Unrivaled’s amenities are the standard. The WNBA should take notes.

On a warm Miami night, 36 of the WNBA’s best players walked off buses and onto the grounds of a new athlete-led basketball league. A buzz was in the air as players walked under lights that illuminated the pathways to state-of-the-art facilities, carefully crafted with player experience in mind.

Something felt different. It felt, well, unrivaled—a fitting name for a new league designed to be unlike any other professional basketball organization.

“This is nice,” Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese emphatically said as she walked into the weight room during a tour.

“A motion bar!” Washington Mystics guard Brittney Sykes exclaimed.

Players seemingly unlocked an oasis of possibilities with a simple door swing. For many, Unrivaled’s perks and amenities are a breath of fresh air.

From the saunas to childcare to the playing court, Unrivaled thought of every possibility that athletes might need. If the WNBA wasn’t paying attention, it might want to start taking notes now—in permanent ink.

“I think it just starts with the player experience …” Indiana Fever guard Lexie Hull recently said, reflecting on lessons the WNBA could learn from Unrivaled.

“Making sure we’re experiencing the best version of the game that we can … I think the [WNBA] can do a really good job of listening to what we want …”

WNBA players have made it abundantly clear that investment matters. They want to see their worth reflected in facilities, resources and support. This ongoing discussion amongst players is an active WNBA trend heavily influencing free agency decisions.

Sure, the argument is that amenities like these are easier for 36 players than for 156 players in the W. But league owners have the money to invest and need to find deeper pockets for their players.

If a player isn’t part of franchises like the Las Vegas Aces, Phoenix Mercury, Seattle or Golden State Valkyries, they might be hard-pressed to find technologically advanced facilities readily available or spaces they don’t have to share.

Aces Owner Mark Davis initiated a shift with W facilities in 2023 when the franchise opened a 64,000-square-foot practice facility and team headquarters, the first in league history built solely for use by a WNBA team. Phoenix and Seattle followed suit with $100 million and $64 million investments in practice facilities, respectively. Golden State, one of the league’s newest teams, opens its inaugural season in 2025 with a 6,800-square-foot locker room and a 31,800-square-foot facility for training and development.

We get to workout, use the weight room, create new bonds/friendships, get treatment, get massages, use the sauna, getting 2 meals a day, and then a facial before I leave for the day??? yeah i love it here😭💓 @Unrivaledwbb

— Angel Reese (@Reese10Angel) January 15, 2025

i don’t even think i listed everything but baby i could be here forevaaaa😭

— Angel Reese (@Reese10Angel) January 15, 2025

Unrivaled hopes to shift the current conversations around investing in women, redefine the standards and raise expectations. Dallas Wings forward Satou Sabally identifies with that sentiment.

“Just being here has been a great experience,” Sabally told the media. “This is up to our standards that we expect and deserve. It’s really great to operate in a room where everything is functioning on a high-performance level.”

As future WNBA facilities are built, they should follow the blueprint Unrivaled created. It’s the best endorsement the league could give players, saying something they have been painstakingly waiting to hear: We see you, we hear you and we value you.

The WNBA is now on the clock. Unrivaled is applying pressure.