Unrivaled’s inaugural season is in the books, with more than 40 WNBA players participating in the professional women’s basketball 3-on-3 league in Miami.
First, many wondered if star players would be willing to spend their offseasons in Unrivaled — a concern that was quickly quelled when big names like Angel Reese, Arike Ogunbowale, Kahleah Copper, Chelsea Gray, Sabrina Ionescu, and Brittney Griner committed.
Then, many wondered what the Unrivaled would look like and whether full-court 3-on-3 basketball would work. A competitive Unrivaled season — which began with a Skylar Diggins-Smith game-winner and ended with a Chelsea Gray Finals MVP — demonstrated that this innovative format of basketball was highly entertaining.
The Rose club, led by first-time head coach Nola Henry, won the championship, thanks to some massive performances by Chelsea Gray. Napheesa Collier, one of the league’s two founders, was named MVP after averaging a league-best 25.7 points per game for the Lunar Owls. Collier also one the 1v1 tournament, besting Washington Mystics rookie Aaliyah Edwards in three games. Angel Reese won Defensive Player of the Year after a superb season with the Rose Club.
Unrivaled’s slew of injuries became a prominent point of concern
One damper on the league was the number of injuries players suffered — Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, for example, suffered a meniscus injury that will keep her out of basketball activities for five to six months. Most of the injuries don’t appear to be long-term, but players like Marina Mabrey, Jackie Young, Alyssa Thomas, Arike Ogunbowale, and Kate Martin all missed substantial time with various ailments.
Laney-Hamilton’s injury is most notable because it could keep her out of the entire upcoming WNBA season, depending on how her recovery progresses. In theory, the New York Liberty could choose to suspend her, which would mean she would not be guaranteed her $185,000 salary for the 2025 season.
However, Annie Costabile of Front Office Sports reported on Sunday that all Year 1 contracts offered “what amounted to injury insurance.”
That means, if a player was injured and therefore unable to play in the WNBA and collect their salary, Unrivaled would pay their WNBA salary. Costabile also reported that the league shared that it had a lower injury rate than the WNBA.
However, injuries became a prominent part of the discussion, given that when a few players on a given team suffered injuries, teams had to turn to relief player contracts.
In addition to the injury insurance clause, Costabile reported that Unrivaled ‘almost’ broke even, and made over $27 million in revenue in its inaugural season. Next year, the league plans to hit the road and play games in a multitude of cities outside of Miami as well.
The fact that contracts included injury insurance isn’t totally surprising, considering how player-first Unrivaled’s concept was from the jump. But it does provide further assurance for players who are considering playing in Unrivaled next season but are concerned about potentially jeopardizing their WNBA contracts.
