Lynx forward Napheesa Collier and Liberty forward Breanna Stewart are launching a new women’s basketball league called “Unrivaled” in January, the WNBA stars told ESPN on Thursday. Here’s what you need to know:
- The league will include six franchises with 30 of the top players from the WNBA expected to participate in three-on-three and one-on-one games.
- The league will be played from January to March in Miami during the WNBA offseason.
- The aim is that players will earn competitive salaries similar to that of their WNBA contracts.
The Athletic’s instant analysis:
How could the new league impact potential overseas decisions?
In addition to being able to supplement one’s income, one of the main reasons so many WNBA players go overseas in the winter is that it provides them with an opportunity to take part in high-level competition year-round. As it currently stands, the WNBA season, lasts, at most, half the year, leaving players to find other places to improve while not in the W.
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In recent years, Athletes Unlimited has provided some players a short-term U.S.-based alternative in the spring, before the WNBA season begins. And the creation of a new three-on-three venture would appear to allow players with another place to have their skills develop stateside, during a time in which the WNBA is idle.
It’s hard to imagine that the creation of this alternative will cause WNBA players to entirely stop going abroad (especially because in the short-term many have already agreed to contracts for next season). But it also would not be surprising to see more players elect not to play overseas going forward, deciding to play three-on-three instead of for some of the top teams around the world.
With another U.S.-based offseason alternative, WNBA teams could also keep an eye on emerging talent that they might be interested in. — Pickman
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Players say three-on-three experience translates in full-court settings
A number of active WNBA players have taken part in three-on-three competitions with Team USA in recent years. Dallas Wings guard Veronica Burton is among them, and she told The Athletic this past winter about how she felt optimistic the skills she learned in last October’s U23 World Cup, particularly about reading opposing defenses and improving her one-on-one defense, would carry over to the WNBA season.
Las Vegas Aces guard Kelsey Plum played for Team USA in the Tokyo Olympics’ three-on-three competition. She noted that because of the game’s pace, “You can’t really lean on anyone offensively or defensively, you kind of have to figure it out, which is one of the biggest reasons for the development.” — Pickman
What they’re saying
“We’ve all been talking and realizing that we’re missing a moment, having a lot of our players be overseas or not playing basketball (during the offseason),” Stewart said to ESPN. “I think top players, they want to be playing, right? They want to be home, they want to be playing, but it has to make sense. It has to be right and the money has to be right. And I think that’s what Unrivaled is trying to do.”
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“You get to see our faces throughout the year and it’s a chance to just grow women’s basketball,” Collier said. “It’s not necessarily to take away other opportunities, but it’s just a way for players to keep competing, to make money, and to bring fans and bring people close together.”
Required reading
(Photo of Team USA at the 2020 Olympics: Christian Petersen / Getty)
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