On the heels of Unrivaled 3x3 Basketball's successful debut season, TIME honored league founders Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart as two of the year’s most influential people, with the WNBA superstars earning space on Wednesday's 2025 TIME100 List.
"Unrivaled makes female athletes think about everything differently," retired US soccer legend and Unrivaled investor Alex Morgan wrote in the pair's tribute. "It's not always just take the salary and sign on the dotted line and be happy. Sometimes you can just do it yourself better."
Other big names in women's sports also made the cut, including the most decorated gymnast in history, Simone Biles, and retired tennis superstar Serena Williams.
"She is both deeply human and undeniably superhuman — a combination that makes her impact profound," Biles's former USA teammate Aly Raisman wrote of the seven-time Olympic gold medalist. "She inspires us to believe that we, too, can persevere. That we, too, can shatter limits."
Citing Williams's extensive post-tennis resume, which includes significant investments into women's sports, retired US Olympic track star Allyson Felix sang the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion's praises in the 2025 TIME100 List.
"She continues to show that we, as athletes, are so far from one-dimensional," Felix wrote. "She could take a break from being in the public eye and raise her family. Instead, she continues to pave the way."
The first-ever Unrivaled Basketball playoffs delivered both on and off the court, with Rose BC’s championship victory over Vinyl BC drawing the largest TV audience the offseason league has seen in 3×3 play to date.
An average of 364,000 viewers tuned into Monday’s final, peaking at 385,000 fans and marking a 99% increase over Unrivaled’s record-breaking regular-season average audience of 221,000.
Including the league's postseason success, Unrivaled capped its inaugural season having aired the 10 most-watched women’s basketball broadcasts in the history of broadcast partner TNT Sports.
In total, Unrivaled reached an impressive 11.9 million viewers across its two-month regular-season and postseason run — including the league's first-ever in-season 1v1 tournament.
That head-to-head competition ultimately drew the league's top performing tilt, with the final between runner-up Mist forward Aaliyah Edwards and eventual 1v1 champion and Lunar Owls forward Napheesa Collier averaging 377,000 viewers with a 398,000-fan peak.
"We’ve built an incredible foundation," Unrivaled president Alex Bazzell told reporters once the season wrapped. "Based on what the viewership is, now it’s our job to [ask] 'how do we grow that a bit?' We’re very proud about where we stand in the women’s sports ecosystem of viewership."
Unrivaled bags more big wins in inaugural season
Outside of TV viewership, Unrivaled also scored high social media engagement numbers, which have been a key metric for the league since its outset.
This season saw the league generate more than 589 million owned and earned social media impressions, and the pool of Unrivaled athletes collectively grew their own personal accounts by nearly one million followers in less than three months.
Perhaps most importantly for the players, the league followed through on its promise to prioritize athlete compensation, shelling out over $8.65 million in player salaries and performance bonuses from both Monday's championship and last month's 1v1 tournament.
With the offseason league designed primarily as a TV product, both Unrivaled and TNT will carry 2025’s wins far into their six-year partnership’s future — all while the WNBA will look to capitalize on the league’s ratings successes as its own May 16th season-opener nears.
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.
Unrivaled 3×3 Basketball will crown its first-ever 1v1 tournament champion on Friday night, when all four semifinalists take the court with a $200,000 grand prize on the line.
Vinyl guard Arike Ogunbowale will kick off the semis against Mist forward Aaliyah Edwards, before Unrivaled co-founder and Lunar Owls forward Napheesa Collier faces Rose forward Azurá Stevens. The victors will immediately advance to the night's best-of-three final series.
Notably, Friday's set puts alma mater pride on center court. A trio of UConn alums in Collier, Stevens, and Edwards will all clock in, while Ogunbowale reps Notre Dame — one of just three teams to beat the Huskies this NCAA season.
Along with those priceless bragging rights, the semifinalists are battling for a six-figure payday, though none will leave empty-handed. Each are guaranteed at least $25,000, with $50,000 on deck for the tournament's runner-up.
The players' Unrivaled teammates will also be watching with interest, as the winner's entire 3×3 team will snag $10,000 each.
Though 1v1 can feel like a schoolyard version of basketball, with this much money involved, expect the competition to rise miles above playground tussles.
Endurance could decide Unrivaled 1v1 tournament champion
Friday's format is in part a test of stamina, as players stare down a grueling schedule where the eventual winner must play either three or four 1v1 games in a single night.
