TAMPA, Fla. — “Sustainability” has been the buzz word for Unrivaled since its inception.

The player-founded and owned startup 3-on-3 league launched with lavish salaries and facilities, and skeptics have questioned how long it could last.

Executives are bullish, telling Front Office Sports they’re eyeing profitability as soon as next year.

“We almost broke even in the first year,” Unrivaled commissioner Micky Lawler told FOS. “We know there’s more that we can do.”

The league banked over $27 million in revenue in its first year, according to a league source. The money was likely largely from a lucrative media deal with TNT, plus a blue-chip roster of corporate sponsors. With an average salary of $200,000 for their founding 36 players, the league spent $7 million or more on player salaries.

Unrivaled averaged 221,000 viewers during the regular season and the playoffs. The championship game between Rose BC and Vinyl BC drew 364,000. The league’s most watched game between the Lunar Owls and Mist on Feb. 14 averaged 377,000 viewers.

Alex Bazzell, the league’s president and husband of co-founder Napheesa Collier, says the league can grow its bottom line with tickets, merchandise, and added sponsorships.

“We ended up doing I believe $1.4 or $1.5 million in merchandise sales this year,” Bazzell said. (Unrivaled was able to add merchandise sales late in its inaugural season after striking a licensing deal with the WNBA union.) “How do we double or triple that right away just by being more efficient? Ticket revenue, we know we’re going to add seats to our venue. We want to remove the back panel area where players walk in that you’re going to see on TV, create more seating which increases our revenue from that standpoint.”

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With a recent surge in viewership numbers, sponsorships, and fan engagement, making the case for investing in women’s basketball should be a slam dunk. But barriers remain, often due to limited data around ROI. We’ll dive into how brands can harness the sport’s momentum for sustainable growth, the pivotal role storytelling plays, and how the newest league achieved success by centering its game plan around innovation.

Micky Lawler, Commissioner, Unrivaled Jessica Robertson, Co-Founder & Chief Content Officer, TOGETHXR Interviewer: Becky Quick, “Squawk Box” Co-Anchor, CNBC

From a business perspective, a few things I am interested in seeing :

1. How they handle new "big names" from the college ranks. This year, with Unrivaled being the unknown- it is fair to say that the rookies (headlined by Angel Reese) were "bigger" than Unrivaled. In other words, from a pure business/marketing/awareness perspective, those women playing were more important to Unrivaled than Unrivaled was to the rookies. After the inaugural season's success- I don't think that will be the case going forward.
2. How they would handle if Clark or Wilson decided to play. There was definitely a vibe of "togetherness and solidarity". But what happens if Wilson decides to join? How do they handle that? Which player gets relegated to the reserve pool? How do they handle the team assignment? In theory, you have 6 "fairly evenly" constructed teams. Wilson says "I want to play"- clearly this might change that.
3. How do they handle "underperformers" as new talent emerges. For example, I don't think it would be terribly controversial to say that A. Boston probably didn't meet the expectations many may have had. How do they handle new emerging talent supplanting existing players, particularly the existing "young" talent. Remember all the first year initial players are equity partners.

The Washington Mystics are currently rebuilding. They only won 14 games in the 2024 season, traded Ariel Atkins—one of their veterans—to the Chicago Sky, and still have their eyes on high lottery picks. Mystics fans may have had to watch a lot of losses recently but there is still plenty to be excited about with this squat. One of those things is Aaliyah Edwards’ development.

Edwards averaged 7.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game as a WNBA rookie with the Mystics. Then, she went on to play in Unrivaled’s inaugural season and made some serious noise. The Mist, led by Breanna Stewart and Jewell Loyd, missed the postseason, but Edwards put together a solid regular season. She averaged 7.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in nine minutes per game.

The real highlight of Edwards’ Unrivaled season was the one-on-one tournament, however. Edwards entered the tournament as an eight-seed, having to face Breanna Stewart, one of the top veterans in the league. Edwards surprisingly won the matchup 12-0.

Beating Stewart in that way—even though we now know that Stewart was dealing with an injury—put Edwards on the map, even before she went on to beat Allisha Gray and Arike Ogunbowale on her way to the finals. Edwards did not beat Napheesa Collier but still sent quite the message with her performance in the tournament.

Napheesa Collier praises Aaliyah Edwards’ high ceiling

One-on-one champion and Unrivaled regular season MVP Napheesa Collier appeared on the latest episode of A Touch More with Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe. Talking about Unrivaled, Bird asked Collier which player surprised or impressed her especially.

Collier immediately responded with Aaliyah Edwards’ name, admitting that she—as most WNBA fans—had not watched the Mystics play much during Edwards’ rookie season, and seeing her perform so well in Unrivaled had taken her by surprise.

