Stewart and Collier meet as unrivaled business partners

WNBA stars Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier are united in their quest to change the landscape of professional women's basketball with their new venture, Unrivaled, a Miami-based 3-on-3 league set to launch in January. But the business partners are temporarily suspending their alliance as their teams meet in the 2024 WNBA Finals.

“It shows what we do,” Stewart said after Wednesday’s practice. “It's great for both of us to be in the final and see the release of Unrivaled in a few months. It will be hard fought in the final and it will be hard in Miami too.”

Collier's Lynx took a 1-0 lead with a thrilling 95-93 overtime win in Brooklyn on Thursday night, thanks in part to a missed Stewart free throw with 0.8 seconds left in the fourth quarter that tied the game at the end of regulation Playing time remained a draw.

The former UConn All-Americans, who helped Team USA win its eighth straight gold medal in Paris last summer, are behind the concept of the new alternative league, led by commissioner and former longtime tennis executive Micky Lawler.

“With her being (also a mother), obviously USA Basketball, and now mutual business partners, we have rekindled our bond since college,” Stewart said of Collier. “I am pleased with the success she has achieved on and off the court and expect it to be an uphill battle.”

Stewart and the New York Liberty are seeking their first championship in their 28-year franchise history, while Collier and the Minnesota Lynx are seeking their first title since Maya Moore led them to the championship in 2017. This year's matchup between the two Unrivaled co-founders comes during a banner year for the WNBA that highlighted the overall growth of women's sports.

Unrivaled is a continuation of this development as sponsors and investors capitalize on the momentum of women's basketball. The six-team league offers star players the opportunity to remain in the United States during the WNBA offseason. In the past, many had to play abroad.

“The basketball gods are at work,” Alex Bazzell, president of Unrivaled, said in an interview. “It's an exciting time. Above all, it shows the work the two have done as athletes and the extra work they have done that traditional athletes don't do, which is more gratifying because they had more to do to balance it out. ”

Bazzell, who coaches WNBA and NBA players, plans to use his trip to New York not only to support his wife, Collier, but also to attend meetings and engage with Unrivaled stakeholders and potential partners. He says the league plans to announce a list of new brand partners and investors who have signed on before opening night on Jan. 17.

“You're never done raising funds (but) we're kind of past the active investor phase,” said Bazzell, who envisions the individual league eventually moving to a more traditional model and selling franchises to individual owners. “It’s not a vision that comes together in a day, but we don’t need to rush the process. It’s just a matter of eliminating options for what lies ahead.”

Unrivaled, which pays its players six-figure salaries and offers equity in the league, plans to use the Finals as a unique moment to draw attention to the emerging league. There are plans to launch merchandise items as well as marketing campaigns spanning social media and other platforms.

Other players from Unrivaled will also take part in the finals: Liberty guard Courtney Vandersloot and Lnyx guards Courtney Williams and Kayla McBride.

In recent months, Unrivaled has managed to sign additional stars such as Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner and another UConn All-American in Paige Bueckers, who is expected to join in 2026 as she will be on college basketball duty in January 2025. While the league has also signed the Chicago Sky's standout rookie Angel Reese, it is still pending approval from WNBA Rookie of the Year Caitlin Clark. The Indiana Fever star is expected to take a break from basketball this offseason, but has not publicly announced whether she will participate.

“You have to treat each player differently, and that’s the advantage of not having collective bargaining,” Bazell added. “For us, this season is not over yet, but we will respect all her wishes… It is not a decision we make on behalf of any player and we can only give what we think is right,” a favorable package that “It’s hard to turn down.”

Nonetheless, the league is poised to finalize media rights and venue agreements soon while closely monitoring the next development behind the WNBA's current collective bargaining agreement. Unrivaled's benefits are expected to be factored into negotiations if the W or the Players Association actually exits the current CBA before next month's deadline.

Given the sharp rise in several business categories since the last deal was ratified in 2020, players would begin discussions on a new leveraged deal.

With the WNBA Finals as a backdrop, there are important dates for the women's professional basketball world – including the CBA deadline and the opening night of Unrivaled. But for now, Stewart and Collier are concentrating on the most important series of the year. The two business partners stand in each other's way to refill their trophy cases.

Only one of them will enter the preseason press round and the first Unrivaled season with full swagger.