Seattle Storm guard Jewell Loyd will be among the first players to join Unrivaled Basketball, a new three-on-three women's basketball league co-founded by New York Liberty star Breanna Stewart and Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier. The announcement was made on X, formerly known as Twitter, where Unrivaled Basketball shared the news Saturday.
“THE GOLD MAMBA IS UNRIVALED,” the league's X account posted, along with a photo of Loyd.
Loyd herself expressed her enthusiasm by tweeting, “What’s good Miami!! You ready??? Don’t worry, more people are coming.”
Unrivaled Basketball is set to debut in January 2025 and will feature 30 players divided into six teams. Stewart, Collier, Las Vegas Aces guard Chelsea Gray and Dallas Wings guard Arike Ogunbowale are also among the high-profile players confirmed to participate. The league's mission is to provide the highest average salary in women's professional sports history, reportedly starting at over $100,000.
Collier emphasized the significance of the league's payment model.
“Compensation is a huge part of Unrivaled as a league and a business. All the players in this first year will have equity in the league. For players to have a piece of the pie essentially to grow their generational wealth is something we’re really excited about,” Collier said, as reported by Doug Feinberg of the Associated Press, via ClutchPoints.
Stewart added that the compensation approach could alleviate the need for players to compete overseas during the WNBA offseason, offering better financial stability and additional opportunities for brand partnerships.
Each team will play two games a week over an eight-week season. The games will be held on a court approximately two-thirds the size of a standard WNBA court and will consist of four shorter quarters. Specific rules and additional details will be released closer to the launch date. Unrivaled Basketball has garnered significant support from high-profile investors, including Carmelo Anthony, Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe, Michelle Wie West, Ashton Kutcher, Steve Nash, and Geno Auriemma. Former ESPN President John Skipper and former Turner President David Levy are also involved, with Levy leading media rights deals and sponsorship sales efforts.
Storm focused on strong finish before the Olympic break
The Storm are nearing the end of a nine-game homestand. With a 6-2 record during this stretch, the Storm have one more game at home against the Atlanta Dream on Sunday. Despite a recent loss to the Las Vegas Aces, which affected their playoff positioning, the team remains focused on finishing strong.
Nneka Ogwumike, reflecting on the homestand, stressed the importance of maintaining momentum
“Just leaving a good taste in our mouth when we’re done with these next two games, being able to close this thing out, seven out of nine at home,” she said, as reported by Dylan Ackerman of The Seattle Times.
The Storm’s next game is an away match against the Los Angeles Sparks on Tuesday, followed by the WNBA All-Star break and the Olympic break. They will return to action on Aug. 16 with a road game against the Dream.
The extended homestand has allowed the Storm to strengthen team chemistry and improve their performance. Skylar Diggins-Smith highlighted the benefits of playing at home.
“It’s been nice that we were able to get the arena for that many games. The Storm crazies, they come and support, even when I was an opponent, they always come and support the city,” Diggins-Smith said. We really take pride in having a tough environment for away teams to come and try to get a win in. They set the tone for us, we feed off of them.”
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