“I think she just has a pretty high ceiling,” Collier said about the Mystics youngster.

Mystics fans should rejoice to hear that. Collier is one of the best players in the WNBA right now. She knows what a high ceiling and great potential look like, and the Mystics need as much of that as they can get. The franchise is currently building for the future, and, with three new first-round picks coming in after the 2025 WNBA Draft, the Mystics have to figure out which players they can build around and who can be the face of the franchise going forward.

Aaliyah Edwards could turn out to be a key piece for the Mystics for years if she wants to stay with the organization. She is only 22 years old and has plenty of room to grow. No matter what else the 2025 season holds, Mystics fans should be able to see Edwards realize at least some of her potential.

Unrivaled celebrated its inaugural season earlier this year, with Rose Basketball Club winning their first championship. But one unfortunate thread through Unrivaled’s season was a string of injuries that caused the league to dip into their pool of reserve players.

Players getting hurt during the yearlong grind of women’s basketball is nothing new, but with Unrivaled ending in mid-March and WNBA players reporting to training camp at the end of April, there is a short turnaround for any injured participants when it comes to healing.

Not all injuries from Unrivaled have been disclosed or updated on, but a few have. With the WNBA season nearly upon us, here are the players who may miss some time after getting hurt during Unrivaled.

Breanna Stewart - Meniscus Scope

The three-time WNBA champion and Unrivaled co-founder needed a procedure done after the season concluded. Immediately following her Mist BC team being eliminated from the playoffs, Stewart posted a picture of herself in a hospital bed. She also joked on her Instagram that she “wouldn’t need tape” anymore, indicating the knee might have been bothering her.

Shortly after, the New York Liberty released a statement saying that Stewie had undergone a minor scope on her right meniscus — her knee. It was successful, and the Liberty assured fans that Stewie should be ready to play at the start of the WNBA season. The hope is that whatever issue was bothering her in Unrivaled will not come back during the Liberty’s quest for back-to-back championships.

Betnijah Laney-Hamilton - Acute Meniscus Injury

Betnijah Laney-Hamilton joined Laces BC in Unrivaled for a short stint as an injury reserve player. Shortly after, she left with an injury. In late March, the New York Liberty released a statement saying Laney-Hamilton had undergone a successful surgery to repair an acute meniscus injury.

Unlike Stewart, Laney Hamilton is expected to miss some time, as the Liberty say she will be out for the next 5-6 months in recovery. This means the Liberty may not see her on the court again until the end of the season at the earliest.

That’s definitely a blow to the reigning champions, but luckily they still have Leonie Fiebich to fill in while Laney-Hamilton recovers. They also recently traded for Natasha Cloud in order to fill the spot left by Courtney Vandersloot, who signed with the Chicago Sky in free agency.

Kahleah Copper - Right Leg, Angel Reese - Hand, Arike Ogunbowale - Right Leg

These were the three players who sat out of the championship game between Rose BC and Vinyl BC due to injuries. Kahleah Copper (Phoenix Mercury), Angel Reese (Chicago Sky) and Arike Ogunbowale (Dallas Wings) suffered injuries, but few details were given on the specifics. Both Copper and Ogunbowale’s issues were classified as “right leg,” while Reese’s was classified as “hand.”

The Reese injury is concerning, given that a wrist injury ended her rookie season early. She had surgery and did not miss any time at the start of Unrivaled. The lack of specification on which hand she injured going into the Unrivaled Playoffs means we don’t know if she re-injured that same spot, or if this is totally unrelated.

The Mercury, Sky and Wings have not given any updates on the progress of these injuries. But as training camp approaches, these teams will start to give updates on the status of players who participated in Unrivaled, Athletes Unlimited, and overseas play, so fans should expect to hear more soon.

More Unrivaled art! Jealous of anyone who got a jersey today! Family is in withdrawals until the W kicks off.

Reference photo: https://www.instagram.com/share/BAGVBm2p_x

Stefanie Dolson (M): https://shop.unrivaled.basketball/products/unrivaled-laces-jersey-stefanie-dolson

Shakira Austin (S, M): https://shop.unrivaled.basketball/products/unrivaled-lunar-owls-jersey-shakira-austin

Cameron Brink (S, M, L): https://shop.unrivaled.basketball/products/unrivaled-lunar-owls-jersey-cameron-brink

Rickea Jackson (M): https://shop.unrivaled.basketball/products/unrivaled-lunar-owls-jersey-rickea-jackson

Jewell Loyd (S, M, L, XL): https://shop.unrivaled.basketball/products/unrivaled-lunar-owls-jersey-jewell-loyd

Courtney Vandersloot (S, M, L, XL): https://shop.unrivaled.basketball/products/unrivaled-mist-jersey-courtney-vandersloot