To that end, Collier's elite conditioning could make her the favorite, if she can outlast Stevens in the pair's semifinal.
"Her motor is unmatched," Stevens said of Collier's endurance, a key factor in her success so far. "I try to conserve some energy in between possessions, especially when the games get really tiring."
Motors aside, Friday's title will boil down to fundamentals — and which athlete best leverages their personal skillset.
"I have to use my size and stick to my strengths," said Edwards. "It’s about imposing my will and getting the job done."
How to watch the Unrivaled 1v1 tournament finals
The inaugural Unrivaled 1v1 tournament concludes on Friday. Live coverage begins at 7:30 PM ET on TNT.
Unrivaled Basketball's 1v1 tournament blew through two rounds of cutthroat action on Tuesday night, setting up fierce competition for Friday's semifinals.
Mist forward Aaliyah Edwards, Rose forward Azurá Stevens, Lunar Owls forward Napheesa Collier, and Vinyl guard Arike Ogunbowale all advanced past their head-to-head opponents.
Each of the four semifinalists will take home at least $25,000, with $50,000 on deck for the tournament's runner-up and $200,000 awaiting the champion.
Additionally, with one player from four of Unrivaled's six teams still standing, two-thirds of the offseason league are still in the running for a piece of the $350,000 purse. The rules dictate that each 3×3 teammate of the champion will receive their own $10,000 check.
Edwards's star 1v1 turn propels her through Unrivaled quarterfinals
In what's shaking out to be the contest's top storyline, No. 8 seed Edwards shut out No. 1 seed Breanna Stewart 12-0 in the first round to earn a second-round bye. She then went on to take down a surging No. 3 seed Allisha Gray to secure a slot in the semis.
"Shouldn't be surprised," the 22-year-old Mystics star said after downing Gray 12-6. "Played my first year in the league, now I'm tapping into myself, and the confidence is showing and the work is showing."
Elsewhere, height and offensive versatility proved a winning formula for both No. 6 seed Stevens and No. 1 seed Collier, while No. 1 seed Ogunbowale is the last guard still standing.
All three ousted WNBA teammates to advance, with Ogunbowale sending her former Dallas Wings compatriot Satou Sabally out 12-8 while Collier handed fellow Lunar Owl and Minnesota Lynx contender Courtney Williams a 12-4 defeat. Stevens dominated her LA Sparks teammate Rae Burrell, sending her packing with a 12-2 victory.
How to watch Friday's Unrivaled 1v1 semifinals
Notably, Friday's semifinals will be heavy on UConn grads, with Notre Dame alum Ogunbowale the lone non-Husky hitting the court.
Ogunbowale will try to halt Edwards's run, while Collier and Stevens — who played together on two of UConn's Final Four rosters — will go head-to-head in the other semifinal.
Unrivaled's 1v1 semifinals and subsequent best-of-three championship series will tip off on Friday at 7:30 PM ET, with live coverage on TNT.
Welcome to another episode of Sports Are Fun! presented by TurboTax.
The second episode of Sports Are Fun! dropped today, with soccer icon Kelley O'Hara, sports journalist Greydy Diaz, and JWS intern BJ professing their hottest takes all things women's sports — joined this week by WNBA superstar and Unrivaled 3×3 Basketball co-founder Napheesa Collier.
"It felt like everyone is making money off of women's sports except for the women in the sports," Collier said, reflecting on developing the offseason league's profit-sharing business model.
"And so, we offer the highest average team salary in women's sports, and we're giving equity to everyone who's playing."
In addition to chatting with Collier about all things Unrivaled, the crew also gets into even more WNBA offseason moves, Midge Purce's return to Gotham, Hope Solo's TST team, South Carolina and UConn's upcoming NCAA battle, and so much more.
Collier gives 'Sports Are Fun!' the inside scoop on Unrivaled
Guest star Napheesa Collier takes the group on a deep dive into offseason league Unrivaled. She talks through everything from dealing with injuries and living with teammates 24/7 to handling a business and going head-to-head in this week's 1v1 tournament.
"I mean, we're all in in one place, right? Our locker rooms are all in one hallway, we share food spaces, training spaces like cold tubs, saunas — all communal areas except for locker rooms." Collier says, describing the league's Miami campus. "It's really fun to see that behind-the-scenes stuff happening in real time."
