Unrivaled Founder Says Growing League Has ‘No Conflict’ With WNBA

INDIANAPOLIS — Downtown Indianapolis is fully decorated for the WNBA All-Star Weekend. But in an unassuming warehouse less than a mile from Gainbridge Fieldhouse sits a makeshift headquarters for Unrivaled, the 3-on-3 women’s professional basketball league that played its inaugural season in January.

Unrivaled co-founder Alex Bazzell was present at the league’s HQ on Thursday, while his two co-founders, Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier, were not. The two were attending WNBA events, including the league’s first in-person CBA meeting with the Women’s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA).

Collier, who is Bazzell’s wife, and Stewart have received backlash for holding WNBPA executive committee roles while simultaneously running Unrivaled. Earlier this month, Collier responded to a viral tweet accusing the duo of a “conflict of interest.”

Bazzell addressed the criticisms Thursday, saying Unrivaled’s ownership group has never looked at the league as a “competitive tool” against the WNBA.

“There’s so many positives from us both being in existence. I tell people all the time: The WNBA continuing to grow and thrive helps our league. … I’m hopeful they come to a CBA agreement,” Bazzell told reporters, including Front Office Sports, on Thursday.

He added that no players are “more equipped” than Stewart and Collier to help lead the WNBPA in its negotiations because of their experience with Unrivaled.

“[They] know what goes on in the thought process of what goes on in [pro sports leagues] and where revenue comes from,” Bazzell said.

Despite Unrivaled’s nascency, it was able to offer players an average salary of $220,000 in its first season—nearly double the average annual pay of WNBA players. Salary is the crux of the divide between the WNBPA and its union, which had more than 40 players present during Thursday’s meeting. Several Unrivaled players were in the meeting, including Angel Reese and Natasha Cloud, but also a few who were not in the first season, like Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Plum.

When Unrivaled launched in January, Collier said the timing of the league’s launch and the WNBA CBA negotiations was a “perfect opportunity.”

“With the timing with the CBA, I think it’s just the perfect time to kind of blow the lid off of what our image of women’s sports and how you treat women’s athletes is,” Collier said. “ I think we’re seeing what we like here and seeing what is possible, and we’re going to take that to the table when we go.”

Whether Unrivaled was mentioned in Thursday’s meeting is unclear. When asked by FOS whether he had an idea of what happened in the CBA meeting, Bazzell said: “I have heard, but I’m not privy to share.”

Expansion Plans

The WNBA announced three new expansion teams last month. Unrivaled is also looking towards expansion.

Bazzell revealed that the league is expected to add six additional players to its pool. However, the league will not add to its 36 roster spots. 

“We’re adding six additional players that are always in market,” Bazzell said. “We want to continue to add roster spots, but we want to do it thoughtfully.”

It’s still unclear how the six additional players will participate in the league, though it’s likely they will fill in for injured players, which was a problem the league faced in Year 1. Bazzell revealed that the league’s plan is to add two expansion teams in the 2027 season, bringing the total up from six to eight.

Bazzell also said the league is looking to play games in cities outside Miami, where it has an 850-seat arena. “We’re looking at a number of venues. We’re close to finalizing one that will come out shortly,” Bazzell said. 

Unrivaled is expected to make additional announcements this weekend.