MIAMI — Napheesa Collier allowed herself a few moments during the player introductions Friday night before Unrivaled’s first game to take it all in.
Laces BC will play Mist BC on Monday in the second week of the Unrivaled league. Laces debuted with an impressive 86-48 beatdown of Phantom BC on Saturday.
The Laces BC vs. Mist BC is one of the two games scheduled for Monday, Jan. 20, in the Unrivaled Tournament. The matchup pits Mist, led by co-founder and New York Liberty star Breanna Stewart, against a Laces BC team featuring Minnesota Lynx guard Kayla McBride.
On the eve of its debut, Unrivaled held a security meeting with its players about their safety. In the past few months, women’s basketball players in college and the WNBA have had to deal with three separate cyber-stalking cases that have gone public.
New York Liberty stars were unable to withstand a fourth quarter comeback in the debut of the new 3-on-3 league.
Unrivaled is a unique opportunity for both free agents and contracted WNBA players hoping to contend in 2025. Relationships are being built on and off the court. Some players are having brutally honest conversations about their experiences with their teams, while others are actively recruiting people to join theirs.
It was a successful opening night doubleheader for Unrivaled, the new 3-on-3 women's basketball league. See the highlights from both games.
In the nightcap, the youthful Vinyl, featuring three under-25 players, beat the veteran Rose. Boston and Rae Burrell played a smaller role, combining to score 19 points, as 2024 Olympic 3x3 women's basketball bronze medalists Rhyne Howard (33 points) and Dearica Hamby (17 points) flourished, but each had meaningful contributions.
Breanna Stewart reflected on Unrivaled's opening night on Friday by sharing a bunch of images from the event on Instagram.
Breanna Stewart and the Mist BC will tip off the Unrivaled 3-on-3 basketball league against the Lunar Owls on Friday.
Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier and New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart, observing winter's dearth of women's professional basketball, put together a league that woul