Unrivaled Announces Valkyries Star Will Play During WNBA Offseason

Unrivaled Basketball is adding a new star to their ever-growing roster.

Founded in 2023 by Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart, Unrivaled is a 3×3 basketball league that allows WNBA players to play in the offseason without having to travel overseas to do so. The league has picked up serious steam since its inception, with high-profile investors including Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Stephen Curry, just to name a few.

Many of the WNBA’s stars have joined on to play Unrivaled Basketball in the league’s first season, and in an announcement on Tuesday, the league will gain another premier player from one of the WNBA’s hottest teams.

Golden State Valkyries’ guard and 2025 WNBA Most Improved Player Veronica Burton will join Unrivaled for their upcoming season, kicking off January 5.

“It’s a major opportunity,” Burton said (via ESPN). “A lot of the league’s best players are competing [at Unrivaled], so any opportunity to compete against the best is where I want to be. I’m just excited to be a part of it and I’m grateful to be a part of it.”

Unrivaled’s 3×3 format is a change from the typical style of play on WNBA courts, which features 5×5 play. Burton has experience with this kind of play: she was a member of the U.S. women’s 3×3 team at the 2022 U23 World Cup, winning silver.

Unrivaled also features a few extra rules of its own, including a condensed court and three 7-minute quarters followed by an untimed fourth quarter played to the “winning score,” a number determined by adding 11 points to the leading team’s point total after the first three quarters.

“The super fast pace challenges people to be aggressive on both sides of the ball, and you can’t really hide out there,” Burton said. “You have to be involved and engaged.”

Burton will be looking to keep her skills sharp as a follow-up to her MIP-winning season, where she averaged 11.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game while leading the Valkyries in points, assists, rebounds and blocks.

Unrivaled has experienced major growth since its debut season and has added two new teams to match said growth.

Burton isn’t the only Valkyrie with experience in the league: fellow Golden State guards Kate Martin and Tiffany Hayes both played in the league’s first season, though it hasn’t been announced if either will return for Season 2.

Burton is one of several high-profile names that Unrivaled has added for its second season. Among returning players like Breanna Stewart and Lexie Hull, Sonia Citron and 2025 Rookie of the Year Paige Bueckers have also signed on to the league as newcomers.