MEDLEY, Fla. – Skylar Diggins-Smith scored the first game-winning shot in Unrivaled history, creating a frenzy as her teammates and coaches excitedly ran from the bench to the other side of the court to celebrate.
Unrivaled – the new 3-on-3 women’s basketball league started by WNBA stars Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart – may be on to something with its target score rule to decide winners in the fourth quarter.
If Unrivaled games are close, like Friday’s league opener where Diggins-Smith scored two 3s late to help the Lunar Owls beat the Mist, they have the potential to end with a thrilling finish and postgame celebration to match.
“That’s the thing about this game, you can come back at any time,” said Diggins-Smith, the WNBA and former Notre Dame star.
Added Collier: “It’s so entertaining. Like every game feels crucial, high stakes, because you’re gonna have a game-winner every single game.”
The finish was exactly what Unrivaled needed to deliver on its first night on the air.
The league hopes to set new standards in women’s sports with higher salaries and team equity for players. On the court, it offers fast-paced action from players on a 70-foot court. The first game was one shot shy of 100 field-goal attempts, while 89 shots were lifted in the second game. The teams play to a target winning score, known as the Elam Ending, 11 points higher than the leading team’s score before the fourth quarter to incite decisive finishes.
Steve Nash and Alex Morgan were among at least 850 fans packed inside Wayfair Arena, the name given to the production warehouse setup outfitted as a basketball facility just 7 miles from Miami International Airport, delivering an intimate but high-stakes feel to both matchups.
Collier had 27 points and 11 rebounds in the Lunar Owls’ 84-80 win, while Stewart had six points and 14 rebounds for the Mist in the first game. Rhyne Howard led the Vinyl to a 79-73 victory over Angel Reese and the Rose in the second game.
“The competitive fire is in the gym. It’s in the arena,” said Rose star Chelsea Gray of the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces. “Everybody feels it from the people playing to the fans. Everybody’s in tune with it.”
We’ll see if the ratings from the opening night translate on a busy sports weekend, where Unrivaled will surely be, well, rivaled by other major sports also in action. The league faces an uphill climb trying to keep fans glued to their screens during the nine-week season.
During Unrivaled’s second slate Saturday, which will feature Sabrina Ionescu and Brittney Griner in action, Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs will begin their pursuit of a third consecutive Super Bowl with their first playoff game of the NFL postseason (4:30 p.m. ET).
At the same time, the U.S. men’s soccer team is playing Venezuela (3 p.m. ET) as it begins the long road to the 2026 World Cup under new coach Mauricio Pochettino. The USMNT game will be broadcast on TNT, while Unrivaled will be on TruTv — and both will be vying for streaming viewers on Max.
Unrivaled won’t play games on Sundays, avoiding a clash with the Super Bowl on Feb. 9, but it’s up against the college football national championship game between Ohio State and Notre Dame on Monday night to close its opening weekend.
Unrivaled president Alex Bazzell, who is married to Collier, said he’s been in communication with TNT and Warner Bros. Discovery officials about what Unrivaled would need from a viewership standpoint to be a success. He believes the league already has great traction from its social media and marketing efforts before the opener.
“We aren’t expecting WNBA viewership numbers. I think what we’re trying to do is get better from week to week, put out a great product, focus on the athletes. If we do that, I think good things will happen,” Bazzell said. “We put ourselves in a great position to be successful right away. But it’s a marathon. We’re not running out there from Day 1 trying to get millions of viewers out of the gate. It would be tremendous. But we’re going to be here for a while.
‘We have some time to build this and get this momentum rolling.’
Unrivaled will probably catch its stride between the Super Bowl and March Madness, and will wrap on St. Patrick’s Day. But it’ll constantly be up against NBA, NHL, college basketball and soccer games during its brief season.
Friday was a great start for Unrivaled, and the direction it wants to take as an aspiring league.
Stewart scored the first points, and dished the first assist in league history, while Jewell Loyd scored 30 for the Mist. Collier notched the first double-double in the first game, while Reese had a routine double-double in the second game.
Unrivaled team shirts and hats flew off the racks, thanks to enthusiastic fans.
DJ Heat, a disc-jockey based in Washington, D.C., kept the game flow upbeat with instrumental beats during the game.
Diggins-Smith’s game-winner had more than 350,000 views on X and Instagram.
“We’re like Christopher Columbus landing on American shores, thinking it’s India. We, at least, have a better compass,” said Unrivaled commissioner Micky Lawler, the former WTA president for nearly a decade. “I think our game looks and feels differently, but it’s nevertheless a very important game.”
The mood at the league’s apartment building in nearby Doral — where players, coaches and league staffers are staying — may be slightly contentious after a heated first day. But the players say they’ll adjust accordingly after the heat of competition.
“I don’t like it. I thought I was going to be OK. I’m not OK,” Gray said after her team’s loss. “We’ll see. I mean, competitor, it’s hard. I’ll probably put my earphones in.”