Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner is the latest athlete to join Unrivaled, a women’s professional three-on-three basketball league.
The league announced that Griner had signed on ahead of its inaugural season, which tips off in January 2025 in Miami.
Griner is the third Mercury member to join Unrivaled. Phoenix guards Kahleah Copper and Natasha Cloud have also been signed to the league.
Unrivaled was cofounded by WNBA stars Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart, who will also play in the league.
The league was created to provide players with a domestic offseason option instead of playing abroad for foreign clubs and teams.
In 2022, while heading overseas to play for a Russian club, Griner was searched by authorities, who found two nearly empty cartridges of cannabis in her luggage.
She was detained and spent over nine months in a Russian prison. On Dec. 8, 2022, Griner was released from prison and returned to the US.
Unrivaled allows players like Griner to find opportunities closer to home rather than looking to foreign countries.
Its high-profile investors include Phoenix Suns legend Steve Nash and former professional soccer player Megan Rapinoe.
Unrivaled will feature six teams, with five players on each team. The league’s eight-week season, which includes the playoffs, will occur during the WNBA’s offseason.
WNBA star rookie Angel Reese is also among the 30 players who will be competing in the three-on-three league.
The league is expected to set the record for the highest average salaries in women’s sports history. All 30 initial players will receive equity ownership of Unrivaled.
There are five spots left in the league that have yet to be announced.
