Chelsea Gray has made a habit of competing internationally during her WNBA offseasons. For nearly a decade, the Las Vegas Aces star packed her bags after the W season ended and flew to compete for teams in Israel, Spain and Turkey as a way to work on her game, travel the world and to supplement her income during the winter. .
A few years ago, away from the spotlight while playing in Turkey, she started wondering what was next in her career and her life. She had just turned 30, won championships and established herself as one of the best in the game. Playing abroad every winter meant months away from some of her family and friends, and the risk of missing opportunities to grow her brand.
So when she was approached two years ago by executives creating a new U.S. women’s basketball league, Gray was intrigued and became the first non-founding player selected for the league.
“(Unmatched) is a game changer, being able to make money while still being here, with our family,” she said. “It was really cool that it became what it is.”
The new modified full-court 3×3 league, co-founded by WNBA stars Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart, has attracted many of the sport’s top players, like Gray, who has opted for overseas competition this winter in hopes of a new winter to establish. home for women’s basketball. The competition debuts Friday in Miami, with six teams featuring some of the most notable names in the sport, such as Angel Reese, Sabrina Ionescu, Jewell Loyd and Brittney Griner.
The first 36 are unparalleled 👑
Watch them all season on TNT, TruTV and Max. pic.twitter.com/RNbSFwuXK4
— Unparalleled Basketball (@Unrivaledwbb) January 16, 2025
For decades, American women’s basketball players have struggled with career decisions every winter: staying home to recover, working on marketing deals and spending time with family or spending the winter abroad in Russia, China, Turkey, Italy, Israel and Spain. Many of the world’s best players followed Gray’s routine of playing abroad.
Now, with the launch of Unrivaled, more top WNBA players than ever have chosen to remain in the US this offseason. Unrivaled’s goal is not to stop international leagues from attracting top American players, but it is a trend that many involved believe will continue if the league is successful.
Collier, a star for the Minnesota Lynx, and Stewart, an MVP for the New York Liberty, aim to provide similar offseason domestic competition and compensation to their peers.
“I think abroad is still a great option,” Collier said. “We just don’t think this should be your only option, so we wanted to give players other things to do in their home country. … We’re not trying to take away any other option you had before. We are trying to expand that.”
They said keeping many of the world’s best players in the U.S. during the WNBA offseason will help the sport grow more broadly. While formulating the idea during a discussion about Collier’s year-round basketball experience, she and her husband, Alex Bazzell, who is also the league’s president, talked about wanting to optimize player experiences. Unparalleled executives describe that aspect as the “North Star.”
“(We tried) to make the women’s basketball offseason relevant from a professional standpoint,” Stewart said, “and be a way for people to build their brands.”
International play significantly supplements the incomes of WNBA players, whose seasonal salaries range from about $60,000 to nearly $250,000. Foreign contracts can sometimes double that, or pay even more.
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Unprecedented promises to pay players the highest average salary in the history of the US women’s sports league. Players will earn an average salary of more than $200,000 for the 10-week season, and participants in the first campaign will also receive shares.
Unrivaled, Collier said, is based on the principle that WNBA players “deserve compensation and ownership that reflects their value.” They understood player development and high-quality amenities such as a sauna, cold pool and weight room were critical to attracting player interest and support.
“We don’t play for anyone because we all own this,” said peerless winger Rhyne Howard, who played three seasons for the Atlanta Dream. “The equality in this, that is something that is definitely different, but also very useful in the long term.”
Despite Unrivaled’s many benefits, Connecticut Sun anchor Marina Mabrey still struggled with her options. She had largely positive, career-changing experiences abroad competing in Latvia, Israel, Australia, Italy and Turkey. She credits her time in Latvia in 2019 with her weight loss, more dedicated work ethic and skill development. She has appreciated the cultural experiences and work-life balance abroad.
“I learned to love myself,” she said. “I had to love myself again and then my whole career changed.”
So while some of her peers jumped at the chance to star in Unrivaled, Mabrey’s decision was more difficult. She considered playing this offseason in China and Turkey, two countries that have historically compensated the best WNBA players well. She weighed another seven-month season abroad against the 10-week Unrivaled calendar. Travel was another consideration: Unrivaled will take place in one location in Miami, and Mabrey wanted a break from the long flights and bus rides that can come with international competition.
