Players reportedly hoping Unrivaled will ‘put pressure’ on WNBA

Friday marks the debut of Unrivaled, the winter 3-on-3 women’s basketball league featuring some of the WNBA’s biggest stars. Unrivaled has a chance to make it big with the recent momentum that the WNBA gained in 2024.

The league offers a fun, new look at women’s basketball for fans in a fast-paced format, but it also gives players a place to play during the long offseason without having to go overseas if they would rather stay in the United States.

Despite all of that, the impact of Unrivaled has a chance to stretch even beyond the offseason. Some players are hoping that the emergence of the league inspires some positive change in the WNBA as well, according to Kendra Andrews on ESPN’s NBA Today.

“This league has been described to me as one that is founded by players and built for players,” Andrews said. “Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart, they created this and they wanted to fill the voids that they saw in women’s basketball. It’s so common for WNBA players to go play overseas during their offseason to continue playing competitive ball and make a livable wage. Those are the top two priorities here. … WNBA players they opted out of their CBA and those negotiations have already started, they’re going to be ongoing. They really want Unrivaled to put pressure on the WNBA to give them what they feel they deserve.”

The Unrivaled season got off to a flaming hot start on Friday with two very competitive games. First, the Lunar Owls beat the Mist 84-80 and then the Vinyl beat the Rose 79-73. Unrivaled is another league that is using the Elam Ending, which uses a target score to determine the winner instead of a clock. On top of all of the good that the league is doing for the WNBA players, the Elam Ending and the new full court 3-on-3 format makes it exciting for both players and fans alike.