Unrivaled basketball is coming to Philadelphia.
The professional women’s 3-on-3 basketball league will be leaving its home base in Florida for the first time in 2026 when the league will play back-to-back
games at Xfinity Mobile Arena in South Philadelphia on Jan. 30. It will be the first professional women’s basketball games played in the city since 1998.
In Unrivaled’s inaugural season last year, all games were played in one facility in Florida outside of Miami. This season, they’re taking the game on the road — including Philadelphia, per the league’s announcement in a packed Love Park on Thursday evening.
Kate Scott, the Philadelphia 76ers’ television play-by-play announcer, emceed the announcement event in the city that featured Unrivaled leadership, Philadelphia mayor Charelle Parker, WNBA champion and St. Joe’s graduate Natasha Cloud and others. Scott spoke with me afterwards about the growth of the women’s game in the city and how it’s a testament to not only the enthusiastic demand for it, but also to massive organizational efforts of those involved in actually bring these events to Philadelphia.
“There is so much work that has to be done behind the scenes to make things like this happen. It’s not enough to just have the fans demanding it. That’s definitely been here already, but there’s so much groundwork that has to be laid to make it happen,” Scott told Liberty Ballers. “Now, all the stars are aligning here.”
It’s been a wild couple of years for women’s basketball not just in Philadelphia, but nationwide. Stars like Caitlyn Clark, Aja Wilson, Angel Reese, Napheesa Collier and others have been taking the WNBA from relatively-niche obscurity and are turning it into one of the fastest-growing brands in professional sports.
The record-breaking viewership, attendance and merchandising, however, has not come without complications. As we speak, there is a battle raging behind the scenes of the WNBA between the player’s union and league leadership — namely Commissioner Cathy Engelbert — bargaining for a new collective-bargaining agreement. Recently, WNBA players have been openly demanding higher pay and player equity to coincide with the league’s unprecedented growth.
Those factors, amongst others, prompted Collier and New York Liberty star Breanna Stewart to create another, more player-focused league to live in cohesion with the WNBA during the offseason. And thus, Unrivaled was born: a professional women’s 3-on-3 league that promised the highest salaries in American women’s team sports in addition to giving players league equity. The league played its inaugural season last year, paying salaries averaging $222,000 per player for the 10-week season. By comparison, the WNBA’s average salary was around $120,000 in 2024.
In addition to a renovated training facility, improved equipment, childcare and other amenities the WNBA doesn’t offer, Unrivaled provides players with a domestic alternative for earning year-round income—something they typically would have to play overseas in the WNBA offseason to accomplish.
The news of Unrivaled coming to Philadelphia comes on the heels of the announcement made earlier this summer that, in 2030, WNBA basketball will officially expand with a team based in Philadelphia. Harris Blitzer Sports and Entertainment (HBSE), the owner of the Sixers, will also own Philly’s WNBA team that has yet to be named. The announcements have been met with enthusiastic support, as there has been growing public interest in the city in women’s sports, from organized watch parties to the opening of women’s sports-focused bars.
“I think I can say this because I’ve been to pretty much every sports city across the country — San Fran, Chicago, Boston, New York… they’re all great sports cities, but nothing beats Philadelphia,” Scott told Liberty Ballers. “People in this city are born and bred here. It’s the passion and how much they love their city. It’s why you see these basketball legends and leaders are from Philly putting in that time and doing that work behind the scenes to actually bring this here.”
After the Unrivaled date was officially announced, Scott and I quickly checked the Philadelphia 76ers schedule around Jan. 30. The Sixers will be home on both Jan. 29 and Jan. 31, with a day off between when Unrivaled is in the city.
Scott’s response to that news that she’ll be off-duty Jan. 30? An enthusiastic “then I will absolutely be there, baby!”
Tickets for Unrivaled in Philadelphia are on sale now. Before the announcement event even had a chance to conclude, over 5,000 tickets had already been sold.
