be your only option,” said Collier. “We wanted to give players other things that they could do in their home countries. It is really hard to move your family. The flights are long. The time change is hard. Getting child care is really hard. We just wanted to provide more things for people as well.”

Unrivaled was co-founded by Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier

Jewell Loyd on joining unrivaled 🔥

She said she spends the off season in Chicago and the weather is definitely better in Miami ! pic.twitter.com/6Vhaq0PLZX

— Ballislife Womens Basketball (@ballislifewbb_) July 19, 2024

Headlined by Collier and Stewart, Unrivaled consists of a mix of both veteran and younger players. Among the inaugural class includes 80 WNBA All-Star appearances, 17 Olympic gold medals, and 21 WNBA championships, just to name a few. Headlined by several talented players, it will allow players to improve their game alongside professional players.

Unrivaled additionally features seven former no.1 overall WNBA Draft picks, along with five players who recently finished their first WNBA seasons. Although no longer rookies, Angel Reese, Rickea Jackson, Kate “Money Martin, Aaliyah Edwards, and Cameron Brink highlight the 2024 draft class.

It’s a golden opportunity for the younger players to gain insight and mentorship from seasoned players.

“The fact we have Rickea [Jackson] and Aaliyah [Edwards] both coming off their rookie seasons and being a part of this league—it gives us an opportunity to really help grow their games from a mental and a physical aspect, said Stewart.”

Who wouldn’t benefit from playing alongside some of the world’s top players? Stewart noted that athletes will have the chance to witness how others meticulously prepare for practice, games, and even schedules.

Let’s look further into Unrivaled and all the details you need to know before tip-off on Friday!

Where and when will Unrivaled take place?

Set to take place in Miami, Unrivaled is not the only professional women’s basketball league in the States during the offseason. In addition to Athlete’s Unlimited (AU), players now have more options during the off-season. This time in South Beach, away from the cold weather.

The league announced its partnership with Wayfair on Thursday, signaling that all home games would be held at Wayfair Arena. The season, which will last nine weeks, including playoffs, will tip off on Friday, January 17.

Described as “intimate,” Wayfair Arena will seat 850 spectators. A custom-built court, Unrivaled, has set the tone for women’s professional basketball. In addition, the league will present a smaller condensed court size of 49.2 ft x 72 ft. For comparison, the size of a full WNBA court is 94 ft x 50 ft. That’s a considerable difference.

“I just like the colors and the design of it, said Los Angeles Sparks guard Rae Burrell. It’s not very big, but I kind of like that. Then it’s just more intimate for the fans. It’s an exciting arena to play on.”

While the Las Vegas Aces set the foundation with top-notch facilities in the WNBA, several teams have followed suit, including the Seattle Storm and Indiana Fever. With that said, several teams in the WNBA don’t possess adequate facilities that the players need. With top-of-line “everything,” according to players, the entire league is witnessing what women deserve as athletes.

Unrivaled provides top-of-line facilities

We get to workout, use the weight room, create new bonds/friendships, get treatment, get massages, use the sauna, getting 2 meals a day, and then a facial before I leave for the day??? yeah i love it here😭💓 @Unrivaledwbb

— Angel Reese (@Reese10Angel) January 15, 2025

“I’ve heard also from other players that this is just up to our standards that we first of all expect, but also deserve,” said former Wings star Satou Sabally. “It’s just really great to operate in a room where everyone is functioning on a high-performance level. You got the training room, get what you need, get what you want. I feel like in six hours, I can get so much out of what we put in, rather than going to multiple facilities or worrying about other people being there.”

Satou didn’t stop praising the facilities at Unrivaled. From private entrances to exits, players have high-quality food that includes chefs. Sabally describes all of it as “professional,” and the accessibility helps recovery.

In addition, the Mediapro facility features a hair and makeup room, a childcare center, and more.

Where can I watch Unrivaled?

Unrivaled signed a multi-year media rights partnership with TNT Sports to increase visibility across the league. With that said, all games will air on TNT and TruTV, in addition to Max.

With the season approaching, fans will be enriched with 45 games. That includes double headers, which will occur three nights a week. The regular season will run from January 17 to March 10.

The high-profile TNT broadcast team will include former WNBA Star Lisa Leslie, Brendan Glasheen, and Sarah Kustock. With Ros Gold Onwude, Taylor Rooks, Allie LaForce, and Stephanie Ready set to appear as sideline reporters—Candace Parker, Renee Montgomery, and Laura Jbara will head up the studio coverage.