"I have my own room, which is unlike what happened in college," she continues with a laugh. "I would compare it more to the Wubble, except, you know, we have free will this time around. But the the close proximity I actually really like — I think it's really fun. I think it's super convenient, just having everyone in one space. Cutting back on travel also is so, so nice."
Of course, the future is bright for the first-year league. For its second season, Unrivaled is planning to take the show on the road, dropping into cities around the country to give fans a front-row seat to the 3×3 action.
"We are planning to do on-the-road games where we go to a city for a night and we basically play in a full arena and then we make it a whole event for the fans," Collier says, detailing Unrivaled's plans for a takeover tour similar to what the PWHL is currently staging around North America. "Definitely not all the games — just a couple. You can hit markets that aren't necessarily cities where you can bring [regular-season] basketball."
About 'Sports Are Fun!' with Kelley O'Hara
'Sports Are Fun!' is a show that’ll remind you why you fell in love with women's sports in the first place. Join World Cup champ, Olympic gold medalist, and aspiring barista Kelley O'Hara as she sits down with sports journalist Greydy Diaz and a revolving cast of co-hosts and friends. Together, they're talking the biggest, funnest, and most need-to-know stories in the world of women’s sports.
From on-court drama to off-field shenanigans, to candid (and silly) chats with the most important personalities in the space, this show screams "Sports Are Fun!"
Subscribe to Just Women's Sports on YouTube to never miss an episode.
Unrivaled 3×3 Basketball's 1v1 tournament is fast approaching, with the offseason league dropping the competition's official bracket on Wednesday.
The head-to-head showdown tips off on Monday, February 10th, with the semifinals and three-game final series all tipping off on Friday, February 14th.
Fan votes determined the seeding for the debut league's first-ever in-season tournament. Those ballots gave the Mist's Jewell Loyd and Vinyl's Arike Ogunbowale first-round byes, moving them straight into Tuesday's quarterfinal round.
Meanwhile, the other 28 competitors have four rounds to overcome to claim the trophy — not to mention $200,000 in prize money.
Breaking down the Unrivaled 1v1 bracket
Some early battles will be tougher than others, as Unrivaled co-founder and current scoring leader Napheesa Collier takes on fellow UConn alum Katie Lou Samuelson. The winner of that matchup then faces either Jackie Young or Rickea Jackson.
Collier's fellow co-founder Breanna Stewart — also a UConn product — drew 2024 UConn standout Aaliyah Edwards in Monday's first round. The winner subsequently earns a second-round date against either Marina Mabrey or Kate Martin.
Despite her first-round bye, Ogunbowale's bracket quadrant appears to be a gauntlet.
The guard will first battle either fellow Notre Dame alum Skylar Diggins-Smith, who has four game-winners under her belt so far this season, or Vinyl teammate Dearica Hamby.
The Olympic 3×3 bronze medalist trails only Collier and Laces star Kayla McBride on Unrivaled's score sheet, averaging 21.2 points per game. Additionally, Hamby's 10.4 rebounding average has her sitting fourth in the league.
Should they advance, either McBride or Satou Sabally will await Ogunbowale in the quarterfinals.
Ultimately, every matchup is stacked considering the star-studded league's depth.
"I just want the top dawgs to knock each other out," joked Courtney Williams ahead of her own first-round clash with Tiffany Hayes, with the winner set to square off against either Rhyne Howard or Lexie Hull.
"[If] your shot's falling, really anyone can win 1v1," she continued. "It's all about who figured it out in that moment."
How to watch next week's Unrivaled 1v1 tournament
The inaugural contest's first round tips off at 2 PM ET on Monday, with live coverage on truTV. The evening session begins at 7 PM ET on TNT.
Both the second round and quarterfinals will air on truTV starting at 7 PM ET on Tuesday, with the semifinals and finals taking over both truTV and TNT on Friday beginning at 7:30 PM ET.
Unrivaled 3×3 Basketball is at it again, revealing details about its inaugural 1v1 tournament on Tuesday.
Fueled by a $350,000 prize pool, the high-stakes competition will tip off with 30 players on February 10th. Athletes are currently in four equal pods, and fans will determine the tournament's seeding via ballot.
The three-day tournament will feature a series of single-elimination games, culminating in a best-of-three final.
