Unrivaled: The ins and outs of the new women's basketball league that begins play Friday

Unrivaled, the 3x3 league nearly two years in the making by WNBA Finals stars Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier, will play its first games this week, featuring some of the WNBA’s best players.

Here’s everything to know about the league, how it’s played, where to watch and who will be there.

What is Unrivaled?

Unrivaled is a 3x3 league, but unlike the international half-court version, the games will be played on a compressed full court measuring 70 by 49.2 feet (a standard court is 94 feet long). There are six teams, each with six players. In international play, there are four to a roster.

“It’s even harder to hide in this type of 3x3,” Olympic 3x3 qualifier and Unrivaled player Katie Lou Samuelson said. “You have to be involved, no matter what, offensively and defensively. The whole entire time, you have to be able to hold your own.”

The games are comprised of seven-minute quarters, with the final quarter played to a target score that’s 11 points higher than the highest score at the end of the third quarter. Fouls are one free throw attempt each, and players foul out with six. The shot clock is 18 seconds.

When does Unrivaled start?

The season begins Friday and runs nine weeks, including the postseason. The regular season is a round robin schedule and the top four make the two-round playoffs. Two games each are played on Friday, Saturday and Monday, airing on TNT networks.

All games are played at an 850-capacity, 20,000-square-foot sound-stage venue in Miami built specifically for Unrivaled.

“We created the venue small on purpose,” Collier told Yahoo Sports in November. “We always knew it was going to be too small, but we wanted that environment because, first of all, we’re creating this area. We couldn’t build a full stadium. But also, to give that exclusive feel. It’s going to be full in there every single night.”

The space includes a weight facility, physician room, sauna, recovery areas and a glam room designed by Sephora. Collier said the league is focused on pushing out content to its fans and helping players broaden their reach and sponsorship earning potential.

Unrivaled’s midseason classic: A 1v1 tournament

The league will feature a 1-on-1 single-elimination tournament “to determine the best 1v1 player in the world,” Unrivaled said. It will be held Feb. 10-14 with a $250,000 award to the winner and an additional $10,000 for the winner’s 3x3 teammates.

Why Unrivaled?

• Money: Unrivaled leaders have long promised revolutionary salaries in the six figures that would allow players the option of playing domestically during the long WNBA offseason rather than play overseas. The total salary pool is $8 million, averaging to $222,000 per player (exact salaries are not disclosed). The average in the WNBA is closer to $125,000, ranging from a $66,079 minimum to $214,466 max. The players participating in the inaugural season will receive equity in the league.

• Experience: The WNBA regular season is four months, with a one-month postseason calendar. That leaves seven months for professional players to fill, and rather than spend all that time overseas away from family, Unrivaled allows them to play basketball, stay sharp and still enjoy the holidays at home. It also expands marketing and sponsorship opportunities.

• Development: Alex Bazzell, Collier’s husband and Unrivaled president, is a basketball trainer who has worked with WNBA and NBA stars. The league hired coaches with player development backgrounds to expand players’ skill sets. It brings game action, salary and offseason training under one umbrella.

Who is playing in Unrivaled?

The league picked up nine of the 12 Team USA players who won gold at the Paris Olympics last summer. Five of the eight 3x3 Team USA Olympic medalists are playing. Two more Unrivaled players qualified for those teams but could not participate, and another played for Azerbaijan.

There are 12 WNBA champions who hold 19 total titles. The 36-player field includes 13 of the top 20 WNBA scorers in 2024, 11 of the top 15 in assists and 10 of the top 20 rebounders.

Rosters were built by the six coaches, who selected one player from each “pod” to keep rosters balanced. They did not know which team would be theirs to lead.

Team-by-team breakdown

Vinyl

Roster: Arike Ogunbowale, Rhyne Howard, Aliyah Boston, Jordin Canada, Rae Burrell, Dearica Hamby
Head coach: Teresa Weatherspoon

The lowdown: Howard and Hamby, the only WNBA champions on the roster, won 3x3 bronze in Paris. The Vinyl are one of two teams with four of the WNBA’s top-30 scorers from 2024 but the only team without a 5x5 Olympian.

Rose

Roster: Chelsea Gray, Kahleah Copper, Angel Reese, Brittney Sykes, Lexie Hull, Azurá Stevens
Head coach: Nola Henry

The lowdown: Gray, the lead facilitator, is one of two three-time champions in the Unrivaled league. Copper and Stevens won a title together in Chicago in 2021.

Mist

Roster: Jewell Loyd, DiJonai Carrington, Breanna Stewart, Courtney Vandersloot, Rickea Jackson, Aaliyah Edwards
Head coach: Phil Handy

The lowdown: The championship success of Loyd (two), Vandersloot (two) and Stewart (three), who won two with Loyd in Seattle and one with Vandersloot in New York, makes the Mist the winningest group of the six.

Lunar Owls

Roster: Skylar Diggins-Smith, Allisha Gray, Napheesa Collier, Courtney Williams, Shakira Austin, Cameron Brink
Head coach: DJ Sackmann

The lowdown: Gray (Olympic gold) and Brink (qualified for Paris) have extensive 3x3 experience. Brink said she will not participate this Unrivaled season while rehabbing her June ACL injury.

Phantom

Roster: Satou Sabally, Marina Mabrey, Brittney Griner, Natasha Cloud, Katie Lou Samuelson, Sabrina Ionescu
Head coach: Adam Harrington

The lowdown: Griner and Ionescu are reigning Olympic champions with a WNBA championship each. Cloud also has one. The Phantom are the most stacked team in WNBA scoring and assists.

Laces

Roster: Jackie Young, Tiffany Hayes, Kayla McBride, Alyssa Thomas, Kate Martin, Stefanie Dolson
Head coach: Andrew Wade

The lowdown: Young (two) and Dolson (one) are WNBA champions and 3x3 gold medalists. Thomas and Young won gold 5x5 in the summer, and Hayes led Azerbaijan’s 3x3 group to a win over Team USA in Paris. Fans have already taken to calling the team “L’Aces” because Young, Hayes, Martin and McBride (2014-20) all played for the franchise.

Who’s the favorite?

That’s tough to ascertain since the style of 3x3 is different from the international rules and the league format is new.

“It’s going to be really interesting to see how the games, the scores play out,” Katie Lou Samuelson said. “I think all of us don’t know what it’s going to be, but it’s going to be a lot of fun. So far when we’ve been playing in practice, it’s definitely challenging, but it is a fun style to play.”

Players with 3x3 experience have at least an upper hand in reps on a court with more open space where the angles are played differently. On paper, that gives the upper hand to the Laces, whose teammates won 3x3 gold, and the Vinyl, whose teammates won bronze. The Laces also have an elite point-forward in Thomas, who finished second in WNBA assists for a second consecutive season, and a 40% 3-point shooter in Kayla McBride.

The style will expose players’ weaknesses, leading to teams with more well-rounded players to flourish. Five of the Phantom’s six players ranked top-30 in scoring with success at all three levels. Even Griner, a 6-9 center who said she’ll be challenged to evolve and “play a little bit differently,” hits 3s at a solid clip when she does attempt them.

Or will championship-winning experience simply win out in the end? The Mist lead in the pedigree department with a lineup fitting of a 5x5 game.