With less than two weeks until the inaugural games of the Unrivaled Basketball League, here is a quick rundown of the flow of events that have led to the realization of the league.
What is the Unrivaled Basketball League
This is a professional 3×3 women’s basketball league for WNBA players that aims to reduce the rate at which players have to seek alternative leagues outside the country to earn more money. The league aims to offer the best sponsorship and dealership opportunities to the 36 players, and the inaugural season offers ownership rights to each player participating. The tournament has six teams, each with six players.
Flow of Events
2023: Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart announce the inception of the new league.
May 2024: The Unrivaled Basketball League is officially announced.
June 27, 2024: Micky Lawler is announced as the Unrivaled Commissioner. She served as the Women’s Tennis Association President from 2015-2023.
July 9, 2024: Stewart is announced as the league’s first player.
August 2024: Paige Bueckers signs a contract with the Unrivaled Basketball League under the NIL deal, making her the only college athlete with ownership equity in a professional league.
October 16, 2024: The league announced a partnership with TNT Sports, where the league’s regular season games will be broadcast.
October 24, 2024: Unrivaled announced the six teams: Laces BC, Lunar Owls, Mist BC, Phantom BC, Rose BC, and Vinyl BC.
October 31st, 2024: The league announced it was expanding to have six more players added to the league.
November 15, 2024: Unrivaled announced the six coaches for the teams. These are Teresa Weatherspoon (Vinyl BC), Phil Handy (Mist BC), Nola Henry (Rose BC), DJ Sackmann (Lunar Owls BC), Andrew Wade (Laces BC) and Adam Harrington (Phantom BC).
November 18, 2024: The league announced State Farm as its league home and auto insurance company. It also announced Ticket Master as its official ticketing master.
November 20, 2024: Rosters were announced.
Laces BC: Kelsey Plum, Courtney Williams, Kayla McBride, Kate Martin, Alyssa Thomas and Stefanie Dolson.
Lunar Owls: Skylar Diggins-Smith, Natasha Cloud, Allisha Gray, Shakira Austin and one of the two wild-card spots.
Rose BC: Chelsea Gray, Kahleah Copper, Brittney Sykes, Lexie Hull, Angel Reese and Azurá B. Stevens.
Mist BC: Breanna Stewart, Jewell Loyd, Courtney Vandersloot. DiJonai Carrington, Rickea Jackson and Aaliyah Edwards.
Phantom: Jackie Young, Marina Mabrey, Tiffany Hayes, Satou Sabally, Brittney Griner and a wildcard.
Vinyl BC: Arike Ogunbowale, Rhyne Howard, Jordin Canada, Rae Burrell, Dearica Hamby and Aliyah Boston.
December 3rd, 2024: The league announced Wilson as its official game ball manufacturer.
December 10, 2024: The league announced Under Armour as its official uniform partner and performance outfitter.
December 23, 2024: Sabrina Ionescu is announced as the last piece to the Unrivaled athletes.
January 2, 2025: Team jerseys are revealed.
January 3, 2025: The league announces a multi-year partnership with Sephora as its official beauty partner.
January 17, 2025: Games kick off in Miami.
What to Note
The games will be played in a 3v3 format on a smaller full court with two hoops. It will follow the traditional four quarters of basketball, each lasting seven minutes. The games will be aired on TNT and TruTV and can be streamed on Max.
With the games coming closer, more events are bound to take place. Subscribe to Winning Her Way to follow up with the latest events leading up to the tournament.
