Unrivaled 3×3 cashes in with $340M valuation

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Unrivaled 3×3 league’s valuation soars to $340M

Business is booming for Unrivaled 3×3 Basketball, with Monday’s Series B investment round valuing the upstart offseason league at $340 million — up 10 times its initial May 2024 valuation.

• Founded by WNBA stars Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier in 2023, Unrivaled’s most recent investors include Serena Ventures, Warner Bros. Discovery, and soccer legend Alex Morgan’s Trybe Ventures, with additional buy-ins from NBA players Trae Young, Franz Wagner, and Moritz Wagner plus sports executive Sam Rapoport.

Big picture: With $35 million raised well ahead of tip-off, the competition’s winter 2025 debut season reportedly came close to breaking even via TV and sponsorship deals — even while paying the highest average salaries in women’s team sports.

• “Because we outperformed our revenue expectations in season one by almost doubling it, it allows us to move a bit quicker,” Unrivaled president Alex Bazzell told ESPN yesterday.

• Unrivaled is planning to use some of the funding to expand its Miami venue, building out a new practice court alongside 150 additional spectator seats.

What’s next: As the league prepares for its second season, the 3×3 venture anticipates turning a profit in 2026, all while increasing pay and equity for participating players.

• “[Players] are largely majority shareholders,” Bazzell said. “They are going to reap the benefits of these growing valuations.”

2025 WNBA MVP race comes down to the wire

The 2025 WNBA season’s best and brightest have just one week left to pad their resumes for the league’s end-of-year awards, and the MVP race is tighter than ever.

• Unanimous 2024 MVP A’ja Wilson has emerged as the season’s hottest hand post-All-Star break, with No. 3 Aces powerhouse facing competition from the No. 1 Lynx’s Napheesa Collier and No. 4 Mercury’s Alyssa Thomas.

Tracking odds: Collier appeared to be the consensus MVP frontrunner after averaging near-50-40-90 efficiency through the first half of 2025.

• But Wilson gained speed after the Lynx leader was sidelined with an early-August ankle injury, outpacing Collier to top the league in points (23.8) and blocks per game (2.2), while sitting second in rebounds per game (10.1).

• Wilson also claims this season’s recent head-to-head advantage, scoring 31 points to Collier’s 12 in Las Vegas’ 97-87 victory over Minnesota last week.

Dark horse rising: Thomas has also continued to excel, leading the WNBA in assists per game (9.2) while extending her league-record career triple-double tally to 18 — including a single-season record seven this year.

• “She’s going to rebound, she’s going to dish, she’s going to score, she’s going to defend. I think that’s the definition of MVP,” Phoenix teammate DeWanna Bonner said this week.

Tune in: Wilson, Collier, and Thomas will all put a stamp on their 2025 efforts this week, before regular-season play wraps up on Thursday. (See full schedule)

Report: Courage send Jaedyn Shaw to Gotham in record deal

USWNT prospect Jaedyn Shaw is on her way to NYC, with ESPN reporting late Monday that the North Carolina Courage traded the rising star to Gotham FC for an intra-league-record $1.25 million.

• North Carolina’s return nearly doubles the NWSL’s previous $600,000 transfer record, set when Kansas City acquired Ally Sentnor from Utah last month.

Big picture: This will be Shaw’s second major move this year, after the forward requested a trade to the Courage from the San Diego Wave last January, with the Wave receiving a combined $450,000 in allocation money and fees.

• But the 20-year-old has started in just 10 North Carolina matches this year, with the Courage falling to 11th place in the NWSL standings after abruptly firing head coach Sean Nahas.

• She joins a No. 6 Gotham side in the midst of a serious playoff push, with ESPN reporting the club’s plans to sign Shaw through the 2029 season.

Basketball is so back. And whether it's smashing viewership records or dropping logo threes, there's never been a better time to highlight all the blockbuster moments that move the WNBA.

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Bay FC parts ways with coach Albertin Montoya

2024 NWSL expansion side Bay FC is shifting gears, announcing a plan to part ways with inaugural head coach Albertin Montoya at the end of the 2025 season as the 12th-place team’s playoff hopes slip away.

• “I have so much love for these players, staff, and fans,” Montoya said in Monday’s release. “We’ve built a culture and a style of play that I believe will compete for championships for years to come.”

Big picture: Brought on in 2023, Montoya led Bay FC to the 2024 playoffs before skidding down the table amid accusations of fostering a toxic work environment.

• The team recently lost a high-profile player in Nigeria star Asisat Oshoala, who signed with Saudi Premier League Side Al Hilal just last week.

• Club CEO Kay Cossington and sporting director Matt Potter stated they will work together to hire Montoya’s replacement ahead of the 2026 season.

Storm and Sparks battle for a WNBA playoff berth

No. 8 Seattle is one win away from the playoffs, as the Storm shoots to oust No. 9 LA from the WNBA postseason race in tonight’s clash with No. 6 Golden State.

• “Our team has changed from the beginning of the season until now,” Seattle head coach Noelle Quinn said this week. “Part of that is finding some consistency with one another: minutes, reps, all of those things.”

Sealing the deal: Should the Storm lose to the history-making Valkyries, the Sparks would still have win both of their remaining two games to secure a playoff berth — starting with tonight’s matchup against No. 4 Phoenix.

• “[We’re] not talking about things we can’t control,” Sparks head coach Lynne Roberts said over the weekend. “Whether Indiana wins or loses or Seattle, we can’t control that. We just have to focus on what we’re doing and see how it all shakes out.”

Tune in: Seattle takes on Golden State at 10 PM ET tonight (League Pass), while LA’s battle with Phoenix runs concurrently on NBA TV.

WSL extends US media deal despite rocky start

The WSL hit some opening day snags over the weekend, with US broadcasts experiencing confusion and widespread technical difficulties as the UK league’s big-name US-based talent pool took the pitch.

• ESPN+ served fans an error screen during the first 15 minutes of Chelsea’s 2-1 win over Manchester City on Friday, before skips and lags continuously interrupted Arsenal’s 4-1 victory over London City on Saturday morning.

Missing the moment: A media rights extension with 2024/25 carrier ESPN+ came together at the very last minute, with the WSL leaving fans in the dark by omitting US coverage details from all opening day promotions — and possibly missing out on their big Stateside moment.

• “The delays weren’t about lack of interest so much as the sheer number of changes the league has been managing,” former head of broadcast at WSL Football Andrea Ekblad told The Athletic this week.

• “ESPN is a fantastic home for the league in the US for audience growth, and they have proven last season to be a great partner,” she added.

Quote of the day

US Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT)
in Monday’s open letter warning the WNBA not to interfere with the Connecticut Sun’s ongoing sale negotiations.