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.
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 launched its inaugural 1v1 tournament on Monday night, with a slate of first-round upsets already busting a few brackets.
The evening's biggest twist came courtesy of Unrivaled co-founder and No. 1 seed Breanna Stewart's matchup against No. 8 seed Aaliyah Edwards, with Edwards earning a marquee victory by shutting out her Mist teammate 12-0 in less than two minutes of gameplay.
Due to a spat of injuries affecting the 1v1 contest, a lone second-round bye emerged in the bracket just beyond the Stewart-Edwards matchup. Consequently, Monday's victory punched Edwards's ticket all the way into the tournament's quarterfinal round.
"Tough night for me but shoutout to my Mistie @AaliyahEdwards_!!! Keep that thing going and go get that bag 💰!!" Stewart posted in support after her loss.
Also claiming a massive upset win on Monday was the Lunar Owls' Shakira Austin, who ousted Rose BC's Chelsea "Point Gawd" Gray with a dominant 12-2 scoreline.
The significant margins of victory across the 1v1 contest are in large part due to the tournament's "make-it, take-it" rule.
In a break from traditional 5×5 play and Unrivaled's 3×3 format, the unique 1v1 rule rewards scoring with both points on the board as well as continued ball possession. Therefore, athletes can string together long scoring stretches as long as they don't relinquish the ball.
Lunar Owls show out as 15 players remain in 1v1 tournament
With a $350,000 total purse on the line, intensity on the Unrivaled court ramped up in the head-to-head competition.
Putting the first round behind them, 15 players remain in the running for the $200,000 first-place prize.
Notably, all five Lunar Owls players who entered the 1v1 competition — Unrivaled co-founder Napheesa Collier, Skylar Diggins-Smith, Allisha Gray, Courtney Williams, and the aforementioned Austin — survived Monday's bouts.
This gives the squad, who also leads the 3×3 league as the only remaining undefeated team, the best shot at claiming the $10,000-per-teammate payout should one of them win the 1v1 title.
How to watch Tuesday's Unrivaled 1v1 tournament
Tuesday's session includes both the second round and quarterfinals of the 1v1 competition.
The action tips off with a blockbuster 7 PM ET battle between Rose BC's Kahleah Copper and the Lunar Owls' Allisha Gray.
Live coverage will air on TruTV.
Unrivaled 3×3 Basketball hit an injury wall this weekend, forcing the inaugural offseason league to cancel one regular-season game and truncate this week's 1v1 tournament.
With multiple Laces players sidelined, the league called off the team's Saturday night matchup against Vinyl BC.
Similarly, after seven participants had to pull out of Unrivaled's hotly anticipated 30-player 1v1 tournament, the league responded by shortening the contest's first round.
With all teams camped together on Unrivaled's Miami campus, specific details concerning player availability as well as injury type and severity have been tough to come by.
Laces stars Alyssa Thomas (knee) and Tiffany Hayes (concussion) both exited the 1v1 tournament after suffering injuries in previous Unrivaled matchups, putting their fitness statuses in question as the 2025 WNBA season looms.
Fellow Laces standouts Kayla McBride and Kate Martin, plus Rose BC's Brittney Sykes and Phantom stars Natasha Cloud and Marina Mabrey, will not participate. The withdrawal is "due to lingering injuries and to prioritize player wellbeing for regular-season games," per Unrivaled.
Injuries shrink Unrivaled 1v1 tournament's first round
Instead of a planned 14 games split across an afternoon session and an evening set on Monday, the now eight-game opening round of the league's 1v1 contest will occur in a single night of competition.
In an effort to maintain the original bracket as much as possible, Unrivaled decided against making any changes to its first-round matchups.
Because of this, five additional athletes will join the previously announced Jewell Loyd and Arike Ogunbowale in snagging first-round byes, with Courtney Williams, DiJonai Carrington, Satou Sabally, Rae Burrell, and Azurá Stevens now also set to tip off their 1v1 journeys during Tuesday's second round.
Unrivaled's reliance on short, elite rosters has spelled heated competition on a star-stacked court, but the strategy is now revealing its shortcomings. Such slim margins leave the league scrambling whenever one of their players — all of whom plan to return to the WNBA in mid-May — needs a break to prioritize rest and recovery.
How to watch Unrivaled's 1v1 tournament
The three-day competition tips off its eight-game first round at 7 PM ET on Monday. Both the second round and quarterfinals are set to begin at 7 PM ET on Tuesday, with the semifinals and finals slated for Friday at 7:30 PM ET.
All games will air live on truTV, with TNT also broadcasting Monday's and Friday's sessions.
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.