When I was invited to Ally House during All-Star Weekend in Chicago and saw that New York Liberty’s Breanna Stewart, Minnesota Lynx’s Napheesa Collier, and Sydney Colson (who I missed) would be there, I couldn’t wait to attend the event on Saturday, July 25. As soon as I arrived, I saw Collier taking pictures with fans on stage while music played through the speakers. While walking around, I noticed various food and drink options, plus snack stations, near some of the nicest event staffers I’ve ever met.
A custom hat station let me and other guests design our own creations with a variety of patches (which you can catch in my video below). Still, the real highlight, and what drew the crowd into the inside sitting area, was hearing Collier and Stewart discuss the business side of women’s basketball. From the insightful questions rookies pose to veterans to the importance of checking off nearly every item on their Collective Bargaining Agreement checklist during negotiations, pioneering with Unrivaled, and more, the WNBA stars inspired me to stand confidently in my own beliefs and endeavors.
As co-owners of Unrivaled, the league’s inaugural 3-on-3 season in 2025 was historic. From the players’ high salaries to more opportunities, Stewart summed up Unrivaled’s impact best, saying, “Broadening our reach and going beyond the WNBA and creating Unrivaled and continuing to give so many opportunities for players to play basketball in the United States, in their home, build their brand, make a lot of money, not have to be traveling all year round if you have kids or not. And I feel like we just, we kind of like fast-track everyone else. And we were like, you’re gonna catch up to our speed, or are you gonna get left behind?”
What do rookies want to know from veterans?
Today’s WNBA rookies enter the league with opportunities previous generations never had. Napheesa Collier explained they want advice on what to do with the money they’re making in the league or from NIL deals. “They’re asking, ‘What are you investing in?’ Things like that I never thought to ask when I was a rookie. I think the buy-in is different too, because they are getting into the business earlier with the NIL stuff, so they are learning that earlier than we had the opportunity to.”
What does longevity mean in Unrivaled?
When the host asked about longevity in Unrivaled, Collier responded, “Longevity in Unrivaled means continuing to put the best product on the floor. We have the best players in the world. We have the best fans. We try to elevate every year. Even now, as soon as year two is over, we’re thinking, what can we do bigger, better, stronger for year three?”
The discussion also included both players revealing their dream starting five (and yes, many UCONN legends were mentioned) as well as what they most admired about each other and their different playing styles.
