Napheesa Collier, Minnesota Lynx star and Unrivaled co-founder, announced on social media Thursday that the 3-on-3 women’s league set to begin play in January will be expanding from 30 to 36 players.
“We’re able to do this because we outperformed our financial projections, so now we get to do something that we wanted to do in the future, which is give more people spots in Unrivaled,” Collier said.
Currently, 30 players have committed to the league with Lexie Hull, Aaliyah Edwards, Kate Martin and Aliyah Boston the latest additions announced this week. They join Unrivaled co-founders Collier and Breanna Stewart, Arike Ogunbowale, Jewell Loyd, Brittney Griner, Kelsey Plum and Angel Reese, among others.
The expanded player spots will now see six teams with six-player rosters play 14 games each, with the season ending with a single-elimination Final Four. Games will be played on a 70-foot court and feature an 18-second shot clock, three 7-minute periods and a final 15-point runoff in the last quarter.
There will be an All-Star event Feb. 10, as well as a one-on-one tournament featuring all 30 players. The winner will receive a $250,000 prize.
League play will take place between Jan. 17 through March 17 in Miami, with 45 games being broadcast in prime time following a media rights deal with TNT Sports.
Last week, Laces, Mist, Rose, Lunar Owls, Phantom and Vinyl were announced as the six team names.
The league will also offer big salaries to players, with each player receiving a minimum of $100,000 for the season. The total payout for the league will be around $3 million. The six-figure salaries are likely to be the highest average in U.S. professional women’s team sports.
Two WNBA stars — A’ja Wilson and Caitlin Clark — have yet to say whether they will take part in Unrivaled.
“We’re always going to have a roster spot for Caitlin Clark,” Unrivaled president Alex Bazzell told Sportico. “We’re not applying a full court press the way people think. We are letting her decompress from basketball. … She knows that we have a spot for her when she’s ready.”
