Everything to know about Unrivaled: League breakdown, schedule, rosters, more
2025-01-18
Category: sports

Friday will mark the beginning of a new adventure for professional women's basketball as some of the WNBA's top players tip off the inaugural season of Unrivaled at Wayfair Arena in Miami. Founded by WNBA All-Stars, Olympic gold medalists and former UConn teammates Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier, Unrivaled is a new 3-on-3 women's professional basketball league that features six teams with six players each going head-to-head for a shot at the inaugural title and cash awards. The season runs from January 17 to March 17 with games played mostly on Fridays, Saturdays and Mondays. There will be two games a night, and former WNBA star and basketball analyst Candace Parker will anchor a studio show during the broadcasts. Who's playing? Unrivaled will feature 36 of the top professional players in women's basketball. Here are the full team rosters:   How does it work? The six teams in the league — the Laces, Mist, Rose, Lunar Owls, Phantom and Vinyl — will play games in a new 850-seat arena on a compressed full-court (70X50 feet). A WNBA court is 22 feet longer. There will be three seven-minute quarters and a fourth quarter that isn't timed. Teams will play to a "winning score," which will be determined by adding 11 points to the squad that's leading after three quarters. For example: If Team X is leading 60-55 after three quarters, the first team to 71 would win the game. "Every game, we will have a game-winning shot," Alex Bazzell, president of Unrivaled, said. "That was important for us because coming out of the third quarter, there's no mystery of what you need to do."  There will only be one free throw taken when players commit shooting fouls with the value of it equal to the shot. That means if a player is fouled shooting a 3-pointer, a made free throw will count for three points. A free throw after being fouled on a two-point attempt is worth two points and any and-1 situation is worth one point. There will be an 18-second shot clock instead of the 24 seconds that the players use in the WNBA. The clock will stop on made baskets in the final 30 seconds of a quarter, as opposed to the last minute used in the WNBA. What are the player benefits? Unrivaled provides a viable option that gives players another way to supplement their WNBA salaries without having to play overseas during the offseason. The league is setting a record with the highest average salaries in women's sports history, as all 36 initial players will receive equity ownership. Nearly all the players are making more than $100,000, and there's more than $8 million in the salary pool.&nbsp; The league is also holding a 1-on-1 tournament in February, and the winner will recieve $250,000.&nbsp;  The Unrivaled facility has a state-of-the-art weight room as well as a glamour room and content creation rooms. There also is a personalized chef at the arena, and players are housed at no cost in a two-bedroom apartment and provided rental cars. Leading up to its launch, Unrivaled raised more than $35 million from various sources and dozens of individual investors, including Dawn Staley, Geno Auriemma and Coco Gauff. The league has also secured partnership deals with Ally, State Farm, Wilson, Under Armour, Opill, Miller Lite, Sprite, Sephora, VistaPrint and Ticketmaster to go along with a multiyear media rights deal with TNT Sports. Financial details about the partnerships have not been released. While WNBA three-time MVP A'ja Wilson and Rookie of the Year winner Caitlin Clark have opted not to play in the league, Unrivaled has secured NIL deals with future stars Paige Bueckers of UConn and LSU's Flau'Jae Johnson, with Bueckers expected to play next season. Full schedule (All times are in ET) Friday, Jan. 17  Saturday, Jan. 18  Monday, Jan. 20  Friday, Jan. 24  Saturday, Jan. 25  Monday, Jan. 27  Friday, Jan. 31  Saturday, Feb. 1  Monday, Feb. 3  Friday, Feb. 7  Saturday, Feb. 8  Monday, Feb. 10 1v1 Tournament, 7 p.m. (TV TBD) Thursday, Feb. 13 1v1 Tournament, 6:30 p.m. (TV TBD) Friday, Feb. 14 1v1 Tournament, 7:30 p.m. (TV TBD) Tuesday, Feb. 18  Friday, Feb. 21  Saturday, Feb. 22  Monday, Feb. 24  Friday, Feb. 28  Saturday, March 1  Monday, March 3  Friday, March 7  Monday, March 10  Sunday, March 16  Monday, March 17  The Associated Press contributed to this report. [Want great stories delivered right to your inbox?&nbsp;Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily.]