Unrivaled Women's Basketball Preview
How the new 3 on 3 league works, where to watch, who'll play with the Sky's Angel Reese + more.
Breanna Stewart & Napheesa Collier’s new three-on-three league will tip off one week from today (1/17), and Chicago forward and rookie-of-the-year runner-up Angel Reese is expected to make her return to the court after missing the final 6 games of the 2024 WNBA season due to an injury to her non-shooting wrist. With a load of attention to be thrown on Reese and the rest of the players chosen to compete in the league’s inaugural season, let’s dive into how the league works, the season schedule, Reese’s team, where to watch and more.
How does the Unrivaled league work?
Unrivaled’s primary format is 3-on-3 basketball. Unlike fellow winter league Athletes Unlimited (a 5-on-5 league), the primary format of Unrivaled does not involve an individual element and teams will not change from week to week. Instead, the team rosters—which have already been announced—will remain the same throughout the nine weeks of play.
During those 9 weeks, each team will play 14 games—with two games scheduled for each “game week.” Each game week includes a trio of league-wide double headers with two games each on Friday, Saturday and Monday night. At the end of week 8 on March 10th, the top four teams in the standings will advance to the semi-finals on Sunday, March 16th with the winners of those games playing in the league championship match on Monday, March 17th—two nights before the 2025 Women’s NCAA Tournament tips off.
The one exception to this schedule? The fourth round of 3-on-3 games which are stretched across game weeks 4 and 5. After the typical doubleheaders on Friday, February 7th and Saturday, February 8th, the league will have action on Monday the 10th, but it will be in the form of a stand-alone 1-on-1 tournament that offers $250,000 to the winner and continues with latter rounds on Thursday, February 13th and Friday, February 14th. The final doubleheader of 3-on-3 action for round 4 will then follow on Tuesday, February 18th with a return to the normal weekly schedule a few nights later on Friday the 21st for the fifth round of games.
Other unique aspects of the league? A smaller court (70*50) compared to the W’s standard (94*50) that still has two goals (unlike the single basket used for FIBA’s 3-on-3 competitions) and a shorter quarter length (7 minutes).
Which team is Angel Reese playing on?
The Sky standout will play for Rose BC alongside the Aces’ Chelsea Gray, the Mystics’ Brittney Sykes, the Mercury’s Kahleah Copper, the Fever’s Lexie Hull, and the Sparks’ Azurá Stevens.
Rose BC will be coached by Nola Henry who spent the last two seasons as a player development coach under Curt Miller with the Los Angeles Sparks.
Are any other former Sky players involved?
Aside from Reese’s Rose BC teammates Copper and Stevens, there’s two more members of Chicago’s 2021 WNBA championship team playing in the league. Center Stefanie Dolson will play for Laces BC and guard Courtney Vandersloot will play with Liberty teammate Stewart for Mist BC.
Marina Mabrey (Phantom BC) and Courtney Williams (Lunar Owls) are also signed to play in the league after departing the Sky over the course of the last 12 months while former head coach Teresa Weatherspoon will coach Vinyl BC.
What are some key dates to know for Reese + Rose BC?
Fri, Jan. 17: Rose’s Opening Game Against Weatherspoon & Vinyl BC (7:15 PM CT)
Mon, Jan. 27: Reese & Rose BC Face Alyssa Thomas & Laces BC (7:15 PM)
Mon, Feb. 10: 1-on-1 Tournament Opening Round (6:00 PM)
Thu, Feb. 13: 1-on-1 Tournament Second Round (5:30 PM)
Fri, Feb. 14: 1-on-1 Tournament Championship Rounds (6:30 PM)
Fri, Feb. 21: Reese & Rose BC Face Collier’s Lunar Owls (6:00 PM)
Sat, Mar. 1: Reese & Rose BC Face Stewart’s Mist BC (6:00 PM)
Mon, Mar. 10: Rose’s Final Regular Season Finale Against Vinyl BC (7:15 PM)
You can find a full schedule of Reese & Rose BC’s games (plus the rest of the games this offseason involving Sky players) here.
Where will games be broadcast?
Each game week’s Friday & Monday doubleheader will be broadcast on TNT with games generally tipping off at 6:00 PM and 7:15 PM CT.
The Saturday doubleheader will be broadcast on truTV with games generally tipping off at 5:00 PM and 6:00 PM CT.
All games on all three normal days of play will also be streamed via the MAX streaming service.
Broadcast details for February’s 1-on-1 tournament are still yet to be announced; expect these to take shape around Turner’s plans for the NBA’s All-Star Weekend festivities with TNT likely to want viewers to be able to watch both the annual Rising Stars game (which they broadcast on All-Star Friday) and the final stages of Unrivaled’s much-anticipated 1-on-1 tournament.