WNBA’s Cathy Engelbert attends as fan

MEDLEY, Fla. — Count WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert as a supporter of Unrivaled.  

Engelbert attended Unrivaled games on Monday night, as the women’s 3-on-3 basketball league nears the end of its inaugural season as an alternative offseason option for WNBA players. 

Engelbert toured the Unrivaled facility, roughly seven miles from the Miami International Airport, and watched as a fan in a VIP box just behind Unrivaled president Alex Bazzell and commissioner Micky Lawler. 

“We’re really happy to welcome Cathy to be here,” Unrivaled co-founder Breanna Stewart said after scoring 21 points with 11 rebounds as her Mist team beat the Laces 65-49 in the second of two games. 

“Both leagues can have success, and both leagues can continue to uplift one another. I hope she just sees how hard we’re working to really put great product on and off the court here, and it’s the same in the W. … I don’t think anything has to be one-dimensional. It’s nice for her to come down and get here before things kind of start in the W.” 

During Unrivaled’s first season, its WNBA stars such as Stewart and fellow co-founder Napheesa Collier have stressed the need for WNBA players to be paid more and have adequately equipped facilities to help the players succeed. It’s a pivotal time as the WNBA’s new collective bargaining agreement will be negotiated in the next year. 

Unrivaled players have received equity in the league, while their average salary of more than $220,000 is close to the maximum base salary in the WNBA. Collier won $200,000 in Unrivaled’s 1-on-1 tournament final on Feb. 14 and said: “My entire WNBA salary is what I got for 30 minutes of playing 1-on-1 – which is insane to even say.” 

Along with Unrivaled’s main court, named Wayfair Arena, their Miami facility has a practice court, a fully equipped weight room, training room for rehabilitation and even an area for child care. 

“I think just the amenities and the facilities that are provided for every single person here, top to bottom, everyone’s given exactly what they need to be the best basketball player they can be,” Rose guard Lexi Hull said after a 71-59 win over the Phantom. “I think across the league, that’s all we can hope for as a basketball player, is to be given the facilities and the resources we can to perform our best and do the best we can at our job. I think that’s definitely the thing that we’re seeing, having at Unrivaled, and hopefully that can transition into the WNBA.” 

The WNBA has reached a new stratosphere of attention with the additions of Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese into the league after their matchup in the 2023 national title game. The last WNBA postseason, which saw Stewart’s New York Liberty beat Collier’s Minnesota Lynx in the finals, was the most-watched postseason in the last 25 years. The league will welcome the Golden State Valkyries in 2025, with franchises in Portland and Toronto to join in 2026. 

The players want to see those recent successes trickle down to them. 

“We want our money and we want it now. It’s just ultimate investment,” said Natasha Cloud, a Phantom player at Unrivaled, who was traded to the Connecticut Sun from the Phoenix Mercury this WNBA offseason.

“I think we’ve done a really good job over the last few years — and especially over my tenure of a 10-year career in the W — we’ve grown so much, but there’s so much room left to grow. And obviously you guys see us expanding, but also just prioritizing players. I think we do a really good job here at Unrivaled of prioritizing players and making it a players’ league. … I think Unrivaled is just doing a good job of setting the precedence for all leagues across the board to really talk that talk, and walk that walk.”