Unrivaled Officials Land Napheesa Collier in Deep Turmoil as National Analyst Puts WNBA on Urgent Notice

We’re now halfway through the inaugural season of Unrivaled, the groundbreaking 3v3 women’s basketball league founded by NBA stars Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier. Designed to give WNBA players a chance to compete closer to home while owning a piece of the league itself, Unrivaled promised to be a game-changer. And while the concept is revolutionary, let’s just say… not everything has gone according to plan.

The turning point has been the officials. Rachel Annamarie DeMita talks about how the refs might be the reason Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart’s brainchild might cease to exist next season.

“There’s also the physicality of this league. It has actually been a little bit crazy how much the refs are letting these players get away with. That is a recipe for players to get injured and that’s not great!” she noted in the latest Courtside Club episode.

If you remember, it was louder two weeks back when Angel Reese was ejected. Against the Laces BC, the Rose forward was called for a foul on Tiffany Hayes, a call she clearly disagreed with, leading to a dismissive gesture that earned her a technical foul. As players lined up for free throws, Reese’s arguments with the refs had seen no stop, which resulted in a second technical foul almost immediately and she got ejected.

Of course, anyone who has been with Unrivaled since the beginning will agree with DeMita on this: “I watched that first weekend of play I thought, firstly these women are gonna be in great shape by the end of this. It’s such a fast-paced game. But with that, if you actually think about it, that’s a very different game with 5v5 and it does leave you susceptible to injuries.”

A very good example of this was when the league was forced to trim down its 1v1 tournament after a brutal wave of injuries sidelined seven players, including stars like Natasha Cloud, Alyssa Thomas, Tiffany Hayes, Marina Mabrey, Kate Martin, Brittney Sykes, and Kayla McBride. The league was forced to scrap the matchup between Laces BC and Vinyl BC after Laces found themselves severely short-handed, missing key stars Alyssa Thomas, Jackie Young, and Tiffany Hayes.

With officials failing to protect players just as Rachel pointed out, Unrivaled is now at serious risk of not returning for another season. If injuries keep piling up, the WNBA could step in and not let these players participate. But that’s not even the biggest controversy brewing. Referee mistakes have triggered something far bigger, something that has shaken the entire basketball community. Let’s dive into it!

Rhyne Howard accuses Collier and Unrivaled of rigging!

On the second day of the 1v1, Atlanta Dream star Rhyne Howard was knocked out by Courtney Williams 11-9, despite Howard being the higher seed. Throughout the whole game, the refs made some questionable decisions which prompted Howard to open X and retweet certain tweets that implied that the league was rigged!

One of the tweets Howard retweeted read, “When they all play each other and it’s nothing but fOWLs 🥁,” a not-so-subtle jab implying that Napheesa Collier, Courtney Williams’ teammate at Lunar Owls and Minnesota Lynx was involved in rigging the game!

Now, imagine being the face of a brand-new league and getting accused of rigging your own tournament by a part owner. Yeah, not a great look! Whether it was just frustration from Howard or a genuine concern about the refs, this controversy is the last thing Collier and Unrivaled needed as they try to establish credibility in their inaugural season.

What do you make of the whole situation? Will Unrivaled fizzle out? Or can it weather the storm? Let us know in the comments.