HomeTop StoriesMinnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier is launching a new professional basketball league...

Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier is launching a new professional basketball league that puts equality first

MIAMI, FL — Launched by a star from Minnesota, Unrivaled Basketball is a real game-changer – and it showed on Friday night in Florida.

The 3-on-3 game consists of 36 WNBA players divided into six teams: Lunar Owls, Mist, Rose, Vinyl, Phantom and Laces.

Unrivaled was created by Lynx star Napheesa Collier and New York Liberty star Breanna Stewart to give pros a place to play in the offseason.

They are paid a salary similar to what they make in the WNBA and even get parity in the league. It also allows players to stay in the United States and close to their families, rather than playing abroad.

The first game was a showdown between the founding members of Collier’s team, the Lunar Owls, and Stewart’s team, the Mist. Collier put on a show for opening night, leading the Lunar Owls to the league’s first-ever win with a team-high 27 points, defeating the Mist 84-80.

On opening night, there were many Lynx jerseys in the crowd at the Unrivaled facility to show their support for Collier.

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“It’s a lot warmer, so we’re already loving it,” said Anna Bankes, who traveled to Unrivaled from Bloomington. “We are big Napheesa fans and we love the Lynx. We wanted to come out and support her, the Lynx and women’s basketball.”

Brenda Jackson and her husband traveled from North Florida to support Collier’s Unrivaled team, the Lunar Owls.

What makes this competition unique is that fans no longer cheer for a city or state, but rather a player.

‘I like the road [Napheesa] plays, love her as a person,” Jackson said.

It proves that Collier attracts fans from all over the world, not just Minnesota.

“When we heard Unrivaled was going to be in Miami, we had to go. We’re coming to six different games. We’re super excited about this, and it’s just amazing what they’re doing,” said Miami resident Houston Barenholtz.

The tropical rains did not delay the Unrivaled Fan Fest on Friday evening. People wanted to be here for this historic moment.

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“This isn’t small-scale, this is going to be large-scale, and don’t sleep on these women. They’re trying to build something really big. I think about this all the time… this is just step one, and we’re all excited to be here for this moment,” said Ann Marie Klotz, a New York resident who traveled to Miami for Unrivaled.

Three other Lynx players are also in Unrivaled. Courtney Williams is Collier’s teammate on the Lunar Owls, Kayla McBride on the Laces and Natisha Hiedeman on the Phantom.

The League says most, if not all, of its matches will be sold out over the nine-week period. All matches will be streamed live and broadcast on TNT.

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