January 17, 2025 / 10:40 PM CST / CBS Minnesota
MIAMI, Fla. — Unrivaled Basketball, launched by a Minnesota star, is a real game-changer — and it tipped off Friday night in Florida.
The 3-on-3 game consists of 36 WNBA players divided into six teams: Lunar Owls, Mist, Rose, Vinyl, Phantom and Laces.
Unrivaled was created by Lynx star Napheesa Collier and New York Liberty star Breanna Stewart to give a place for pros to play in the off-season.
They are paid a comparable salary to what they make in the WNBA and even get equity in the league. It also allows players to remain stateside, and close to family, instead of playing overseas.
The first game was a founder showdown between Collier’s team, the Lunar Owls and Stewart’s team, the Mist. Collier put on a show for opening night, leading the Lunar Owls to the league’s first ever win with a team-high 27 points, defeating the Mist 84-80.
Many Lynx jerseys were in the crowd at the Unrivaled facility for opening night to show their support for Collier.
“It’s much warmer, so we love it already,” said Anna Bankes, who traveled from Bloomington to be at Unrivaled. “We’re big Napheesa fans, and we love the Lynx. We wanted to come out and support her and the Lynx and women’s basketball.”
Brenda Jackson and her husband traveled from northern Florida and they are rooting for Collier’s Unrivaled team, the Lunar Owls.
What makes this league unique is fans are no longer cheering for a city or state, but rather a player.
“I love the way [Napheesa] plays, love her as a person,” said Jackson.
Proving that Collier picks up fans from all over, not just Minnesota.
“When we heard that Unrivaled was going to be in Miami, we had to go. We’re coming to six different games. We’re super stoked for this, and it’s just awesome what they’re doing,” said Houston Barenholtz, a Miami resident.
The tropical rains didn’t slow the Unrivaled Fan Fest Friday night. People wanted to be here for this historic moment.
“This is not small scale, this is becoming big scale, and don’t sleep on these women. They’re trying to build something really great. I think about this all the time…this is just step one, and we’re all excited to be here for this moment in time,” Ann Marie Klotz, a New York resident who traveled to Miami for Unrivaled.
Three other Lynx players are also in Unrivaled. Courtney Williams is Collier’s teammate on the Lunar Owls, Kayla McBride is on the Laces and Natisha Hiedeman is on the Phantom.
The League says most, if not all games, are sold out for the nine-week run. All games will be live-streamed and on-air on TNT.
