Unrivaled co-founders Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier have been named to Time’s annual list of the world’s 100 most influential people, the magazine announced Wednesday.
Stewart, the New York Liberty superstar, and Collier, the Minnesota Lynx standout, joined forces to form a professional 3-on-3 women’s basketball league providing an opportunity for WNBA players to stay stateside and supplement their income during the offseason.
The inaugural three-month season, which ran from Jan. 17 until March 17, has been considered a success by several markers.
It saw a $35 million capital raise and the signing of more than 20 corporate partners in its first season. The league also reached 11.9 million total viewers across nationally broadcast games.
Unrivaled, which featured several WNBA stars, including Sabrina Ionescu, Jewell Loyd, Angel Reese and Brittney Griner, reportedly almost broke even in Year 1, garnering more than $27 million in revenue.
What makes Unrivaled unique, aside from the exceptional player experience and high salaries, is that signed players have equity in the league.
Most recently, Unrivaled signed 2025 No. 1 WNBA draft pick Paige Bueckers to a three-year deal, which includes a first-year salary that exceeds what she will make in her entire four-year rookie scale contract with the Dallas Wings.
Recently retired U.S. women’s national team soccer icon Alex Morgan, an investor in Unrivaled, penned a tribute to Stewart and Collier — who are also former UConn teammates — for the Time Magazine issue.
“I have so much respect for Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart, the league’s founders,” Morgan wrote. “Their ability to continue to shine in the WNBA — in fact, Phee and Stewie faced off in the 2024 finals — while building the next big thing blows me away. The dynamic duo stuck their necks out there to give players a chance to make money in the U.S. in the offseason, and not have to move their families across the world.”
Other athletes who made this year’s list include tennis legend Serena Williams, seven-time Olympic gold-medal gymnast Simone Biles, Eagles Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts and four-time Olympic gold-medal swimmer Lèon Marchand.
Time100 hits newsstands Friday.
