[ad_1]
rewrite this content and keep HTML tags (remove this from content : rewrite this content and keep HTML tags)
Unrivaled, the 3-on-3 women’s professional basketball league co-founded by WNBA stars Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier, will tip off its second season Monday night in Miami. Once again, dozens of players will have the opportunity to compete against high-level competition and earn a significant salary in the offseason without having to leave the United States.
“For a long time, going overseas was the only option that people had in their offseason, and so this is kind of changing the narrative around that and giving another option,” Collier said in 2024 when explaining her motivation to create the league. “Overseas is a great option for some players, but it shouldn’t be the only thing you can do to make money and play basketball and get better.”
Ahead of the 2026 Unrivaled season, here’s everything you need to know about the league and what’s different from its inaugural campaign.
Schedule & broadcast info
The season will tip off on Jan. 5, and will run for eight weeks. The championship is scheduled for March 4. Games will be played on Mondays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
TNT Sports has acquired the broadcast rights, and will show games on TNT and truTV. All games will also be available for streaming on Max. Here is the full schedule.
What’s new in Season 2?
Expansion
The biggest change this season is the addition of two expansion teams, Breeze BC and Hive BC, bringing the total number of teams in the league to eight.
Originally, Unrivaled was going to wait on expansion until 2027, but president Alex Bazzell (who is married to Collier) said that plans changed because the league outperformed its financial projections last season. Adding two teams also meant opening up 12 new roster spots.
“If we didn’t expand rosters, there were going to be All-Stars [wanting to join] who we didn’t have space for,” Bazzell told ESPN in September. “We want to be the home for all of the best players in the world.”
Development player pool
Each Unrivaled team only has six players, and the league ran into some serious issues last season when injuries and illnesses started to pile up.
A game between Laces BC and Vinyl BC had to be cancelled due to a lack of healthy players, and the 1-on-1 tournament had multiple walkovers for the same reason. At various points, teams had to scramble to sign relief players to short-term contracts in order to fill out their rosters.
In order to try and solve that issue this season, Unrivaled created a development player pool. The six players will not be on a roster to begin the season, but will be in Miami to train and will be eligible to suit up for any club in the event of injuries or other absences. They will also receive a full salary, regardless of how many games they end up playing.
Philly trip
Unrivaled is based in Miami, where it has an arena, training facilities and off-court amenities. While the majority of the action will always take place in South Florida, the league has plans to grow its footprint in the coming years. That will begin this season with a trip to Philadelphia to play four games at Xfinity Mobile Arena, home of the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers, on Jan. 30.
“We love being in Miami. We love serving the community. We also have an obligation to get our product and, honestly, get our players in front of bigger crowds,” Bazzell told USA Today last year. “So, we want to go to larger venues. Call it 15,000- or 20,000-seat venues, going to different markets. Our brands would love to do it. We know Turner would love to do it.
“We have an obligation to help grow the ecosystem and the fandom of women’s basketball.”
Who’s playing?
Unrivaled added a number of players this season, including 2025 WNBA Rookie of the Year Paige Bueckers, fellow rookie sensations Dominique Malonga, Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen and Indiana Fever star Kelsey Mitchell. Additionally, Cameron Brink will suit up after sitting out last season due to injury.
On the flip side, Unrivaled lost some real star power from last season when Angel Reese, Sabrina Ionescu and Jewell Loyd chose not to return. Furthermore, Caitlin Clark and A’ja Wilson once again declined to participate, while Collier has been ruled out for the season after doctors determined she needed surgery on both ankles.
Napheesa Collier injury: WNBA star out 4-6 months due to surgery on both ankles, will miss Unrivaled season
Jack Maloney
The four returning playoff teams — Rose (reigning champions), Lunar Owls, Vinyl and Laces — were allowed to protect two players from last season’s roster, while the non-playoff teams — Phantom and Mist — could protect one player. The protected players remained on their roster and were not eligible to be drafted by another team.
Breeze won a coin flip to get the No. 1 pick in the 2026 Unrivaled Draft, and selected Bueckers, while Hive took Mitchell with the No. 2 pick.
Here are the full rosters for all eight teams, as well as the development player pool:
Breeze BC
Coach: Noelle Quinn
Hive BC
Coach: Rena Wakama
Laces BC
Coach: Andrew Wade
Lunar Owls BC
Coach: DJ Sackmann
Mist
Coach: Zach O’Brien
Phantom BC
Coach: Raneeka Hodges
Rose BC
Coach: Nola Henry
Vinyl BC
Coach: Teresa Weatherspoon
Development player pool
What are the rules?
The games are 3-on-3 instead of 5-on-5The court is 50-by-70 feet instead of 50-by-94 feetThe first three quarters are seven minutes instead of 10 minutes, and the fourth quarter is untimed. After the first three quarters, a “winning score” is created by adding 11 points to the total for the leading team. The first team that reaches the “winning score” wins.The shot clock is 18 seconds instead of 24 seconds. On offensive rebounds the shot clock resets to 12 secondsPlayers foul out after six foulsTrips to the free throw line result in just one free throw. If a player is fouled on a 2-point shot, the free throw will be worth two points, and on a 3-pointer, three points. In and-one situations, the lone free throw will still be worth one point.
How much will players be paid?
Exact salaries are unclear and vary from player to player, but each player will make a minimum of six figures.
Last season, the average salary was $220,000. Collier told Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe last year that salaries will rise, which Bazzell confirmed to Front Office Sports in August.
“The numbers are going up because the business outperformed every metric that we had,” Bazzell said. “It’s part of our business model that we built from the ground up, which is that as the business continues to drive more revenue, the revenue is going to get funneled back into the players.”
What about the 1-on-1 tournament?
Collier won last season’s 1-on-1 tournament, which was a major success despite a number of players sitting out due to injury.
This season’s event will take place from Feb. 11-14, and will once again feature a $350,000 prize pool. The winner will take home $200,000, the runner-up will receive $50,000 and the two semifinalists who are eliminated in that round will get $25,000. Additionally, the teammates of the winner will net $10,000.
The draw for the tournament will be announced at a later date.
[ad_2]
Source link