Several sports bars will host watch parties

Awesome news from Unrivaled. 7 sports bars around the US will be featuring watch parties.

W pic.twitter.com/AbYJe19N4v

— Sara Jane Gamelli (@SaraJGamelli) January 14, 2025

There’s more exciting news on the horizon! Seven watch parties will take place in seven different cities throughout the season. Locations include: A Bar of Their Own (Minneapolis, MN), Blue Haven South (New York, NY), Grails (Miami, FL), The 99ers Sports Bar (Denver, CO), The Sports Bra (Portland, OR), Watch Me! Sports Bar (Long Beach, CA), and Whiskey Girl Tavern (Chicago, IL).

Each bar will receive “party kits” courtesy of Unrivaled and Ally Financial. With tip-off set for Friday, all seven locations will broadcast the games starting on January 17.

Overall, this is a gigantic step in the right direction regarding accessibility and visibility of women’s basketball.

While TNT will showcase games on Mondays and Fridays, TruTV will broadcast matchups on Saturdays. A full list of scheduled games can be found here.

Backed by current and former players, venture capitalists and celebrities have invested mainly in Unrivaled. Already announcing they surpassed the $35 million mark, below is a list of individuals who have invested in the league so far (some but not all).

Giannis Antetokounmp

Michael Phelps

Dawn Staley

JuJu Watkins

Carmelo Anthony

David Levy

Alex Morgan

Tyus Jones

Trey Jones

Ashton Kutcher

Mila Kunis

The Berman Family

Trybe Ventures

Dan Rosensweig

John Skipper

Moira Forbes

Richard Sarnoff

Gary Vaynerchuk.

While this is a short list of investors that wish to grow the women’s game, Coca Gauff was recently named the newest investor of Unrivaled. While the league secured $28 million in their series A funding, they received an additional $7 million of funding during the “seed round.”

“I’m thrilled to be joining Unrivaled as an investor,” said Coco Gauff. “Basketball is one of my favorite sports, and the chance to support a league that’s redefining the game is exciting. I look forward to being part of this movement and continuing to help elevate women’s sports to new heights.”

Along with investors, Unrivaled has secured many partnership deals and sponsors to help elevate the game of women’s basketball. As the weeks went on, the list grew longer and longer. While Sephora was recently announced as the official beauty partner, below is a list of the high-profile official partnerships:

TNT Sports (Media rights partner)

Miller Lite (Official beer partner)

Ally Financial (League’s official banking and founding partner)

Ticketmaster( Unrivaled’s official ticketing partner)

Under Armour (Official uniform partner and performance outfitter)

Mediapro North America (Production and hosting partner)

State Farm®(League’s home and auto insurance sponsor)

Wilson (Official game ball manufacturer)

Wayfair (League’s Official Home Furnishing Partner and naming rights partner)

Samsung Galaxy (Presenting and Official Technology Partner of Unrivaled)

Sprite (Presenting partner of Unrivaled’s 1-on-1 tournament)

BODYARMOR (league’s official sports drink partner)

VistaPrint (Official Print and Design Partner)

Icy Hot (Official Recovery Partner)

Morgan Stanley

What are the Rules and Format?

A 3-on-3 style format, Unrivaled will feature three 7-minute quarters. In addition, the league will add a unique fourth “winning score” quarter. A faster-paced style of basketball, it will open up spacing for players.

What does the winning score fourth quarter mean? It simply suggests the winning score will be configured by adding 11 points to the leading team’s score through three quarters. There will be no overtime.

To speed up the pace of the game, Unrivaled will adopt an 18-second shot clock, as opposed to a 24-second shot clock in the WNBA. It’s important to note it only stops in the final 30 seconds of a period instead of a full minute.

Free throws are where the scoring gets tricky. Although each player will be sent to the line if fouled, they will receive only one shot from the charity stripe. With this change, so will the value of each shot. If a player is fouled on a two-point shot, they will receive two points at the foul line. If a player is fouled at the three-point line, that shot at the charity stripe will be worth three points.

Like other professional leagues, players will foul out after obtaining six personal fouls. Due to limited roster space, if a team is down to three players available, those can continue to play on. The maximum number of players on a given roster is six.

In addition, technical fouls will count as one free throw.

