March 7, 2026 by Philip Lewenstein

Unrivaled

In an era of limitless choices for watching sports on TV, women’s basketball has become one of my favorites. My interest began with the Minnesota Lynx success in the WNBA and grew with the focus on Caitlin Clark in college basketball.

Clark’s presence in the WNBA fueled the popularity of the league (“WNBA Is Mainstream, Cool,” April 16, 2025, philsfocus.com). The WNBA season is 44 games May through September. Then, many players travel overseas to bolster their incomes and enhance their skills.

Now, however, I can watch many of my favorite players during the winter in Unrivaled, the 3 x 3 league started in January 2025. Despite the full TV sports schedule—expanded with the winter Olympics this year—I am enjoying the Unrivaled games on TruTV and TNT—doubleheaders Friday through Monday, January 5 to March 4.

Most games are played before a small crowd at Sephora Arena in Medley, Florida, near Miami. However, on Friday, January 30, Unrivaled played a doubleheader at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia before 21, 490 fans, the most ever to attend a women’s basketball game.

The first game featured a battle between two of my favorite players, Page Bueckers of the Breeze and Kelsey Plum of the Phantom. The Phantom edged the Breeze 71-68 with Plum scoring the winning basket.

In the second game, Marina Mabrey of the Lunar Owls scored 47 points. She made 18 of 28 shots, including 10 of 15 from three, and had the game-winning basket.

Collier and Stewart Founded Unrivaled

Unrivaled was founded in 2023 by Breanna Stewart of the New York Liberty and Napheesa Collier of the Lynx to ensure an in-country option for WNBA players looking to play during the off season.

Stewart and Collier were named “Innovators of the Year” by Sports Illustrated for creating a model league to build a sustainable business that benefits both players and fans (Emma Baccellieri, February 2026).

The Unrivaled approach is consistent with the big business model in the WNBA and other women’s professional sports leagues. The WNBA, for example, has a $2.2 billion media rights deal and collects record expansion fees. A new collective bargaining agreement will also reshape the league’s economics.

The average Unrivaled salary in 2025 was $220,000, roughly equal to the maximum salary for the longer WNBA season, according to Baccellieri. All 36 of the initial players received equity stakes in the league and had resources—childcare, treatment facilities, massage rooms—that are unevenly distributed in the WNBA.

Unrivaled has several investors and partners. The league exceeded its revenue targets by nearly breaking even in its first year, Baccellieri says. It announced a $340 million valuation in September 2025 after another round of fundraising.

“And while the sports’ economics continue to change, Unrivaled has framed the discussion about what players can reasonably demand,” Baccellieri writes. “Collier and Stewart wanted to move beyond the constraints that came with being treated as a social cause. They wanted to see how much women’s basketball could grow by treating it seriously as a business.”

Unrivaled has a $100 million deal with TNT Sports, the first time the network has secured broadcast rights for women’s pro basketball.

There were six teams in 2025. This season, the league expanded to eight teams, 48 players plus a developmental pool of six players.

As an avid follower of the WNBA, I am familiar with the players, including stars such as Stewart, Bueckers, Plum, Jackie Young, Chelsea Gray, Aliyah Boston, Kelsey Mitchell, and Alyssa Thomas.

It’s taken me a while to match the players with the teams: Vinyl, Hive, Breeze, Rose, Mist, Lunar Owls, Phantom, and Laces.

All WNBA teams are represented. From the Lynx are Alanna Smith, Courtney Williams, Natisha Heideman, and Collier, who can’t play because of surgery on both ankles in early January, sidelining her for four to six months.

Some WNBA stars, such as Clark and A’ja Wilson, are not playing. Others, such as Angel Reese and Sabrina Ionescu, played in 2025 but not this year. (Reese, however, returned to the Rose in February).

Special events are presented, featuring free-throw shooting and a one-on-one competition. Chelsea Gray earned $200,000 this year for winning the one-on-one contest over Allisha Gray. Collier won the title in 2025.

Three-on-Three Format Offers Fast-Paced Entertainment

As basketball fans in our youth, my friends and I played three on three in driveways and playgrounds in all types of weather usually, but not always, on one hoop. In this format, each player is actively involved throughout the game.

Three-on-three debuted for women and men in the 2020 (played in 2021) Tokyo Olympics—half court with one hoop. The United States won gold with a roster of Plum, Young, Stefanie Dolson, and Allisha Gray. The United States women won bronze in 2024.

The three-on-three format in Unrivaled is dynamic and fast-paced for TV, showcasing the players’ incredible athleticism, refined shooting acumen, and sharp passing skills.

Unrivaled games are played full court, 49.2 x 72 feet, compared to the regular sized 94 x 50 court. There are three seven-minute quarters.  In the fourth quarter, 11 points are added to the leading team’s score, and both teams compete to reach that “winning score” point value.

An 18-second shot clock is used rather than 30 seconds. One free throw is awarded regardless of the type of foul. If a player is fouled on a two-point attempt, the one free throw is worth two points; if the player is fouled on a three-point attempt, three points are awarded.

Unrivaled Is Part of Revolution in Women’s Sports

Unrivaled is part of the revolution in women’s sports. Besides watching Unrivaled this winter, I am watching the Minnesota Frost in the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL), now in its third season. The Frost, who play home games at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul, won the league’s first two championships (Walter Cup).

Eight teams compete for the cup: Boston, Minnesota, Montreal, New York, Ottawa, Seattle, Toronto, and Vancouver. The cities were selected for being in the markets of National Hockey League franchises and having track records of supporting hockey, specifically the women’s game.

The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) was established in 2012 and began play in 2013; there are 16 teams. Minnesotans can watch the Minnesota Aurora FC, a women’s soccer club based in Eagan. The team plays in the Heartland Division of the USL W League. The Aurora, which began play in the league’s inaugural 2022 season, has aspired to join the NWSL.

The Women’s Professional Baseball League debuts this year. It is the first professional league for women since the All-American Girls Pro Baseball League—immortalized in “A League of Their Own”—dissolved 52 years ago. The initial four teams are New York, Boston, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.

In 2027, Minnesota will join Major League Volleyball, the leading professional women’s volleyball league. It is operated and majority-owned by Minnesota Sports & Entertainment (MSE), the parent organization behind the Minnesota Wild and management group for Grand Casino Arena, the team’s home court.

Unrivaled will have competition from Project B, a start-up league expected to tip off in Europe, Asia, and Latin America next November. The league was founded by former Facebook executive Grady Burnett and Skype co-founder Geoff Prentice.

The season will last until April 2027 with six teams playing five-on-five games. Several WNBA players have committed to the league. The league promises higher salaries than the WNBA or Unrivaled.

For now, I am content with the Unrivaled playoffs in early March and the women’s NCAA tournament throughout the month while hoping for a new collective bargaining agreement between the WNBA and its players and a new season in May.