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.
Three-time WNBA MVP and Las Vegas Aces star A'ja Wilson has agreed to a historic six-year contract extension with Nike, ESPN first reported on Tuesday.
The two-time WNBA champion already announced a forthcoming apparel line and signature shoe with the sportswear giant this year.
The first edition of the "A'One" shoe is expected to be released this spring, shortly before the 2025 WNBA season tips off on May 16th.
Wilson joins top tier of Nike athletes
Wilson's new deal is reportedly one of the highest-paid shoe endorsement contracts in women's basketball. The contract now places the 28-year-old alongside 2024 WNBA champion and NY Liberty sharpshooter Sabrina Ionescu, 2024 Rookie of the Year Caitlin Clark, and USC sophomore phenom JuJu Watkins in Nike's lineup of basketball stars.
While the exact details of Wilson's contract are still to come, the $28 million eight-year deal that Clark inked was, as of its April signing, the richest sponsorship contract in the sport.
Though Wilson's May sneaker drop will mark the beginning of her signature shoe journey, there's hope she could see similar early success as that garnered by Ionescu. The Liberty guard debuted her second shoe in June, with both editions earning significant playing time on the feet of both WNBA and NBA stars.
A no-brainer signing for Nike
The fact that Nike is going all in on Wilson is no surprise, as the Las Vegas superstar dominated the league with an historic 2024 season. Wilson set the WNBA's single-season rebounding and scoring records this year, becoming the first and only player to ever break 1,000 points in a season.
She tore up the stat sheet en route to becoming just the fourth player to ever earn three MVP nods — and the first to snag it by unanimous vote since legend Cynthia Cooper in the WNBA's inaugural 1997 season.
Even more, Wilson led Team USA to an eighth-straight Olympic gold medal this summer, snagging MVP honors in Paris in the process.
Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu became New York's hero on Wednesday, sinking a 28-foot buzzer-beating logo three to notch the WNBA Finals Game 3 win.
The bucket silenced Minnesota's 19,521 record-breaking home crowd and securing a 2-1 series advantage over the Lynx.
“Definitely the biggest shot of my career,” Ionescu said post-game. “And, hopefully, not the last.”
The most-watched Finals game in 23 years was defined by dramatic momentum swings. The Liberty flipped the script on their Game 1 loss, with Ionescu overcoming a tough shooting night to avoid another overtime finish.
The first half saw Minnesota lead by as many as 15 points. But New York superstar Breanna Stewart's monster 30-point, 11-rebound double-double boosted the Libs to the tight 80-77 victory.
In total, the Liberty only led for 2 minutes and 19 seconds on Wednesday, the second-shortest amount of lead time for a winning team in an WNBA Finals game.
"Obviously, Stewie got us back in there," Liberty coach Sandy Brondello remarked after the game. "But I thought, '[at] the right time, this is Sabrina.' She's a great shooter. What I love about her is that she backs herself. Not everyone can take those big shots and make them. She can."
Can New York go all the way tonight?
In their sixth WNBA Finals trip, the Liberty are on the brink of clinching their first-ever championship this evening — assuming they avoid a winner-take-all Game 5 in Brooklyn on Sunday.
"Just knowing that we're one win away, that's what's the most motivating," Stewart said on Thursday. "The fact that we have an opportunity to finish this thing tomorrow night."
On the flip side, this is Minnesota's last chance to turn things around. Tonight's Game 4 is now a must-win for the Lynx, who are in danger of falling short of what would be a WNBA record-setting fifth league title. Battling back from a 2-1 series deficit isn't an impossible feat, having been done four previous times in WNBA Finals history, including by Minnesota in 2017.
"It's win or go home at this point," Lynx star Napheesa Collier told reporters. "So we have to come in with the mindset that we’re going to be just as aggressive and then just have faith in that we're going to execute better down the stretch."
How to watch Liberty vs. Lynx in Game 4 of the 2024 WNBA Finals
New York and Minnesota will tip off Game 4 of the 2024 WNBA Finals at 8 PM ET Friday. Live coverage will air on ESPN.
Sunday's WNBA semifinals action saw top-seeded New York end back-to-back defending champion Las Vegas's season while the Connecticut Sun staved off elimination to force a deciding Game 5 against the Minnesota Lynx.
New York ends Aces' WNBA three-peat campaign
The Liberty claimed a second-straight trip to the WNBA Finals with Sunday's 76-62 victory over the Aces, ending to the defending champs' three-peat dream in four semifinal matchups.
