Breanna Stewart reflects on Unrivaled breaking women's basketball attendance record: 'More than just hype'

Barclays Center successful Brooklyn volition play big to 1 of the fastest increasing women’s sports leagues successful the world, arsenic Unrivaled, the three-on-three hoops league, plays their semifinals connected Monday night. 

Breanna Stewart is simply a instrumentality favourite successful the New York City borough, arsenic the superstar plays for the New York Liberty during the WNBA season. But she co-founded this peculiar league alongside chap WNBA prima Napheesa Collier, and they’re acceptable to marque past connected Monday night. 

The semifinals volition beryllium the archetypal clip Unrivaled volition beryllium played successful an arena that houses a WNBA, and the 2nd clip ever it’s ventured extracurricular its location basal successful Miami. 

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Li Yueru, Arike Ogunbowale, Breanna Stewart, Alanna Smith and Veronica Burton of the Mist observe and airs for a squad photograph aft defeating the Vinyl during the Unrivaled 2026 crippled astatine Sephora Arena connected Feb. 27, 2026 successful Medley, Florida. (Leonardo Fernandez/Getty Images)

The archetypal clip was rather historic, arsenic Unrivaled made its archetypal circuit halt successful Philadelphia past month, and what happened was an astonishing feat: 21,490 fans showed up for the highest-attended women’s hoops regular play crippled ever. 

"We’re some conscionable truly arrogant of wherever this league started, honestly wherever it was earlier we adjacent had a blueprint to wherever it is now," Stewart explained to Fox News Digital erstwhile asked if herself and Collier ever get a accidental to bespeak connected however rapidly this league has grown. "Knowing that we had a palmy circuit halt successful Philly, wherever we were record-breaking crowds. 

"It’s much than conscionable hype what we person astatine Unrivaled. You’re truly seeing the merchandise done and done – what you get connected the tribunal and however players are treated disconnected the court."

While the merchandise is 1 fans intelligibly privation to see, Unrivaled prides itself connected keeping players successful the United States during the WNBA offseason by offering the highest-average salaries successful each of women’s squad sports. It’s reported that an mean $222,222 wage is what players are getting connected apical of different unsocial portion of this league – equity. 

Unrivaled offers its players a portion of the league arsenic good arsenic the $350,000 prize excavation for the midseason one-on-one tournament, which Collier won past year. She gave fractional of her $200,000 prize to her team’s unit members.

"It’s incredibly important," Stewart said astir the large paydays for those playing successful Unrivaled. "Having equity successful a league that you’re playing in, knowing that virtually we turn arsenic the league grows, and vice versa. It makes players truly privation to beryllium progressive and invested from a year-round perspective. I deliberation that what we’re astir arrogant of is we person the highest-average wage successful each of women’s sports league. 

Breanna Stewart and Coco Gauff be an Unrivaled lucifer betwixt Phantom and Rose astatine Wayfair Arena connected Jan. 31, 2025 successful Medley, Florida. (Megan Briggs/Getty Images)

"We’re paying the players what they deserve, paying the players adequately and trying to marque definite each twelvemonth that’s going up a tremendous amount."

The crippled held astatine Xfinity Mobile Arena successful Philadelphia past period was not lone an all-time attendance grounds for a pro women’s hoops regular play game, but besides the biggest people successful a nonrecreational hoops game, some men’s and women’s. 

The NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers besides play astatine Xfinity Mobile Arena, and their erstwhile precocious was 21,305 during a 1998 crippled against the Chicago Bulls – the past contention hoops fable Michael Jordan played successful the metropolis for his Bulls career. 

It was adjacent the astir attended lawsuit of all-time astatine the arena, which was antecedently held by The Backstreet Boys "Into the Millennium" circuit connected Sept. 29, 1999 (21,424).

In short, momentum is an understatement for this league that is mounting a caller barroom for women’s sports, particularly successful basketball, wherever Stewart and galore others are hoping the WNBA and WNBPA tin fig retired a caller corporate bargaining statement up of a pivotal 2026 campaign, which starts successful May. 

Before then, Stewart knows her Liberty fans volition amusement up Monday nighttime successful Brooklyn, wherever the hoops capableness astatine Barclays Center is 17,732. Stewart’s Mist squad is acceptable to look the Breeze astatine 8:45 p.m., portion the No. 1-seeded Phantom volition look the Vinyl astatine 7:30 p.m.    

New York Liberty guardant Breanna Stewart (30) warms up anterior to crippled 2 of circular 1 for the 2025 WNBA Playoffs astatine Barclays Center connected Sept. 17, 2025. (Wendell Cruz/Imagn Images)

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But Stewart isn’t conscionable drinking immoderate java to get her hole — she’s partnered with a marque that is cleanable for the pro jock she is.

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It conscionable seems truly earthy and fitting for me," she told FOX Business successful an exclusive interrogation astir the partnership. "I deliberation that being an athlete, being a mom, there’s truthful galore reasons wherefore we perpetually request caffeine. But to person it successful a steadfast way, and besides person the macromolecule successful it — each clip I locomotion successful the gym, I’m having one. I’m letting everyone cognize that not lone americium I drinking coffee, but I’m getting immoderate affirmative macromolecule payment arsenic well."

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