Professional women’s basketball officially entered a new era on Friday when Unrivaled, the new 3-on-3 league co-founded by WNBA stars Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier, tipped off its inaugural 2025 season. The very first game in league history featured a thrilling comeback win for Lunar Owls BC capped by a walk-off 3-pointer by Skylar Diggins-Smith.
The moment was years in the making for Stewart and Collier, who embarked on this vision to give WNBA players a chance to stay home and compete against the best talent in the world during the offseason, while also taking ownership in the rise of women’s sports. All 36 initial players in Unrivaled will receive equity in the league.
Starting a professional sports league from scratch, even one as relatively small in scope as Unrivaled, was not an easy task. The star duo has received plenty of support along the way, including from WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert, who gave her blessing to the project early on.
“She was really supportive,” Collier said in an interview with Boardroom. “Obviously she has a lot of business connections, so she was wanting to connect us with those. She obviously has experience running a league, so kinda giving us the ins and…