After being held to just four points in Game 3, Sabrina Ionescu led the Liberty with 22 points. Teammate Breanna Stewart was just behind with a 19-point, 14-rebound double-double.
Though New York led nearly wire-to-wire, Las Vegas kept Game 4 within reach, thanks in large part to three-time MVP A'ja Wilson's 19 points, 10 rebounds, and five blocks. The Aces trailed by just two points after three quarters, but a 16-2 fourth-quarter Liberty run ultimately earned them the win.
"They've been the best team all year — let's be real," Las Vegas head coach Becky Hammon said about New York after the game. "Their group earned it. They earned it all year."
Having walked away disappointed last season, New York — the only original franchise still playing without a title — knows that nothing is guaranteed in their upcoming sixth Finals appearance.
"We haven't done anything yet," a fired up Ionescu said after Sunday's win. "We're three wins away, and that’s really important to understand. We got to come out and we got to punch because nothing has been given to us yet."
How to watch the Liberty in the 2024 WNBA Finals
Game 1 of the best-of-five Finals tips off in Brooklyn at 8 PM ET on Thursday. Live coverage will air on ESPN.
Connecticut forces winner-take-all Game 5 against Minnesota
After Friday's home-court loss to Minnesota, the Sun tied up their semifinal series with a come-from-behind 92-82 win on Sunday, forcing a winner-take-all Game 5.
Trailing by seven points at the break, Connecticut staged a second-half comeback. The Sun outscored the Lynx 49-32 to keep their first-ever WNBA title dream alive.
Ty Harris led Connecticut with a career-high 20 points in her post-injury return to the starting lineup. Four of her teammates also put up double-digits: Alyssa Thomas and DeWanna Bonner each had 18 points and eight rebounds, while DiJonai Carrington and Marina Mabrey added 15 and 10 points, respectively.
2024 Defensive Player of the Year Napheesa Collier, who led the Lynx with a 29-point, 13-rebound double-double, said her team needs to step it up when the series moves back to Minnesota on Tuesday.
"We have to go home and defend our home court. We're both playing for our lives, so we have to play with that level of intensity," Collier said after the loss.
How to watch Sun vs. Lynx in Game 5 of the 2024 WNBA semifinals
The Sun and Lynx will tip off Game 5 in Minneapolis at 8 PM ET on Tuesday. Live coverage will air on ESPN2.
Two games into the best-of-five 2024 WNBA semifinals, and the back-to-back defending champion Aces are staring down elimination while the Lynx evened the score last night.
With Friday's Game 3 offering a venue change, Las Vegas will need every ounce of their home-court advantage to continue their playoff run, while Minnesota's aim will be to silence the Connecticut crowd.
Aces on the brink of elimination after Game 2 loss
Tuesday's second-straight loss, an 88-84 defeat by the No. 1 seed Liberty in Brooklyn, has No. 4 seed Las Vegas on the brink of playoff elimination. The Aces are now the first reigning champions to ever fall to a 0-2 deficit in a WNBA playoff series.
Las Vegas has yet to conquer the Liberty this season, falling a franchise record-tying five straight times to same opponent, all after defeating New York in the 2023 WNBA Finals.
New York's Sabrina Ionescu and Las Vegas's A'ja Wilson led their teams in scoring with 24 points each, while Liberty guard Courtney Vandersloot provided a crucial spark off the bench.
Should Las Vegas turn things around when the series moves back to Nevada on Friday, they'd become the first team to ever bounce back from 0-2 to reach the WNBA Finals.
Aces guard Chelsea Gray put a positive spin on the challenge, saying "I love being in the history books, so might as well try to start there. That's going to be our mentality."
Lynx level up with Game 2 semifinal win in Minnesota
No. 2 seed Minnesota evened their semifinal score with No. 3 seed Connecticut on Tuesday, earning a 77-70 win in Minneapolis to send the series back East at one victory apiece.
Courtney Williams led the Lynx in scoring with 17 points, while a physical Minnesota defense held the Sun to less than 40% shooting from the field.
In the loss, Sun forward DeWanna Bonner became the third all-time leading scorer in WNBA postseason history. She also inked her name into the league record books as the player with the most appearances in playoff history at 83 games and counting.
Friday kicks off a guaranteed two-game run in Connecticut, with the home side on a mission to reach the Finals for the first time since 2022.
How to watch Game 3 of the WNBA semifinals
Las Vegas and Minnesota will look to pick up critical wins in Friday's Game 3, with the Aces facing a must-win scenario in front of what promises to be a rocking home crowd.
