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MEDLEY, Fla. — Napheesa Collier of the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx took home $200,000 on Friday after she beat Washington Mystics forward Aaliyah Edwards in the final of the Unrivaled 1-on-1 Tournament.
The winner’s check was the largest one-day prize in women’s basketball history, Unrivaled commissioner Micky Lawler said, a big payday that was among the goals of Collier and fellow WNBA star Breanna Stewart when they founded the 3-on-3 league.
Unrivaled gives WNBA players opportunities to compete in the United States and earn good salaries — an especially attractive option for players who for years suited up overseas in the offseason to supplement their income. Players earn an average salary of more than $220,000 during the eight-week season, which is close to the maximum base salary in the WNBA.
“My entire WNBA salary is what I just got in 30 minutes of playing one-on-one,” Collier said. “Which is insane to even say. And same for [playing] overseas. A lot of people, this is their full contract, so you’re playing seven months for this kind of money.”
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Collier, a No. 1 seed in the 30-player tournament, won the best-of-three series 2-1 over the eighth-seeded Edwards to become Unrivaled’s first one-on-one champion.
Each game between the former UConn standouts was played to a winning score of 8, with Edwards coming from behind to take the opener and Collier winning the final two.
Collier’s five Unrivaled teammates each received $10,000 from the tournament’s $350,000 prize pool. Edwards got $50,000 for reaching the final.
Collier hopes women’s basketball embraces the one-on-one format.
“You see guys or boys playing in the parks — like pickup or one-on-ones, and you don’t see that on the women’s side as much,” she said. “So that’s something we’re trying to change, just that atmosphere where everything’s not as organized basketball, but just playing in your backyard or at the park.”
The win capped a dominant tournament run for Collier, who plays for Unrivaled’s Lunar Owls and leads Unrivaled in scoring at 29.3 points per game.
Earlier Friday, Collier overwhelmed former UConn teammate and No. 6 seed Azura Stevens in their semifinal matchup. Collier scored the first eight points of the game, and the reigning WNBA Defensive Player of the Year relied on stifling defense to win 11-2.
Collier breezed past Katie Lou Samuelson in the first round before winning a physical second-round battle against Rickea Jackson. She then beat her Lynx and Lunar Owls teammate Courtney Williams to reach the semifinals.
She shot her way past Edwards in the decisive Game 3, making 4 of 6 shots and holding Edwards scoreless.
Edwards, who plays for the Mist in Unrivaled, beat two top-seeded opponents on her way to the final, cruising past No. 1 seed Arike Ogunbowale 11-2 in the first semifinal matchup earlier Friday. Before that, she shut down No. 1 seed Stewart 12-0 in the opening round. After earning a second-round bye, Edwards topped third-seeded Allisha Gray 12-6.
Ogunbowale and Stevens won $25,000 each for reaching the semifinals. Rounds up to the finals were single-elimination and played to a winning score of 11. All games had traditional scoring, with each basket worth either two or three points.
The 22-year-old Edwards is preparing for her second season with the Mystics and hopes her performance Friday shows how hard she has been working to improve.
“I’m proud of myself. No one could take that away from me,” Edwards said. “All the work I put in. I was able to just showcase that and kind of let everyone know that, you know, I’m not one to play with.”
Collier noted that the physicality of some matchups left a lot of players gassed during the tournament, which is something she said could be addressed next season.
She’d love to see a similar event for NBA players.
“It’s up to the players if they want to do it,” Collier said. “You’re putting your name on the line. You’re putting your reputation on the line. It’s a vulnerable situation. So again, I really commend everyone who competed in this because … anyone can win.”
