Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier’s new 3-on-3 league, Unrivaled, will tip off on Friday night, marking the debut of a new era for women’s professional basketball. Unrivaled will not ony give WNBA stars a chance to stay at home and compete during the offseason, but the opportunity to take ownership in the league.
Everything about the league, from its creation to the financial arrangement, which will see the initial 36 players receive equity, is unique. That includes the games themselves, which will be unlike anything we’ve ever seen in women’s professional basketball.
Here’s a quick breakdown of everything you need to know.
3-on-3, but still “fullcourt”
The most important aspect to know about Unrivaled is that it will be 3-on-3 basketball instead of the traditional 5-on-5 game we see in the WNBA, but it will still be “fullcourt.” The Unrivaled court will be 70 feet long, which is about three-fourths the length of the WNBA’s 94-foot long court. The playing surface’s 50-foot width will remain the same.
“This game is rooted in how you would play basketball as a kid on a black top,” Luke Cooper, Unrivaled president of basketball operations, told ESPN. “There’s flow. There’s pace. When you are watching, it…