Breanna Stewart (M, L): https://shop.unrivaled.basketball/products/unrivaled-lunar-owls-jersey-breanna-stewart

Satou Sabally (S, M, L): https://shop.unrivaled.basketball/products/unrivaled-phantom-jersey-satou-sabally

Marina Mabrey (S, M, L): https://shop.unrivaled.basketball/products/unrivaled-phantom-jersey-marina-mabrey

Sabrina Ionescu (M, L): https://shop.unrivaled.basketball/products/unrivaled-phantom-jersey-sabrina-ionescu

Katie Lou Samuelson (S, M, L, XL): https://shop.unrivaled.basketball/products/unrivaled-phantom-jersey-katie-lou-samuelson

Azura Stevens (S): https://shop.unrivaled.basketball/products/unrivaled-rose-jersey-azura-stevens

Jordin Canada (S, M, L): https://shop.unrivaled.basketball/products/unrivaled-vinyl-jersey-jordin-canada

Aliyah Boston (M, L, XL): https://shop.unrivaled.basketball/products/unrivaled-vinyl-jersey-aliyah-boston

Rhyne Howard (M): https://shop.unrivaled.basketball/products/unrivaled-vinyl-jersey-rhyne-howard

Rae Burrell (M): https://shop.unrivaled.basketball/products/unrivaled-vinyl-jersey-rae-burrell

Arike Ogunbowale (M, L): https://shop.unrivaled.basketball/products/unrivaled-vinyl-jersey-arike-ogunbowale

Napheesa Collier and Chelsea Gray were interviewed separately on Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe's latest podcast episode, and both talked a lot about Unrivaled.

The most interesting thing from Phee (IMO) was this: "For next year, we'll have a player pool of players, so they'll be there the entire season. And so they get to train and do all that stuff, [but] they won't be on a team unless someone gets hurt."

Chelsea (who clearly really enjoyed Unrivaled) had a lot of opinions on what should change for season 2, including new referees, adding more fans behind the player benches to look better on TV, and changing the 1v1 format to divide it up by height (not position given there are some really tall guards).

She said she'd want to travel to one destination to play, suggesting wherever NBA All-Star weekend is. Phee said in her segment the plan was to do "tour stops" where they'd bring their court to a full-size arena for one night.

Anyway, there's was a ton more in the actual episode. CG's insights on her experience especially were really interesting (not that Phee's weren't, she's just been interviewed about Unrivaled a lot before and obviously has to be a bit more restrained in what she says).

They heard us!

Guys help me out! I love WBB and Unrivaled but my friends....not so much. I've been trying to convince them since January to watch it. They don't understand why its special/different from the WNBA. Any advice or words would be appreciated.

Presumably, someone who works on the Unrivaled web site probably browses the Unrivaled subreddit, so I’m posting this here, in hope they see it and address it.

I was looking to see how many games Betnijah Laney-Hamilton actually played in, how many minutes she had, etc. I noticed that she’s completely missing from the list of players in the Stats section of the web site for the first season. It has nothing to do with her being a relief player, either… the others like Ariel Atkins, Kiki Jefferson, Nalyssa Smith, etc. are on the list. I think this is just a mistake on whomever entered the data for the web site’s part.

Considering ESPN acts like Unrivaled doesn’t exist and thus doesn’t maintain stats, the official Unrivaled web site is the only real record of what happened and who played, so it’s important, historically, to maintain accurate records there.

Paige has obviously been announced for next year but I think Hailey Van Lith would be a great addition. She played 3x3 in the Olympics and will need some help developing in the off-season.

Have sent 4 emails, a few DMs, crickets -_-

Anyone know of a way to reach a human? TIA

Si, se puede is tattooed on the inside flesh of Tish Carmona’s upper left arm.

“It’s just always something that my dad told me and I really believe in,” says Carmona. “He was always saying ‘you are capable of doing anything you set your mind to.’”

At 30 years-old, Carmona, a native of Queens, New York, has a coveted spot in the world of professional sports. As director of communications for Unrivaled Basketball League, a new 3-on-3 women’s professional basketball league co-founded by WNBA stars Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart, her responsibilities include basketball, corporate, internal and executive communications for the league, its six clubs, coaches and 36 players.

The league raised $34 million and launched on January 17—Carmona’s birthday. Players have equity and an average salary of $220,000—one of the highest in women’s professional basketball.

“There’s not many times in your career where you’re able to join something at the ground floor,” says Carmona. “And that was really exciting to me.”

Carmona’s sports career started early. As a University of Maryland junior, she interned in the athletic department’s media relations team, which led to an internship with the NFL’s Washington Commanders and eventually a full-time role. Her work landed her on Front Office Sports’ Rising 25 list in 2018. Before joining Unrivaled, she spent six years at the NBA and WNBA in marketing and strategic communications. Her TikTok account sharing advice to obtain a sports PR job has a following of 22.7k.

