From the outside looking in, it appears that Unrivaled has a lot of competition when it comes to professional basketball in the WNBA’s offseason: Athletes Unlimited, leagues in Europe, Australia, and Asia, and soon Project B. Unrivaled President Alex Bazzell doesn’t see these leagues as competition in a bad way. They are necessary opportunities for the many women trying to make a living as basketball players.
“We have, right now, 54 players from the WNBA, which means that there’s another 100 plus that are going to be hopefully playing, competing, and trying to also earn a living,” Bazzell said when he appeared on We Need To Talk with Alicia Jay. “So, we’re not upset that these opportunities exist. They should exist.”
Unrivaled, which was founded by Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart, has always been about the players. It is an opportunity for players to play against top competition in the offseason without having to travel a lot, develop, and make good money. But Unrivaled cannot offer those opportunities to every player who needs them. Even after adding two teams and a development pool, many players need to rely on other leagues for their offseason development and pay. Plus, not everyone wants to play three-on-three.
Project B already signed some Unrivaled players
While WNBA players need different options in the offseason, many of these leagues are competing for the same top-tier talent. Unrivaled has been very successful when it comes to signing current stars and has already locked a new generation of college stars into NIL deals that could soon become contracts to play in the league.
Project B, a new 5-on-5 league that will travel around Europe and Asia and offers players big salaries and equity in the league, has also been very adamant about chasing star power. So far, it has largely appealed to older stars, though. Nneka Ogwumike, Alyssa Thomas, Jonquel Jones, Jewell Loyd, Sophie Cunningham, Li Meng, Kelsey Mitchell, Leonie Fiebich, and Mai Yamamoto all signed with Project B. Kamilla Cardoso, Janelle Salaün, and Juste Jocyte are the only young, rising stars to sign with the league.
Meanwhile, Paige Bueckers, Angel Reese, Sonia Citron, Kiki Iriafen, Aliyah Boston, Shakira Austin, Dominique Malonga, Rickea Jackson, Cam Brink, Saniya Rivers, and Aaliyah Edwards are all playing in Unrivaled.
Project B managed to sign some players who had signed with Unrivaled before, though. Jewell Loyd played in Unrivaled last year, and Alyssa Thomas and Kelsey Mitchell are competing in the league this season. Since Project B’s expected schedule conflicts with Unrivaled, Mitchell and Thomas won’t be back for another season in Miami.
By signing Janelle Salaün, Juste Jocyte, and Leonie Fiebich, Project B also robbed EuroLeague of some of its young stars. Kamilla Cardoso and Li Meng usually star in the Chinese league in the winter, and Mai Yamamoto plays in Japan’s top league.