At a time when the WNBA has already announced plans to expand to 18 teams in the coming years, Unrivaled, founded by Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart, has also increased in scale. The league now boasts of paying the highest salaries in the history of American women’s team sports.
Unrivaled’s first season was a resounding success with The Rose winning the 3-on-3 championship and Napheesa Collier snagging the 1-on-1 tournament. The second season will see two new teams and 18 new roster spots being added, per The Athletic.
Breeze Basketball Club and Hive Basketball Club will join the existing six teams, adding 12 players directly into the pool. Further, a dedicated development player pool with six members has also been announced so that they can step in if there are injuries.
However, Caitlin Clark is still not going to be a part of the league, with Unrivaled president Alex Bazzell stating that there was no “current dialogue taking place right now” with the two-time WNBA All-Star. However, Bazzell added that “everyone knows that we want the best players. Everyone knows that if they’re interested, we always have spots.”
The quick expansion is a result of the league outperforming its targets in the first year.
“Expanding a year earlier than planned is a testament to the strong business model we’ve built and the potential Unrivaled has for long-term success,” Unrivaled President of Basketball Luke Cooper said as part of the announcement. “We outperformed every goal we set for the league in year one, and with the incredible talent we have returning paired with the influx of new stars, it was a no brainer to add two more clubs this season.
Last season, most games were aired on one of Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. However, the increase in teams means that an additional game day will be integrated, which allows the league to eliminate back-to-back games.
Unrivaled only recently announced that it has raised new funding at a $340 million valuation. The league has signed 30 players on two-year contracts and 15 on three-year deals, with Paige Bueckers also signing a deal in April.
