Unrivaled League Debuts with Fast-Paced 3-on-3 Women’s Basketball

MIAMI, Fla. — Unrivaled, a new women’s 3-on-3 professional basketball league, tipped off Friday in Miami with a fast-paced, streetball-inspired style aimed at capturing the essence of pickup basketball. Founded by WNBA stars Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier, the league features 36 players competing on a condensed 49.2-foot by 72-foot court, offering a unique twist on traditional basketball.

“This game is rooted in how you would play basketball as a kid on a blacktop,” said Luke Cooper, Unrivaled’s president of basketball operations, in an interview with ESPN. “There’s flow. There’s pace. When you are watching, it feels like you are watching basketball … it’s not a gimmick.”

Unrivaled’s rules differ significantly from both the WNBA and the Olympic 3×3 format. Games consist of three seven-minute quarters, followed by a “winning score” quarter, where the first team to reach a target score—11 points above the leading team’s score after three quarters—wins. Overtime is eliminated, and the league aims to reduce late-game fouls by emphasizing a target score system.

Free throws have also been streamlined. Players fouled on a 2-point attempt take one free throw worth two points, while fouls on 3-point attempts result in a single free throw worth three points. Players foul out after six fouls, but if a team is down to three players, fouled-out players remain in the game but incur technical fouls for additional infractions.

The league’s condensed court and 18-second shot clock are designed to maintain a high tempo. The clock stops only on made baskets in the final 30 seconds of a period, further speeding up gameplay. Unrivaled also announced a 1-on-1 tournament from Feb. 10-14, offering a $250,000 prize to the winner and $10,000 to her 3-on-3 teammates.

Unrivaled’s 36-player pool is divided into six teams, competing in a nine-week round-robin format. The top four teams advance to the playoffs, with games broadcast on TNT, TruTV, and Max. The league aims to provide WNBA players with a stateside offseason option while showcasing a dynamic, fan-friendly style of play.

“We want this to be about basketball,” Cooper added. “You’re just playing to a score, which is honestly the purest form of basketball.”