Contests will be played to either a winning score of 11 points or a 10-minute game clock, whichever comes first. Each matchup will follow the traditional two- and three-point scoring format, but with a shortened seven-second shot clock.
The biggest difference from both traditional 5x5 play and Unrivaled's 3x3 format is in the 1v1 contest's make-it, take-it rule, which rewards scoring with both points on the board as well as continued ball possession.
Tournament rewards both 1v1 winner and Unrivaled team
Unrivaled's 1v1 tournament champion will ultimately take home $200,000 — more than what some WNBA players' salaries. The runner-up will claim $50,000, with each semifinalist earning $25,000.
Interestingly, individual players aren't just competing for themselves. Each of the champion's Unrivaled 3×3 teammates will also snag a check for $10,000.
"There’s still a team camaraderie perspective," noted Unrivaled president Alex Bazzell earlier this month. "You may be eliminated, but your teammate keeps advancing. Inevitably, you want to root them on — not just for personal reasons, but also there’s an incentive for you if your teammate wins the ultimate cash prize."
Unrivaled reveals participating 1v1 roster
Of the 3×3 league's 36 players, only Brittney Griner, Sabrina Ionescu, Angel Reese, Stefanie Dolson, and Courtney Vandersloot will sit out the 1v1 tournament alongside relief contract players Natisha Hiedeman and NaLyssa Smith.
Consequently, one potential matchup could pit Unrivaled co-founders and 2024 WNBA Finals foes Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier against each other. Dozens of other potential pairings involving All-Stars like Alyssa Thomas, Kahleah Copper, Arike Ogunbowale, and Satou Sabally are also on the table.
Fan voting for the player seedings that will determine those matchups will start on Thursday, with the tournament's full bracket dropping in early February.
Unrivaled 3×3 Basketball tips off its inaugural season on Friday night, when four of the league's six clubs will take the court for the first time.
The Miami-based league's debut doubleheader begins with a co-founder face-off, as Breanna Stewart's Mist will first square off against 2024 WNBA Finals foe and fellow Unrivaled co-founder Napheesa Collier's Lunar Owls.
Shortly after that inaugural game, Rose BC, whose roster includes top-rated 2024 rookie Angel Reese plus WNBA Finals MVPs Kahleah Copper (2021) and Chelsea Gray (2022), will take the Unrivaled court. Facing them in Friday's nightcap will be Vinyl BC, a team headlined by WNBA Rookies of the Year Aliyah Boston (2023) and Rhyne Howard (2022).
The two remaining Unrivaled teams will debut on Saturday afternoon, when Phantom BC takes on Laces BC in another 3×3 doubleheader.
Led by All-Stars like Brittney Griner and reigning WNBA champion Sabrina Ionescu, the Phantom will start the season without guard Marina Mabrey due to a calf strain. Her recovery is expected to take two to four weeks, with an injury re-evaluation set for late January. In the meantime, the Phantom have added relief player Natisha Hiedeman to their short-handed roster.
IT'S GAME DAYYYYYYY! 🗣️ Make sure you tune in tonight at 7pm ET! pic.twitter.com/vAZ2IkemoF
— Unrivaled Basketball (@Unrivaledwbb) January 17, 2025
Unrivaled stars prepare for their close-up
The innovative new league is launching with 36 of the WNBA's biggest stars, a brand new 3x3 format, and a product finely tuned for national TV broadcast. The goal is to bring fans even closer to their favorite athletes.
Subsequently, Unrivaled has teamed up with six US bars "dedicated to elevating women's sports" in an effort to promote official watch parties nationwide.
"The content piece and the TV piece of this is huge for us," Collier told The Athletic ahead of Friday's launch. "We want to make it the most interactive, fun, and exciting experience we can for people."
With a smaller court and cameras positioned closer to the action than in WNBA games, Unrivaled is aiming to bring a small-venue experience to a national audience.
"It’s definitely intimate, and you’re definitely going to hear a lot of stuff," Mist athlete Jewell Loyd told The Athletic. "But at the same time, that’s what you want, and it’s definitely going to make us play a little harder."
How to watch Unrivaled 3×3 Basketball this weekend
The new 3x3 league will tip off with the Mist and Lunar Owls at 7 PM ET on Friday, with Rose BC and Vinyl BC following at 8 PM ET.
All Unrivaled games will air across TNT, truTV, and Max throughout the season, with Friday's tip off broadcast live on TNT.