The Lynx will travel to Connecticut for a 7:30 PM ET tip off on Friday, October 4th, followed by a Liberty vs. Aces showdown in Las Vegas at 9:30 PM ET. Both games are scheduled to air on ESPN2.
The higher seeds handled business on Tuesday, as twin first-round sweeps saw the Liberty and Aces emerge 2-0 from the best-of-three series to advance to the semifinals of the 2024 WNBA playoffs.
Fueled by Sabrina Ionescu's 36 points, which tied New York's single-game playoff scoring record, the Liberty came from behind to defeat the Atlanta Dream 91-82 before the Aces held off the Storm 83-76.
The wins set up an electric second-round matchup between 2023 championship foes New York and Las Vegas.
Last year, the back-to-back defending champion Aces needed just four Finals games to beat New York for the title. To take aim at the elusive three-peat, No. 4-seed Las Vegas will have to advance past the top-seeded Liberty in the 2024 semifinals, which will tip off on Sunday, September 29th.
Despite four Finals appearances, the Liberty is the only remaining original WNBA franchise without a championship.
Could tonight's WNBA playoff game be Diana Taurasi's last?
Wednesday night's WNBA playoffs could see the end of legend Diana Taurasi's professional career, as her No. 7-seed Phoenix Mercury attempts to avoid elimination against No. 2-seed Minnesota.
Now in her 20th season, 42-year-old Taurasi — an 11-time All-Star, three-time WNBA champion, former league and Finals MVP, and the WNBA's all-time leading scorer — has hinted that this year might be her last.
Caitlin Clark and the No. 6-seed Fever will also be playing for survival tonight after Sunday's blowout loss to No. 3-seed Connecticut. An Indiana win would send the best-of-three series to Indianapolis, known for their rocking crowds.
How to watch round one of the WNBA playoffs tonight
The Fever will tip off against the Sun at 7:30 PM ET tonight. Immediately following, the Mercury will take on the Lynx at 9:30 PM ET. Both games will air live on ESPN.
As the WNBA calendar counts down and teams jockey for a place in the postseason, the league-leaders will take centerstage this weekend when the playoff-bound Liberty host second-place Connecticut on Saturday.
Liberty aim for four-game season sweep
New York will try to complete their 2024 season sweep of the Sun in the pair's fourth and final meeting tomorrow after their tense 79-71 win over 10th-place Dallas on Thursday showcased just how clutch a sidelined Sabrina Ionescu can be for New York.
The Sun, fresh off a historic sellout in Boston, are hoping to maintain that momentum with a win over the Chicago Sky tonight before heading to Brooklyn tomorrow.
Middle-table WNBA teams eye race for the playoffs
A series of consequential weekend matchups could further determine the fate of middle-of-the-pack teams eyeing a top-eight playoff berth, including ninth-place Atlanta. The Dream haven't lost a post–Olympic break game yet, and tonight they'll face sixth-place Phoenix, who they bested 72-63 on Wednesday.
Eighth-place Chicago, however, has yet to beat their Friday opponent, Connecticut, this season — daunting circumstances considering they'll close out the weekend with a bout against reigning WNBA champs Las Vegas.
If the Dream win over the Mercury and the Sky drop both weekend games, Atlanta will leapfrog Chicago to claim the league's coveted eighth-place standing.
Other WNBA games to watch this weekend
Las Vegas will take on third-place Minnesota tonight, aiming for a win in the pair’s fourth and final season meeting to split their 2024 series. Then on Saturday, the Lynx will host the seventh-place Fever — a team they’ve yet to beat this year.
At the bottom of the table, 11th-place LA will face two other teams with 6-22 records: 10th-place Washington tonight and 12th-place Dallas on Sunday.
The New York Liberty became the first WNBA team to clinch a postseason spot with a big 79-67 victory over the Las Vegas Aces on Saturday. The result marked New York's second win over Las Vegas this season, with the Liberty looking to put their 2023 Finals loss behind them.
New York's upward tick has in part revolved around big performances by Sabrina Ionescu, who led the team in scoring on Saturday with 23 points.
"This second half of the season is really important. And there's no excuses. Nobody cares if we just came off the Olympics and have a game four days later and a nine-hour time zone change," Ionescu told reporters after the game.
Other WNBA teams target 2024 playoff positions
The WNBA saw numerous teams soar over the weekend, all jockeying for position as the league enters the regular season's home stretch.
