unparalleledan American basketball league co-founded by WNBA stars Brianna Stewart and Nafisa Collierready for close-up.
After several years, new 3-on-3 women's basketball league will debut Friday night The idea of starting a domestic league arrive Raising player salaries in WNBA offseason No need for them to go overseas.
"Because a lot of players my age or a little older are used to going overseas," Stewart told CBS News. "Now, no, you play in the WNBA. You come to Unrivaled and we'll take care of you. We'll pay you. You. We'll make sure you continue to build your brand.
Collier and Stewart both played for teams overseas: Collier in France, Stewart in Türkiye.
What is Invincible Basketball?
Unrivaled is a new 3-on-3 women's professional basketball league with six teams (6 players per team) competing for the championship.
The league will feature 36 WNBA players, including two co-founders, whose teams will play each other on opening night. Sensational WNBA rookie Angel Reese's team will play Game 2. Other WNBA stars fans can see include Sabrina Ionescu, Satou Sabally, Alyssa Thomas and Arik Ogunbwa Le (Arike Ogunbowale).
“I think I’ll take it all into account in my introduction,” Collier said. "Once the ball goes up, it's a game."
Games will be played on a court that is about 20 feet shorter than a WNBA court.
Unparalleled rules of basketball
There will be three seven-minute quarters and an untimed fourth quarter. Each team will determine a "winning score" based on the team leading after three quarters plus 11 points. For example: If Team X leads 60-55 after three quarters, the first team to reach 71 points will win the game.
"Every game, we're going to have a chance to win," said Unmatched president Alex Bazzell. "That's important to us because after the third quarter, it's no longer a mystery what you need to do."
Only one free throw is awarded when a player commits a shooting foul and its value is equal to the field goal. This means that if a player is fouled while taking a three-point shot, the free throw will count as three points. A free throw after being fouled on a two-point attempt is worth two points, and any situation with 1 is worth one point.
The shot clock players will use in the WNBA will be 18 seconds instead of 24 seconds. Unlike the final minute used in the WNBA, the clock will be stopped during the final 30 seconds of each quarter.
How much is the salary of Invincible Athlete?
Almost all players earn more than $100,000. The average player salary is the highest of any women's sports league. There is more than $8 million in the salary pool.
Players also received equity in the league. The league also hosts a one-on-one tournament in February, with the winner receiving a $250,000 prize. Each player on the winning Unrivaled team will also receive $10,000.
Like WNBA games, the players had a halftime penalty shootout after the morning training. Shakira Austin completed the first task and won $100 for her efforts. She was the youngest player on the Lunar Owls, ranked last, and knew a shorter court meant closer shots.
“It was a great start to the day,” Austin said.
While halftime earnings are the same, players earn significantly more because the league has the highest average salary among professional women's leagues.
How to watch Wushuang
The season runs from Friday to March 17, with games primarily played on Fridays, Saturdays and Mondays. TNT or TruTv will air two games each night. Former WNBA star and basketball analyst Candace Parker will host the studio show during the broadcast.
“I can’t even put into words what it’s going to be like,” Stewart said. "But the truth is, there's so much hype, there's so much content, there's so much talk about opening night and we've worked so hard on and off the court to get to this point. It's nice to go in and show what we've done arrive."
When is the WNBA season?
The WNBA draft will be held on April 14, according to the league. The regular season will begin on May 16, two months after Unrivaled's final game.