February 16th 2025.
The Unrivaled Wayfair Arena in Miami has been buzzing with some top-notch basketball action, pleasing both hoops fans and women's basketball enthusiasts. The league's first one-on-one tournament featured an exciting showdown between Minnesota Lynx's Napheesa Collier and Washington Mystics' Aaliyah Edwards on Valentine's Day, showcasing the present and future of the sport.
According to reports from The Athletic, Collier, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year in the WNBA, has been using the league as a platform to challenge Las Vegas Aces' A'ja Wilson for the title of the best player in the world. With impressive stats of 29 points and 11.5 rebounds per game, Collier has proven to be a dominant force on the court for her team, the Lunar Owls.
As one of the league's co-founders, along with Breanna Stewart of the New York Liberty, Collier has been making strides towards her goal of dethroning Wilson. In the championship round, she faced off against Edwards, a rising star fresh off her impressive rookie season. And Collier did not disappoint, giving Edwards a lesson in guarding the "Queen Phee," as she is affectionately called by Hall-of-Famer Lisa Leslie during broadcasts.
Unlike the rest of the tournament, which followed a single-elimination format, the championship round was a best-of-three series. After dropping the first game 9-6, Collier showed her championship-level experience and dominated the next two games, winning 9-4 and 8-0. Her defensive intensity and impeccable footwork, both on the drive and in the post, proved to be the deciding factors in her victory.
Edwards, on the other hand, had an impressive Cinderella run in the tournament, defeating top players like Stewart and Allisha Gray before facing off against Collier. Despite not taking home the championship, she still earned a significant amount of money, a total of $75,000, which is more than her salary as the sixth pick in the WNBA draft.
Meanwhile, Collier's prize money of $275,000 not only exceeds the WNBA's Supermax, but also earned her teammates an extra $10,000 each. This kind of player empowerment is one of the main reasons why the league was created, with its mission of being a league for the players, by the players. As Unrivaled's president of basketball operations, Luke Cooper, stated in an interview with ESPN, everything about the league was built with the players in mind, from the business to the facilities and even the game itself, which is played 3-on-3 full court, just like how kids play on the playground.
Another important aspect of the league is helping WNBA players comply with the WNBA's prioritization rule, which penalizes those who play overseas if they do not return to their teams by May 19. This rule often conflicts with overseas clubs' schedules, making it challenging for players to balance both commitments. Edwards shared with The Athletic that this was one of the reasons why she decided to participate in the league, as it allowed her to play and earn money in North America without worrying about breaking any rules.
For Collier, the one-on-one tournament aspect of the league has the potential to change the culture of women's basketball, especially when it comes to young girls playing one-on-one on the playground. She believes that by showcasing their skills and competitiveness in this format, they can break stereotypes and change the perception of female athletes in sports. As she stated in an interview with The Athletic, the league is trying to change the culture of women's basketball and encourage more girls to play one-on-one, just like the boys do on the playground. This, in turn, can have a positive impact on the sport and inspire future generations of female hoopers.
In exciting news, Unrivaled recently announced a $35 million Series A investment round, which included star-studded investors like Juju Watkins. This further solidifies the league's mission and shows the support and potential for women's basketball to continue growing and empowering players. With its player-focused approach and innovative format, Unrivaled is truly making a mark in the world of women's basketball, and we can't wait to see what they have in store for the future.
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