Unrivaled started out as a fun yet challenging league for players during the WNBA offseason, but has gained serious traction in the past year or so. With such immense popularity comes growth in the financial side of things, as Unrivaled’s current valuation stands at $650 million. And in the latest episode of Game Recognize Game with Stewie and Myles, Unrivaled co-founder and New York Liberty star Breanna Stewart revealed the true potential of the league’s latest valuation.
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“I think the new valuation, it just shows the potential that we have, really the direction that we’re heading. The valuation of 650 million is competing with the top WNBA teams, and these teams have been around for 30 years. So, just the potential that we have and really exciting to have people backing us constantly.” Stewart told her co-host and NBA star Myles Turner.
Stewart is correct in pointing out how the 3-on-3 league is competing with several WNBA teams in terms of valuation. In fact, Unrivaled’s current valuation leads every single team in the WNBA, except for the Golden State Valkyries, whose valuation stands at $1 billion according to CNBC projections released in May. Most recently, the Connecticut Sun was purchased for $300 million by Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta.
“People talk to me about Unrivaled all the time, and that’s really exciting and excited for the tour stops that we have coming too, so it’s a lot of good things,” Stewart added.
Unrivaled’s new valuation update is thanks to the Series C investors, which includes a list of who’s who in the world of basketball and more.
Ten Pillars Sports Fund, backed by UC Investments, led the Series C funding, while Unrivaled also saw reinvestments from high-profile sports figures like NBA legend Carmelo Anthony, Washington Wizards’ Trae Young, UConn Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma, and former soccer stars Alex Morgan and Servando Carrasco’s venture capital firm, Trybe Ventures.
Myles also asked Stewart about Unrivaled potentially heading to four new cities come next season, to which the Liberty star replied with some “breaking news”.
“Okay, the breaking news that I can give is one of the cities is going to repeat from last year. And then the three others are new. We like some fresh markets, man. Get some more fans following the game.” Stewart revealed.
Unrivaled’s second season was the first time the league stepped out of the 1000-seater Sephora Arena in Miami, which is currently their home base. Unrivaled hosted semifinal playoff games in Brooklyn, New York, while setting a women’s basketball attendance record for Xfinity Mobile Arena, which is in Philadelphia. So, according to Stewart, Unrivaled will visit one of these two cities again.
The increase in travelling to new cities next season also ties in with what Unrivaled CEO Alex Bazzell (Napheesa Collier’s husband) said about expansion and the league moving out of the Sephora Arena by 2028. However, Bazzell would always like the league to provide an “intimate” experience to the fans.
“I’m a big believer in staying ahead of the curve, staying aggressive, and nothing is off the table. Whether that’s format, cities, where we go next, or who we sign. We want to make sure we are making sound, long-term decisions.” Bazzell told ESPN.
Unrivaled won’t be the only active women’s professional basketball league in the offseason. It now faces a challenge in the form of Project B, a new global basketball league Meta and Google executive Grady Burnett and Skype co-founder Geoff Prentice, and led by former WNBA star Alana Beard.
Project B is also planning to launch in January 2027, scheduled to run around the same time as Unrivaled. In terms of players, Unrivaled is already facing competition, as Nneka Ogwumike, Jonquel Jones, and Sophie Cunningham signed with the league alongside former Unrivaled players Kelsey Mitchell and Alana Smith.
Unrivaled is also not far off in terms of star power, having acquired the signature of Minnesota Lynx rookie sensation Olivia Miles. It will be an interesting battle to see which league comes out on top viewership-wise.