Salary was also important, but it wasn’t everything for her. She wanted to compete against top competitors, have access to the facilities and training resources Unrivaled offered, receive equity in the competition, and also support Unrivaled as a new venture created by her peers.
“The fact that Unrivaled offers the opportunity to play 3×3 and … only lasts 10 weeks, and the financial part of it is obviously great,” Mabrey said. “It’s about: what do I need now? And this is exactly what I needed.”
For other experienced players, the foreign calendar, which forced them to miss the winter holidays, became a breaking point.
“Staying with our families for the holidays but still being able to hoop with some of the best in the world was kind of a no-brainer at this point in my career,” said 11-year WNBA veteran Kayla McBride, who had played abroad since her rookie season. She has put together one of the most productive EuroLeague careers in recent seasons with Turkish powerhouse Fenerbahçe, but will compete for Unrivaled this winter.
Brand building was another draw of the new competition. Unrivaled partners with high-profile companies (Under Armour, Samsung Galaxy, State Farm, Wilson and Sephora), and games are broadcast on TNT and streamed on Max. Players saw the opportunity to build new relationships with some sponsors.
“We had several brands and partnerships come in that are different than the WNBA, and hopefully (they will) continue to expand their reach to other players,” Stewart said.
Additionally, by staying in the US, players can still give endorsements and maintain broader relevance. Guard Natasha Cloud said players typically leave and go abroad and it’s “blackout season.” But now?
“I can be here and fulfill marketing deals and compete against other women who are the best in the league,” said the incomparable Satou Sabally, who spent her first five WNBA seasons with the Dallas Wings.
Stewart traveled to Istanbul for a part-season with Fenerbahçe in 2022. (She didn’t play last season largely for family reasons.) She said this was probably the last time she played professionally overseas.
“I think the foreign door is a bit closed (for me),” said Stewart, who spent more than half a decade at top clubs in China, Turkey and Russia. “Especially because of the way we have set it up. What we do here is very special. I think there are so many things I like, but the fact that we have the best people here, that was the thing missing when we played abroad.
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Not all of the WNBA’s best players are in Unrivaled. Three-time WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson and rookie sensation Caitlin Clark are among the notable absences from the league. They choose to take time away from formal competition while training privately.
International competitions still attracted some top WNBA players who would likely have found spots on Unrivaled teams. For example, Kamilla Cardoso and Kelsey Mitchell are playing in China, while Tina Charles, Ariel Atkins and Natasha Howard are in Turkey. But of last year’s 24 WNBA All-Stars, only three will play overseas this winter. (Jonquel Jones said in October that she planned to play in China this offseason, but has yet to make her debut. Mitchell is in China while Brionna Jones plays in Prague.)
Given Unrivaled’s calendar, it’s possible that in future seasons the league’s players could still compete internationally in the fall (or even in the waning weeks of EuroLeague competition in late March and April before WNBA training camps begin). But even if some of the original Unrivaled 36 play overseas again, the number of WNBA stars choosing to do so seems likely to dwindle as the league flourishes.
Collier had two spells at Fenerbahçe last season and while she has not officially ruled out a return to an international club, she said it would be “very difficult” for her to do so due to family reasons. (Collier’s daughter turns 3 in May.) Aliyah Boston, who is in her third season with the Fever this spring, said that as a self-described homebody, she realized years ago that she wanted to spend her offseason in the U.S., not time zones except the one she is closest to. Not surprisingly, she is excited about the present and future of Unrivaled – a future she expects to feature the next generation of women’s basketball stars.
“People not only dream of being in the W, but now they think I want to be one of the top players to get into Unrivaled,” Boston said.
Of course, players have yet to rack up unprecedented stats, and the first game, let alone the first season, has yet to be completed. Still, those involved are optimistic about how Unrivaled could change offseason routines for the better.
“In five years,” Reese said, “this thing will be bigger than ever.”
(Illustration: Will Tullos / The Athletics; Photos: courtesy of Unrivaled)