The first-ever Unrivaled 3×3 Basketball semifinals took an unexpected turn on Sunday, as No. 4-seed Vinyl BC shocked the league by knocking freshly crowned 2025 MVP Napheesa Collier’s No. 1-seed Lunar Owls out of the competition in a 73-70 nail-biter.
The Lunar Owls dropped just one game all season prior to Sunday’s loss, entering the postseason as the clear favorite to win it all — including the $50,000-per-player championship purse.
On the other hand, the Vinyl narrowly qualified for the inaugural league's playoffs, and trailed the Lunar Owls for much of Sunday's game.
Entering the fourth quarter with a 10-point deficit, the Vinyl raced past the Lunar Owls, sinking 21 more points to stun their decorated opponents and earn a spot in Monday's final.
"We've been counted out this entire season," said Vinyl forward Dearica Hamby after delivering game-winning bucket. "We consider ourselves underdogs, but that didn’t show in our locker room. We never stopped believing in ourselves."
Monday's championship game will pit the Vinyl against late-season dark horse Rose BC, after the short-staffed No. 2 seed overcame a double-digit first-half deficit to earn a 63-57 semifinal win over the No. 3-seed Laces.
With Unrivaled Defensive Player of the Year Angel Reese joining Kahleah Copper on the injured end of the Rose bench, guard Chelsea Gray took charge in their absence, polishing off a single-game league-record 39 points with the game-winning three-pointer.
All in all, while Unrivaled co-founder Collier has been the standout all season, that fact that her Lunar Owls will now watch Monday's final from the sidelines only speaks to the league’s wider success.
How to watch the Unrivaled 3×3 championship game
Unrivaled 3×3 Basketball will crown its first-ever champion on Monday, after the No. 4 Vinyl contend against the No. 2 Rose in the offseason league's inaugural title game.
The action will tip off at 7:30 PM ET, with live coverage on TNT.
The Unrivaled playoffs have arrived, with Sunday’s 3×3 basketball action determining the two teams who will compete for the grand prize in Monday night’s final.
The inaugural league's two-day postseason will open with Sunday's semifinals. No. 3-seed Laces BC will first face-off against No. 2 Rose BC, with the No. 1 Lunar Owls taking on No. 4 Vinyl BC in the nightcap.
The winners will then go head-to-head on Monday, battling it out in the championship with a $50,000-per-player payday on the line.
"It’s money on the line," Lunar Owls guard Courtney Williams said earlier this week. "Anytime money is on the line, I think everybody has to up the ante."
After blasting through the regular-season with five more wins than any other club, Unrivaled co-founder Napheesa Collier's Lunar Owls are the heavy favorites to hoist hardware, particularly if Rose BC — the only team to defeat the Lunar Owls all season — is without 22-year-old star Angel Reese, who exited the regular-season finale after seemingly re-aggravating her surgically repaired left wrist.
Top athletes earn first-ever All-Unrivaled honors
While teams prep for postseason action, the offseason league handed out end-of-season awards on Thursday, minting its debut All-Unrivaled First and Second Teams.
After tallying ballots from players, coaches, and media members, top scorer Collier earned a first-team nod, alongside the league's next two most prolific points-getters, Laces wing Kayla McBride and Rose guard Chelsea Gray.
Lunar Owls guard Skylar Diggins-Smith, Vinyl wing Rhyne Howard, and the aforementioned Reese landed on the second team after excelling in assists, three-pointers, and rebounds, respectively.
All six All-Unrivaled players will feature on this weekend's court, with Sunday's lineup offering a final opportunity to see some of the sport’s biggest stars in what’s been a wildly successful debut for the league.
How to watch the 2025 Unrivaled 3×3 Basketball playoffs
Unrivaled’s first-ever playoffs tip off with Sunday's semifinals, starting with the Laces vs. Rose at 7:30 PM ET before the Vinyl's battle with the Lunar Owls at 8:30 PM ET.
The victors will then clash in Monday's championship game at 7:30 PM ET.
All three Unrivaled playoff games will air live on TNT.
The buzzer sounded on the eight-week regular season of Unrivaled 3×3 Basketball on Monday, as the inaugural league bids farewell to two teams who failed to advance to the four-squad playoffs.
Both the Mist and Phantom BC fell below the four-team cutoff line, eliminating each club from playoff contention and sending superstars like Unrivaled co-founder Breanna Stewart and Phantom center Brittney Griner home.
Neither team fully found their rhythm in 3×3 play, with both struggling out of the gate to ultimately take the longest to register their first wins in the offseason league.
That said, while the Phantom's elimination was clear-cut, the Mist fell from the playoffs on what was arguably a technicality.
Locked together with Vinyl BC on the Unrivaled table, the final postseason spot came down to multiple tiebreakers. With head-to-head records being equal at 1-1, the final semifinal spot went to the team with the better record against the other three playoff teams — the Lunar Owls, Rose BC, and Laces.
The Vinyl's 3-6 record against that trio edged the Mist's 2-7 record — though one of those three Vinyl victories came from a February forfeit by the injury-laden Laces.
That stat booked Rhyne Howard and the No. 4-seed Vinyl a semifinal matchup with co-founder Napheesa Collier and the top-seeded Lunar Owls, a team that blasted through the season to finish with five more wins than any other club.
After clinching the No. 2 seed, Rose BC — the only team to defeat the Lunar Owls all season — will battle Kayle McBride's No. 3-seed Laces in the second single-elimination semifinal. That said, Rose may be without star Angel Reese, who exited Monday's regular-season finale after re-injuring her wrist.
How to watch the 2025 Unrivaled 3x3 Basketball semifinals
The four squads still standing tip off Unrivaled's first-ever playoffs on Sunday, March 16th, setting the stage for Monday's championship game.
The first semifinal between the Rose and Laces will begin at 7:30 PM ET, immediately followed by the Vinyl's battle against the Lunar Owls.
Sunday's semifinals will air live on TNT.