As Unrivaled's return to the big stage, League President Alex Bazzell openly admitted the idea of partnering with the WNBA still remains very much alive.

“We're not in constant dialogue about that… but as I've made very clear, we are open to growing the ecosystem, whichever way that looks like. Nothing is on the table or off the table… everyone knows our door is always open.”

As per ESPN sources, co-founders Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart offered the WNBA a small equity stake early on, though league rules prevented that partnership from moving forward.

“But those are formal partnerships. As long as you can look at the space through an innovative lens, anything is doable. Anything is possible,” he explained.

Bazzell further compared Unrivaled’s role to offseason opportunities in the NBA, like the Summer League. The key difference, however, is that Unrivaled is a player-owned league.

While Unrivaled was initially seen as a rival to the WNBA, the former believes it's complementary.

"Where women's basketball is today, and what we have built is so unique, one doesn't need to exist without the other for either to be successful.”

In the meantime, Unrivaled provides a gathering place for players before the CBA negotiations.

With some of the biggest names in the league kicking things off with the second season, Unrivaled could inadvertently create a space for players to coordinate.

As Napheesa Collier explained, "The offseason is always a harder time to try and connect with people, and so to have our CBA happening in the offseason is usually a disadvantage in that way. To have players congregated where you can have those in-person conversations and updates and things like that, I think that does help things move more quickly."

The current agreement is set to expire on Friday after multiple extensions. Could Unrivaled's ideas be part of the plan that helps the WNBA?

Written by

Fatema Kapasi

Edited by

Siddharth Shirwadkar