How does Unrivaled differ from FIBA 3×3

“I would just say it’s very fun, very fast-paced, the actions are quick,” said former Iowa star Kate Martin. “You get exposed pretty quick on the defensive end. It really feels like that child-like joy and love for the game. This 3-on-3 is a really fun style of basketball. I really think the fans are going to enjoy watching it.”

Quite different from FIBA 3×3, Stefanie Dolson broke down the differences in the two leagues. Dolson, along with Allisha Gray and Jackie Young, is a former 3v3 Olympic Gold Medalist.

“I feel like it differs mostly defensively,” said Dolson. “I feel like offensively, it was a little bit similar, with the actions and how you had to know how to play the game. Defensively, the fact that it’s full court— there’s a lot more in transition.”

With such open space will give players an opportunity to work on their one-one-one defense.

What are the teams, players, and coaches?

In case you needed any more reasons to tune in to Unrivaled games this season… just look at who we have lined up as our TNT Sports broadcast team 🔥 pic.twitter.com/Z1xEiootfA

— Unrivaled Basketball (@Unrivaledwbb) January 7, 2025

Unrivaled will feature six clubs: BC Laces, Lunar Owls, BC Mist, Phantom BC, Rose Basketball Club, and Vinyl Basketball Club.

Featuring a maximum of six players, there will be one coach that will represent each team. As the league announced six roster spots, two of those accounted for “wild card” players.

In addition, there will be one player who will serve as captain of each club. Before the season, Unrivaled completed its first trade in league history. Courtney Williams of the Laces was traded to the Lunar Owls for Natasha Cloud. From there, Cloud was traded to the Phantom, along with a wild card spot, for Jackie Young and Tiffany Hayes.

Below is a full list of the first 36 players and complete Unrivaled team rosters:

Laces BC Head Coach: Andrew Wade

Jackie Young

Tiffany Hayes

Kayla McBride

Alyssa Thomas (Captain)

Kate Martin

Stefanie Dolson

Lunar Owls BC Head Coach: DJ Sackmann

Napheesa Collier (Captain)

Courtney Williams

Skylar Diggins-Smith

Allisha Gray

Shakira Austin

Cameron Brink

Mist BC Head Coach: Phil Handy

Breanna Stewart (Captain)

DiJonai Carrington

Courtney Vandersloot

Jewell Loyd

Aaliyah Edwards

Rickea Jackson

Phantom BCHead Coach: Adam Harrington

Satou Sabally (Captain)

Marina Mabrey (Injured-Calf)

Brittney Griner

Natasha Cloud

Katie Lou Samuelson

Sabrina Ionescu

Rose BC Head Coach: Nola Henry

Angel Reese

Chelsea Gray (Captain)

Brittney Sykes

Kahleah Copper

Azurá Stevens

Lexie Hull

Vinyl Basketball ClubHead Coach: Teresa Weatherspoon

Arike Ogunbowale (Captain)

Rae Burrell

Rhyne Howard

Aaliyah Boston

Jordin Canada

Dearica Hamby

Can I bet on Unrivaled?

DraftKings has officially published the Unrivaled Championship odds in select jurisdictions. You can see the odds below, currently available in the following states: CO, IL, KS, MD, NC, ON, OR, TN, WY, and WA.

If the legal age to bet on your state, DraftKings has the Phantom as the favorite to win the Championship at +400 odds. Next is Mist at +400, Lunar Owls at +400, Laces at +500, and Vinyl at +600. The Club with the highest odds to win it all is Rose with with +and 700 Odds.

What is the playoff format?

Six teams compete for a championship with the regular season set to end on March 10. With the Semi-Finals taking place on Sunday, March 16, the Finals will take place on Monday, March 17.

With that said, the six teams will play in a round-robin format schedule. The remaining top four teams at the conclusion of the season will advance to the playoffs.

1 v 1 Tournament

Unrivaled has released its most significant announcement yet. The league will feature a 1-one-1 tournament, set to take place from February 10 through February 14. The first place winner will be rewarded $250,000.

According to Napheesa Collier on X, the 1-one-1 tournament is “a single elimination tournament to determine the best 1v1 player in the world.”

Key dates summary

January 17: Tip-offFebruary 10-14: 1-on-1 one tournamentMarch 10: End of the regular season*March 16: Semi-Finals**March 17: Finals*

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Sara Jane Gamelli is a full-time Sportswriter, Content Creator, and Manager for Ballislife Bets. She has a focus on the Women’s Basketball and the NBA. Sara Jane currently resides in the Connecticut/NYC area with her Cat and Dog. SJ has her undergraduate