Professional women’s basketball returns Friday as the Unrivaled league kicks off its inaugural season — and Chicago Sky star Angel Reese will be at the center of it all as she makes her debut with Rose Basketball Club.
Founded by WNBA stars Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart, Unrivaled is a 3-on-3 league designed to provide players with an offseason outlet for competition and development outside of the WNBA season.
Competition will kick off Friday night with two games, which will include Reese’s Rose side facing off against Vinyl at 7 p.m. CT.
Here’s what to know about the new league.
How the league works
Unrivaled is a 3-on-3 league featuring 36 players separated into six teams: Laces, Lunar Owls, Mist, Phantom, Rose and Vinyl. Each team will play two games every week through March 17. Games will take place on Fridays, Saturdays and Mondays over nine weeks and played at the MediaPro Center in Miami. The top four teams based on record will advance to the playoffs, which begin March 16.
Players are housed in Miami for the duration of the season with access to amenities that include training facilities, a recovery center, content creation studio, personal chefs and player development coaching.
Every team will have a player development coach: Andrew Wade (Laces), DJ Sackmann (Lunar Owls), Phil Handy (Mist), Adam Harrington (Phantom), Nola Henry (Rose), Teresa Weatherspoon (Vinyl). Coaches will focus on winning individual games, but they also will provide players with guidance to improve their game for the upcoming WNBA season.
The average salary for an Unrivaled player is more than $100,000, with players also receiving equity stakes in the league. Each player on the winner’s Unrivaled team will also receive $10,000. The league will host a 1-on-1 tournament in February that will provide players with an additional opportunity to win $250,000.
Rules of the game
Unrivaled will not follow FIBA 3-on-3 rules, instead using a condensed court — 72-feet long, 49.2-feet wide, which is 22 feet shorter and about a foot narrower than a WNBA court — to allow the games to be played full court.
Games will consist of four quarters. The first three quarters will last seven minutes. The final quarter will be played to a winning score, which is 11 points higher than the leading team’s score at the end of the third quarter. For example, if Mist lead the Lunar Owls 45-43 at the end of the third quarter, the first team to reach 56 points would win. This will prevent overtime games and discourage teams from fouling in late-clock situations, a technique that often bogs down traditional 5-on-5 games.
The shot clock will be reduced to 18 seconds from 24 seconds in the WNBA. The clock will also stop on made baskets for the final 30 seconds of each quarter.
Players will take only one free throw for each shooting foul, but free throws will count for the value of the shot being taken. Players still will be limited to six fouls in a game, but Unrivaled is making another crucial change to the rules of fouling out: Once a team goes down to three players, no more players on their roster will be able to foul out. Instead, a player will remain in the game while incurring a technical foul for every additional foul.
Team assignments
Laces: Jackie Young, Tiffany Hayes, Kayla McBride, Alyssa Thomas, Kate Martin, Stef Dolson
Lunar Owls: Napheesa Collier, Courtney Williams, Skylar Diggins-Smith, Allisha Gray, Shakira Austin, Cameron Brink
Mist: Breana Stewart, Dijonai Carrington, Courtney Vandersloot, Jewell Loyd, Aaliyah Edwards, Rickea Jackson
Phantom: Satou Sabally, Marina Mabrey, Brittney Griner, Natasha Cloud, Katie Lou Samuelson, Sabrina Ionescu
Rose: Angel Reese, Chelsea Gray, Brittney Sykes, Kahleah Copper, Azurá Stevens, Lexie Hull
Vinyl: Arike Ogunbowale, Rae Burrell, Rhyne Howard, Aliyah Boston, Jordin Canada, Dearica Hamby
Players to watch
Angel Reese: The only current Sky player in Unrivaled, Reese will be a crucial focal point for the first season of the league. Her performance will be of particular interest to Sky fans after a promising rookie season. Reese has spent the offseason rehabbing her left wrist after surgery and working on ballhandling and shooting efficiency — and also recruiting free agents to Chicago. Unrivaled will be yet another outlet for the star to continue that development.
Kahleah Copper: FThe former Sky star and WNBA champion will team up with Reese on Rose, providing a nostalgic “what could have been” glimpse for Sky fans. The two already have enjoyed poking fun at their shared history in Chicago on social media — but on the court, Reese and Copper could provide a truly deadly combination. Get ready for some pick-and-pop action between the two starting Friday.
Marina Mabrey: After the Sky traded her to the Connecticut Sun at the All-Star break, Mabrey finished the 2025 season on a breakneck streak of high-powered shooting. Her time with the Sky didn’t last two full seasons, but Mabrey made a major impact on the team after former GM/coach James Wade made a debilitating trade to acquire the guard in 2024. This Unrivaled season will continue to showcase how Mabrey can affect winning in the WNBA.
Jewell Loyd: The Lincolnwood native is using the Unrivaled season to make a pitch of her own after requesting a trade from the Seattle Storm this winter. General managers throughout the league are certain to be watching Loyd’s performance as the guard attempts to negotiate a new landing spot for the 2025 season. Paired with Stewart, Jackson and Edwards on the Mist, Loyd will have a strong opportunity to showcase how she can elevate frontcourt play through facilitation and shooting.
Courtney Vandersloot: The longtime Sky star is on the hunt for a new team in free agency this spring after winning the second WNBA championship of her career with the New York Liberty in 2024. After taking a step back in her role with the Liberty last season, Vandersloot is another player who can utilize Unrivaled as a platform to show general managers the consistent value of her playmaking.
How to watch
Every Unrivaled game will be carried on TNT or TruTV after the league struck a three-year deal with Warner Bros. Discovery. The media-rights package is guaranteed for three years, with WBD holding a three-year option. If it is carried to six years, the deal is valued at $100 million, per a Sports Business Journal report.
Whiskey Girl Tavern (6318 N. Clark Street) is the official branded partner for Unrivaled in Chicago. The bar — known for showing women’s sports from the NWSL to the PWHL — will host watch parties for every Unrivaled game this season.
Upcoming games
Friday: Mist vs. Lunar Owls, 6 p.m., TNT; Rose vs. Vinyl, 7 p.m., TNT
Saturday: Phantom vs. Laces, 1 p.m., TruTV; Rose vs. Lunar Owls, 2 p.m., TruTV
Monday: Vinyl vs. Phantom, 7:30 p.m., TNT; Mist vs. Laces, 8:30 p.m., TNT