After a successful first season, Miami-based Unrivaled made plans to elevate its footprint, including adding more players and playing games in additional markets. The league accomplished its vision for Year 2, expanding from six to eight teams and adding a player development pool, taking the number of players from 36 to 54.
Unrivaled also added a Philadelphia tour stop, reaching a city that won’t regularly see professional women’s basketball until 2030. The Philly experiment was a massive success. On Jan. 30, Unrivaled held a sold-out doubleheader in front of 21,490 fans at the Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia. The event set a record for the most attended regular-season professional women’s basketball game.
‘It just shows the interest and how women’s basketball is on the rise, Collier told USA TODAY Sports while promoting a partnership with Unrivaled and Icy Hot.
‘And just growing the game, going to places where people don’t have a traditional or any professional women’s basketball team. We’re in your city for a night. We’re hopefully bringing new fans. Hopefully, we converted people, [and] they saw our product, and they loved one person. Or they loved a team, or whatever it is, and now, we’ve piqued their interest, and they’ve become a fan, and they spread it.’
Following the record-breaking turnout in Philadelphia, Unrivaled announced its postseason semifinals would be played at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on March 2. The league also announced it was increasing the championship prize pool to $600,000. (In 2025, the players on the championship team each received $50,000.)
News of the Brooklyn games came days after it announced the return of one of its biggest stars: Rose forward Angel Reese. After originally opting not to play in Season 2, Reese returns to Miami on Friday, Feb. 20, for a Hive-Rose matchup. It’s her first appearance in Unrivaled since winning Defensive Player of the Year and the league’s inaugural title with her Rose teammates in 2025.
‘Angel [Reese], she’s, obviously, a young player, a really well-known player and someone who did really well last year. Her team won.’ Collier said of Reese’s return. ‘To have her back on the Rose is awesome. She’s just been such a huge addition to Unrivaled, and so, even though it’s only the end of the season, we’re happy to have her.’
Reese and Rose BC have some work to do to win back-to-back titles. The team is 5-6 record and needs to climb back into the playoff race. Collier says she’s excited to see how Reese’s addition changes the teams in the league. Collier, who isn’t playing this season due to injuries, told USA TODAY Sports she appreciates the ‘backseat perspective’ she’s had this season.
Collier’s had a ‘bird’s eye view’ of the playground feel high-stakes play in Unrivaled, sharing her view with the audience via guest broadcasting duties. According to Collier, Unrivaled is ‘content-heavy,’ and player contracts were intentionally created with built-in activations, such as being a color analyst, so the league could help build players’ personal brands.
Over the course of the season, Collier, Paige Bueckers, Sabrina Ionescu, Aliyah Boston, Skylar Diggins, Allisha Gray and several other athletes have joined the Unrivaled broadcast to share their insights.
‘Unrivaled gets to have these players on the broadcast, where we get to look into a basketball player’s mind, because not always are commentators professional basketball players or ex-professional basketball players,’ Collier said.
‘You don’t have that happen very often and especially active ones, where they know exactly what people are thinking. They know exactly what players are thinking in different situations, how to guard certain people, because they just did it the night before. … Then from the player’s side, it also, one, lets you see how hard that job is because color commentary is not easy.’
Collier says the chance to dive into broadcasting also gives players a chance to check out post-basketball opportunities. Unrivaled essentially provides a pathway for athletes to discover more skills they can utilize when they retire.
‘[It] allows you to explore different things because we have mortality, a shelf life in basketball, and you have to prepare for what you’re going to do after,’ Collier said.
‘If you can dabble in broadcasting or TV work or whatever it is, then kind of see what you’re interested in or what you’re not interested in, that’s really helpful for us to be able to make plans for when we’re done playing.’
