Starting a new professional sports league is not an easy feat. All things considered, Unrivaled’s inaugural season has been successful so far. Games are airing on TNT, several celebrities are investing, stars are putting on a show, players are earning a lot of money, and WNBA fans love to see it.
The new concept of playing 3-on-3 on a full court with a shorter shot clock makes for fast, high-scoring games and allows players to display their full skill sets. Unrivaled has also already made WNBA free agency incredibly interesting. With so many players all in the same place, players have used the chance to forge new connections and recruit free agents to their teams. If things continue to go this well and fans continue to be engaged, Unrvialed’s future seems incredibly bright.
Nevertheless, Unrivaled is still a new league, and this is only the beginning. There are still plenty of things to learn and improve. This season has already shed light on some of those things.
Unrivaled should sign more relief players in the future
Playing in Unrivaled is an incredible opportunity for WNBA players who do not want to go overseas in the offseason. Nevertheless, it does not yet have priority over the WNBA season, and players are careful to avoid injuries, especially with the fast and physical style of play that characterizes Unrivaled.
That has become clear now that several players have already missed significant time with injuries and even had to skip the 1-on-1 tournament. Marina Mabrey, for example, has not played at all yet and Jackie Young, Alyssa Thomas, and Tiffany Hayes, among others, had to miss time with injuries as well. Recently, the league even chose to cancel a game between the Laces and Vinyl because too many players were unavailable.
Unrivaled already figured out a way to address this issue by offering relief player contracts. Anyone who signs a relief player contract belongs to the league rather than one of the six set rosters and floats around between teams to fill in for injured players. So far, Natisha Hiedeman, Kiki Jefferson, and NaLyssa Smith have signed relief player contracts.
In future seasons, Unrivaled should offer those contracts to more players before the beginning of the season to allow their stars the opportunity to rest whenever they need to and avoid having to cancel or reschedule games due to injuries.
Signing more relief players will not only be a way to ensure that there are always enough players available, but it also means that Unrivaled can offer more players a chance to compete in the offseason without having to travel overseas.