• Loading stock data...
Tuesday, July 15, 2025

Unrivaled Is Built for Its Mom Athletes With On-Site Nannies

The new 3-on-3 league has nannies to watch players’ children before, during, and after practices and games.

Sep 10, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; LA Sparks forward Dearica Hamby poses with daughter Amaya before the game against the Connecticut Sun at Crypto.com Arena
Kirby Lee/Imagn Images

MEDLEY, Fla. — For all the glitz and glam of the new 3-on-3 league Unrivaled, one practical element is standing out to a number of players: nannies.

Unrivaled is founded by WNBA players Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart, both of whom are mothers. Inside Unrivaled’s Florida complex of an 850-person capacity show court, weight room, makeup room, and hallway designed for tunnel walks is also a childcare center staffed with professional nannies. It’s open to players before, during, and after their practices and games.

“That was really important to us from the beginning to make sure that there was reliable, responsible childcare for people, because we know what it’s like to not have that,” Collier, who plays for the league’s Lunar Owls Basketball Club, said Thursday. Her husband, Alex Bazzell, is the president of Unrivaled, and the father of their daughter, two-year-old, Mila.

Collier says the league worked with a company that vets nannies in advance. It’s the same one Brittney Griner said she uses.

“It shows that they care,” Griner, of Phantom Basketball Club, said Thursday. “It’s hard to be away from your kid or trust somebody to watch your kid—that’s the biggest trust you can give somebody. And for them to go out and find the right people where we feel comfortable bringing our kids here, that means a lot to me.”

The WNBA is in the midst of negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement, and players including Angel Reese have been outspoken about bringing elements of Unrivaled’s setup into the new deal.

“The nanny stuff, that’s gotta be a big thing,” Chelsea Gray of Rose Basketball Club said when asked about priorities for the new CBA. “We have a league full of mothers.”

The current WNBA CBA includes a stipend of up to $750 per month during the regular season (maximum of $5,000 annually) for any player who has a child 13 or  younger living with them for a significant amount of time. The league also offers family-planning benefits for veteran players, and requires accommodations for nursing mothers. Phoenix has offered a childcare room for years, but despite all the growth in women’s sports in recent years, it’s not common for teams to offer nannies.

“It’s not that it doesn’t exist, but I think every organization should put a little bit more emphasis on it if your players have kids,” Dearica Hamby of Vinyl Basketball Club told Front Office Sports Thursday during Unrivaled’s media day.

Hamby (above) is currently suing the WNBA and her former team, the Las Vegas Aces, claiming they discriminated against her while she was pregnant after the 2022 title-winning season. Much of the suit centers on Aces coach Becky Hammon, who denies Hamby’s claims.

Hamby said her eldest, Amaya, will be traveling back and forth to Miami because she’s still in school, and the player is getting extra help from her own mother. But not every player has that setup, she said, so Unrivaled offering nannies is “incredible.”

“ I think everybody already kind of had a [childcare] system in place, so to say, but I think it’s just the [league’s] intention and the dedication to want to do it,” Hamby said. “The support is there, and I think that’s what means the most.”

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

Brittney Griner and Caitlin Clark
exclusive

‘Good Morning America’ Will Air From WNBA All-Star in First

The All-Star Game’s relevance has exploded with the league in recent years.
Jan 26, 2025; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs guard Trey Smith (65) against the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.

Trey Smith and Chiefs Are Up Against Tuesday’s Franchise Tag Deadline

Smith was taken by the Chiefs in the sixth round of the 2021 draft.
WNBA

Portland WNBA Team Will Be Fire, Bigger Choices Loom

The WNBA’s 15th franchise is bringing back the Fire.
Joy Taylor

Joy Taylor Out As FS1 Armageddon Ends Three Shows

All three shows were struggling to attract audiences.

Featured Today

May 31, 2025; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Sydney McLaughin-Levrone (USA) reacts before the women's 100m hurdles during the Grand Slam Track Philadelphia at Franklin Field
exclusive

Track’s New Money Is Running Into Old Problems

The sport’s big-money era has hit some speed bumps in 2025.
Bobbleheads are seen at Vintage Indy Sports, Tuesday, April 29, 2025 in Speedway. The local sports memorabilia store opened recently.
July 12, 2025

Baseball’s Bobbleheads Are the Center of the Collectibles Universe

Baseball’s most important keepsake drives long lines—and big business.
Rimouski, QC - JUNE 1: Final Game of the 2025 Memorial Cup between the Medicine Hats Tigers and the London Knights on June 1, 2025, at the Colisée Financière Sun Life in Rimouski, Qc.
July 11, 2025

CHL Is Facing a ‘Pandora’s Box’ of Questions Amid NCAA Talent Departure

As players defect to college, the Canadian Hockey League won’t cede ground.
Jun 28, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh (29) bats during the game between the Texas Rangers and the Seattle Mariners at Globe Life Field.
July 9, 2025

The Torpedo Bat Business Is Still Going Strong: ‘Here to Stay’

Demand for the oddly shaped bats has stayed strong across the sport.

MLBPA Chief Says League Missing Chance to Build On Success

Union leaders again call out perceived moves toward a salary cap.
[Subscription Customers Only] Jul 13, 2025; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Chelsea FC defender Reece James (24) lifts the trophy as he celebrates with teammates as U.S. president Donald Trump after the final of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup at MetLife Stadium.
July 14, 2025

Four Things We Learned From the $1 Billion Club World Cup

FIFA now turns to U.S. World Cup next summer.
The 153rd Open Championship at the Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland
July 14, 2025

Open Championship Considers Ireland: Portrush ‘Will Open’ Gates

Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland is hosting this week’s tournament.
Sponsored

Game On: Portfolio Players Stories, Brought to You by E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley

Dealmaker Jeffrey Kaplan maps the evolution of sports as an asset class
July 14, 2025

NFL’s New Headsets Are Designed to Survive Coach Tantrums

New NFL coaching headsets underwent “extensive drop testing.”
July 14, 2025

MLB’s HR Derby’s $1M Prize Tops Salaries for Three Rising Stars

Three derby competitors could more than double their 2025 salary.
July 13, 2025

Nationals Take HS Star Willits No. 1 in MLB Draft, Eye Potential..

Washington shocks observers by selecting a 17-year-old high schooler.
July 13, 2025

Chelsea Wins $110M in FIFA’s Revamped $1B Club World Cup

Chelsea defeated Paris Saint-Germain in Sunday’s final match.