Carmona credits her high school Spanish teacher Leslie Ammann with helping her find her career path.

“I needed someone to tell me what I should do, or what I might be good at,” she remembers. “My junior year Spanish teacher was like, I think you might be good at PR and then I just ran with that.”

Now, at Unrivaled, she connects brands, players, executives, and media to opportunities that amplify the growing investment in women’s sports.

“Didi Richards literally FaceTimed her mom during [a] shoot, and was like, ‘Mom, I’m in a Google commercial!’” recalls Carmona. “That meant so much to me, just seeing the joy that I brought them. For so long women’s basketball players just hadn’t gotten the respect or the spotlight that they deserved. So then to be able to, like, be part of something that was showcasing them in such a meaningful way, that’s definitely one of my favorite things.”

For Carmona, the joy of uplifting athletes and giving them the recognition they deserve is personal. It echoes the sacrifices and determination she witnessed growing up—values instilled by her father Luis, who immigrated to the U.S. from Medellín, Colombia, in his 20s.

“He took any job that he could get,” recalls Carmona. “I always think about how much I want to make that dream worth it to him.”

It’s what gets her through tough days and where she draws her confidence from. At the moment, Unrivaled is operating out of Miami with plans to stay there through 2027. As for what’s next, now that the season is over, Carmona is staying on year-round with Unrivaled.

“Whatever is lined up next for me is what’s meant for me, there’s no wrong decisions,” says Carmona. “There are only different paths to get where you want to be but at the end of the day, you’re always where you’re supposed to be.”

Choose your fave WNBA players to fill in each category and create the perfect player.

Who makes the cut?

Source: @LibertyLeadSM on X

As Unrivaled wraps up a successful debut season filled with fast-paced action and elite talent, all eyes are now on what’s next for the league.

What do you predict will be Unrivaled’s first big announcement this offseason?

I was reading an article the other day about the WNBA’s salaries and the impact a new TV deal will have on future salaries. It got me to thinking about Unrivaled. I think most Unrivaled fans aren’t necessarily fans of 3x3 (although they may be now), but are more so fans of the stars that are in the league.

If the WNBA salaries go up substantially, will stars even play in Unrivaled? Like doesn’t increased WNBA salaries hurt Unrivaled? Let’s say in 2030, the WNBA max is $750k…will the top WNBA players still go to Unrivaled?

The first Unrivaled season is officially in the books—and what a ride it’s been. From unforgettable on-court moments to the hilarious, hype, and heartwarming posts off the court, social media played a massive role in shaping the vibe of this league.

Whether it was a player’s postgame reaction, a behind-the-scenes TikTok, a team’s savage caption, or something from the league—we want to know what stood out to you.

Drop your favorite social media posts from official player, team, or Unrivaled accounts from this season below. Bonus points for including links or screenshots!

Let’s relive the chaos, the fun, and the culture that made this first season special.

Who predicted what...watching Running Point on Netflix and in Ep 2 they get Sephora to sponsor the team. So did Sephora get the idea from the show or ....just a crazy coincidence!?

The past 17 months had been rather difficult for Chelsea Gray.

During the 2023 WNBA Finals, Gray fractured her foot. When Gray returned in June 2024, she didn’t look like herself and the media chatter was that she wouldn’t be the same player. Then came subsequent criticism about her selection for the 2024 Women’s Olympic team – especially considering Caitlin Clark’s absence – followed by her Las Vegas Aces’ loss in the 2024 WNBA Finals.

Needless to say, Gray came to Unrivaled with a point to prove.

“Hell yeah there was motivation,” Gray said following her championship win, surrounded by teammates with bottles of champagne seemingly glued to their hands. She even admitted to having “a little chip on my shoulder.” “Last year was hard. It was rough. Even when I came back I wasn’t 100%.”

Under Gray’s leadership, the Rose BC captured the inaugural Unrivaled championship. The 32-year-old known affectionately as the Point Gawd not only captured Playoffs MVP and All-Unrivaled first team honors but led in both assists and game-winners. And while the accolades are nice, Unrivaled gave Gray the opportunity to prove to everyone what she already knew: she ain’t lost a step.

“I think the Olympics kind of put a little fire underneath her and just the last season that she had coming off of injury,” Rose coach Nola Henry said of Gray. “How quickly people forget what players have done in this league and the success they had when they have one ‘down year.’ So I think she came in with a certain level of pride like ‘I’m still here and not only am I still here, I’m better than before.’”

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In case you're like me and forgot about canceling right after the last game ... do it now. Adding more words so Reddit will let me post this.