Buzzer beats: Analyzing Unrivaled's arrival
My quick thoughts on a momentous weekend for women's basketball.
Hi, friends. One of the things I’m looking to do in 2025 is figure out how to get more Power Plays in your inbox more often by experimenting with different formats. While the heart and soul of Power Plays will always be in-depth explorations on the biggest issues in women’s sports, the women’s sports world moves lightning fast, and I want to talk about more of it!
So, this is the Power Plays version of the gamer, which is traditionally the basic post-game story that sports reporters file as soon after the game finishes as possible.
My rules for this? I need to press publish within two hours of the “buzzer,” whether that be a literal buzzer to mark the end of a game, or a metaphorical buzzer to mark the end of a momentous press conference, event, or announcement. (Confession: I forgot to time today, I think I am late, off to a perfect start.) I get about 1,000 words to jot down my thoughts, and those thoughts will come in bullet-point form. Nobody has time for paragraphs.
Right now I’m naming this series “Buzzer beats,” but I’m not in love with the name and so reserve the right to change it, and also am open to suggestions if you have them, naming things is really hard!!!!
In this first edition, I’m going to give my initial reactions to the first weekend of “Unrivaled” basketball. Ready? Let’s go.
My unbridled takes on Unrivaled
First, let’s review what Unrivaled is: Unrivaled is a new women’s basketball league founded by Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier. It was announced in 2023 and debuted on Friday night. It’s three-on-three basketball played in one location in Miami between six teams over eight weeks, culminating in a single-elimination playoff tournament involving the top four teams on March 16 and 18.
The money is good. Very good. Individual salaries are not disclosed, but the average Unrivaled salary is reportedly close to that of a max WNBA salary, upwards of $220,000. That’s worth celebrating.
It’s chock full of WNBA stars, including basically every marquee name in the game except for A’ja Wilson, Caitlin Clark, and Jonquel Jones. (Which are notable exceptions, it must be said.) Seeing different combination of WNBA stars play together is an absolute blast; I simply did not know how badly I needed to see Angel Reese, Brittney Sykes, and Kahleah Copper on the court together.
I was skeptical about Unrivaled from the start. While I am bullish on the future of women’s sports, I am usually pretty cautious when it comes to the launch of new leagues, simply because I have seen so many try and fail over the years. It is incredibly difficult to gain true, lasting traction in a crowded sports market, and most investors simply don’t have the patience to make it happen.
But so far, color me impressed. I thought the strategy of announcing players throughout the length of the 2024 WNBA season was great. I think the team branding and league design schemes are fantastic. The talent is out-of-this world — here is a link to the teams and rosters. There is true investment via powerful brands like Ally and State Farm and Sephora, and a great television deal with TNT, TruTV, and Max, reportedly worth $100 million over six years, with an out after three years. Players have equity in the league and are raving about the facilities and accommodations. But most importantly …
The format is fucking fantastic. Like, I am OBSESSED. To me, new formats typically come across as gimmicky and try-hard. But this one struck all the right notes. While FIBA 3x3 basketball is played on the half court, Unrivaled utilizes a full court, albeit a slightly smaller one than the standard basketball court. The first three quarters last seven minutes each and air without commercial breaks. The pace is lightning quick and there is so much action, every player has to be on point in every single possession or they will be completely exposed. You only get one chance at the free-throw line to convert your foul points. This means trips to the line do not interrupt the flow of play. I love it. And best of all …
The fourth quarter is not played until the clock winds down; it’s played until a certain score is reached. The winning score is 11 points higher than the leading score after the third quarter. This means there’s no running the clock out and every game includes a game winner. I didn’t think this would make a huge difference, but it really does.
The games are longer than expected, though. Turner Sports allotted 60 minutes for each game’s broadcast window, but every game took approximately 90 minutes this weekend. I will be very curious who has to make adjustments — Unrivaled or Turner.
The best moment from the first weekend? Skylar Diggins-Smith hitting the game winner in the first game in Unrivaled history to cap the Lunar Owls’ comeback victory over the Mist, 84-80. Diggins-Smith is an icon and a competitive beast and deserved that moment to shine. I love the vets snatching the spotlight. So much.
The worst moment from the first weekend? The absolute egg Phantom laid in its debut game on Saturday, a 86-48 loss to the Owls. It wasn’t surprising that Saturday’s first game couldn’t recapture the electricity of opening night; let-downs happen, as do uncompetitive games. That’s sports. But for a team with Brittney Griner, Sabrina Ionescu, Natasha Cloud, Satou Sabally, and Katie Lou Samuelson to only score 48 points? Absolutely inexcusable.
I’m a bit disappointed in the production and storytelling so far. In the lead-up to Unrivaled’s tipoff, I kept hearing how compared to regular basketball, Unrivaled stands out because it is a made-for-TV product. (There are less than 900 seats in the arena, and the court and studio were custom-built from scratch.) But while I liked the announcers and the pre-game and post-game show on opening night, and the arena looked great on camera, I wasn’t blown away by the production itself. I expected more get-to-know you features on the players and teams. I expected some innovative camera angles, stats integrations, and audio components. But beyond some in-game player interviews, which I did enjoy, the broadcasts felt disappointingly standard for such an innovative product, and I didn’t think it did a good job showcasing the personalities of the players. I had a friend sitting court-side for both games, and she texted me that on Saturday afternoon, Alyssa Thomas was talking a lot of shit to Marina Mabrey and Griner on the bench, and that despite Phantom not playing well, “BG is having more fun than any player I’ve seen yet. It’s great.” Absolutely none of that came across on the broadcast. In a non-competitive game, you think there would be time to highlight some of the back-and-forth and joy and competitiveness of the players, but whether it be time constraints, equipment constraints (maybe they had no way to capture that audio or to get the bench/sideline footage needed to tell those stories), or a directorial decision not to show any side plots and just to focus on the game itself, those moments were missed.
I also want more stats, both on the broadcast and online. GIVE ME MORE OF EVERYTHING. (I know I’m being picky, but well, that’s kind-of the point of this column.)
Overall, there is so much to love about the league and where it’s going, and I can’t wait to watch it grow. I’ll be tuned in on Tuesday night.
Let me know what you think in the comments!! Do you agree? Disagree? Love it? Hate it? Were you there in person? I want to hear it all.
HOOTIE HOOO!!!!!!!!!!!
I agree with most everything you said. I was wondering why more fans weren't there. Thank you for that explanation. The amount of money involved shows what can be done when leagues/teams want to be successful. The W/owner/NBA has some splaining to do.
Your account lines up with what I'm hearing. Especially that seeing it live is incredible and you can basically hear what everyone's saying. Sadly I'm in Australia at the moment and can't figure out how to watch here. But I'll be back next month and seeing it live at the end of Feb. Can't wait!