The new professional 3-on-3 basketball league, co-founded by Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier, is set to expand in its inaugural year and include 36 WNBA stars.
Unrivaled, the new professional 3-on-3 women’s basketball league set to launch on January 17th in Miami, announced major news on Thursday afternoon. Rather than including 30 WNBA players as was initially projected, the league will include 36 players.
“I have some super exciting news,” said co-founder Napheesa Collier in a video released by Unrivaled. “We are now moving from 30 roster spots to 36 at Unrivaled. We’re able to do this because we outperformed our financial projections, so now we get to do something that we wanted to do in the future — which is give more people spots at Unrivaled.”
A special announcement from our co-founder
We’re expanding to 36✅ pic.twitter.com/HaAKUn30gA
— Unrivaled Basketball (@Unrivaledwbb) October 31, 2024
So far, 29 players have been revealed, with all 12 WNBA franchises represented. Unrivaled, which was co-founded by Collier and Breanna Stewart, will be broadcast on TNT twice a week, with 3-on-3 games taking place on a compressed full-court.
Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve, a longtime fixture of women’s basketball, has ben impressed with the league’s early momentum, and her star’s role in getting it off the ground.
“It’s impressive to be a professional basketball player trying to lift up the WNBA, and be a part of that growth, and then start your own league and get a TV deal, you know?” Reeve told SB Nation.
The league will take place for 8 weeks, and all players will earn a minimum salary of $100,000 and receive player equity. The league unveiled its six official club names last week, and is slated to reveal additional information in the coming weeks.
“There was a lot of thought process coming into it,” Liberty point guard Courtney Vandersloot told SB Nation during the WNBA Finals. “They have the right people in place there. It’s set up for success.”
Which WNBA stars are currently Unrivaled?
Over the last few months, Unrivaled has been revealing the names of participating players one by one. From the jump, it was stated that 30 players would participate; now, with the league earning a media rights deal with TNT expected to be worth more than $100 million, and presumed increased interest from players, the inaugural season will include 36 players.
- Aaliyah Edwards (Mystics)
- Allisha Gray (Dream)
- Angel Reese (Sky)
- Arike Ogunbowale (Wings)
- Azura Stevens (Sparks)
- Breanna Stewart (Liberty)
- Brittney Sykes (Mystics)
- Brittney Griner (Mercury)
- Chelsea Gray (Aces)
- Courtney Vandersloot (Liberty)
- Courtney Williams (Lynx)
- Dearica Hamby (Sparks)
- DiJonai Carrington (Sun)
- Jackie Young (Aces)
- Jewell Loyd (Storm)
- Kahleah Copper (Mercury)
- Kate Martin (Aces)
- Kayla McBride (Lynx)
- Kelsey Plum (Aces)
- Lexie Hull (Fever)
- Marina Mabrey (Sun)
- Napheesa Collier (Lynx)
- Natasha Cloud (Mercury)
- Rhyne Howard (Dream)
- Rickea Jackson (Sparks)
- Satou Sabally (Wings)
- Skylar Diggins-Smith (Storm)
- Shakira Austin (Mystics)
- Tiffany Hayes (Aces)
Given Colleir’s announcement, we know to expect 7 additional players will be announced in the coming weeks. Whether or not Caitlin Clark will participate is an outstanding question; the league is reportedly working hard to recruit her. Front Office Sports reported last week that the league is prepared to offer more than a million dollar salary for just three months of her participation, in addition to equity and revenue sharing.
“It’s just so crazy because the growth that Caitlin has brought to the game — the sheer amount of money she’s making these teams, people are having to move their venues for when she comes to play,” Collier said on Run It Back FDTV earlier this month. “And she’s getting paid like $75,000 a year… she should be on of the (top-paid) players in the world just for the sheer numbers she’s bringing.”
Three-time MVP A’ja Wilson and Liberty All-Star Sabrina Ionescu are two other notable omissions from the current field, which includes four rookies, several international players, a myriad decorated veterans, and stars in the prime of their careers.
“This is such an amazing time in women’s sports, and we’re so thankful to all of the positive people who have come out and supported us,” Collier said. “We will be getting tickets soon, we will be getting the dates out soon — we will be announcing everybody soon. I know you have been asking for this information, and it is all coming, so stay tuned.”