The Atlanta Dream are now 2-0 in post–Olympic break play, notching impressive wins over both Seattle and Connecticut as they push to overtake Chicago for the eighth and final spot above the playoff line. Indiana also looked strong on their home court, taking down first Phoenix and then Seattle as they solidify their playoff berth.
Other teams struggled, however, as the Mystics, Wings, Storm, and Sparks continue to look for a win in the WNBA's return to action. And with the regular season's clock ticking, the race to the playoffs will only grow more fierce with every showdown.
Standout solo showings point to WNBA award races
Noteworthy individual performances abounded on the WNBA court this weekend, led by MVP frontrunner A'ja Wilson. After dropping 24 points for the Aces in Saturday's loss to New York, Wilson elevated Las Vegas over the Sparks with 34 points and 13 rebounds on Sunday.
The Rookie of the Year competition has also stayed hot, with Fever star Caitlin Clark breaking Ticha Penicheiro's 1998 record for most assists in a rookie season in Sunday's win over the Storm. That same day, Chicago rookie Angel Reese became the fastest player in WNBA history to reach 20 career double-doubles in the Sky's loss to the Mercury.
The New York Liberty are 4-0 on the season for the first time since 2007.
The 2023 WNBA title finalists notched a 74-63 win over Seattle on Monday night, with Sabrina Ionescu dropping 20 points alongside eight assists. After the game, Ionescu told reporters she thought the team was coming together a bit easier than they did last year.
"I think having a year together, we don't nearly have to communicate as much on the court anymore," she said. "Because we can just play off one another and read. And that's obviously been the growth of this team, is being able to play a season together last year."
The team’s defense has also contributed heavily to the season's winning start. Last night, the Liberty held Jewell Loyd to just 13 points and nine rebounds. Loyd let the Storm in scoring, with only two other players in double digits, while Nneka Ogwumike missed her second straight game with an ankle injury.
Storm free agency acquisition Skylar Diggins-Smith had eight points, and is averaging 14.5 points and 5.8 assists per game this season. In her postgame remarks, Storm head coach Noelle Quinn called on others to give her grace in her return.
"There needs to be respect about the fact that she's had two children and hasn’t played in 20 months," said Quinn. "She’s not going to come overnight and be who she was 20 months ago and we have to respect that and honor that. And I do.
"My grace as a coach is to know she’s working her butt off every day. You guys don’t see it. Every single day. Two children. Not one, two. Not many can do that."
The New York Liberty dominated Indiana on Thursday night, winning by a whopping 36 points in the Fever's home opener.
A sold-out crowd of 17,274 was in attendance to watch as star rookie Caitlin Clark finished the 102-66 defeat with nine points, seven rebounds, and six assists. It’s the first time since January 2021 — her freshman season at Iowa — that Clark's been held to single-digit scoring.
"The physicality is definitely up there... I'm easily pushed off screens," she told reporters after the loss. "The game seems a little fast for me right now. The more I play and the more comfortable I get, it's going to slow down a little bit. It will be easier for me to make reads, see things develop."
The Fever were outscored by a combined margin of 57 points in their first two games — the largest two-game point deficit in WNBA season-opening history, according to @ESPNStatsInfo.
"We've got to get to a level of toughness," Fever coach Christie Sides in her own postgame remarks. "When things are going south on us, we're not stopping the bleeding."
"I have great perspective on everything that happens," Clark added. "It was the same in my college career. There were some moments that were absolutely amazing. And there were some moments I was not happy with how I played and how my team performed. That's just life, that's just basketball."
Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu, who herself experienced a rocky rookie season following a much-hyped college career, offered up some insight on the matter.
"In this league, there are tough defenses all centered around not letting you get the ball, trapping, not letting you score," Ionescu said. "There were many factors that played into what was a tough first season for me in the league, but it helps you be able to figure it out. You have to have those experiences."
But it was reigning league MVP Breanna Stewart that truly stole the show, racking up 31 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, three steals, and two blocks on the night.
"In general, I just wanted to come out more aggressive coming off of last game," Stewart said after putting up the 24th 30-point game in her career.
Stewart she also commended the fans inside Indianapolis's packed Gainbridge Fieldhouse, noting that she hopes that level of support to continue across the WNBA.
"This is how you want every game to be and when it's a sell-out crowd, it gives you a similar playoff atmosphere feel," she said. "People want to be a part of this and the thing now is to continue to sustain it, continue to take the momentum that we have and turn it into something more."