Unrivaled’s inaugural season is scheduled to begin Friday in Miami. Ionescu's participation in the league adds to her remarkable 2024, which included winning a gold medal at the Olympics and securing the WNBA championship with the Liberty.

“Yeah, it got spicy between co-founders for a little bit,” says New York Liberty center Breanna Stewart, who along with her 2024 WNBA Finals rival, Minnesota’s Napheesa Collier, are starting Unrivaled, a three-on-three women’s pro basketball league that tips off Friday night in South Florida.

The Liberty opted to retain this up and coming guard on their roster via camp contract before the WNBA free agency period.

South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley and USC star JuJu Watkins are two of the investors behind Unrivaled, which has reportedly surpassed $35 million in funding. Other investors include tennis star Coco Gauff, former Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps, and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks.

New York's Breanna Stewart was one of a handful of players who have been given the franchise tag by their WNBA teams, meaning they can’t sign a contract directly with anyone else.

Connecticut Sun star Marina Mabrey has suffered a right calf injury just hours before the launch of the new Unrivaled league, which is set to get underway on Friday

With the core designation, New York will officially take the biggest free agent off the market as the Liberty now have exclusive negotiating rights with Stewart.

The suit claims store owners have violated state laws by selling flavored e-cigarettes, including to minors, and operated without required licenses.

Unrivaled is a new 3-on-3 professional women's basketball league comprised of 36 players separated into six teams — the Laces Basketball Club, Lunar Owls Basketball Club, Mist Basketball Club, Phantom Basketball Club, Rose Basketball Club and Vinyl Basketball Club.

Stewart has led the Liberty in scoring in each of her two seasons in Brooklyn. In 2024, she averaged 20.4 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.3 blocks per game while helping deliver New York its first professional basketball title in 51 years.

The Liberty are coming off the two best seasons in their history — a run that was punctuated with the franchise’s first WNBA Finals title in October. Running it back should be the plan for New York, especially considering the league is due for a reset in 2026.

Brunson tallied 38 points in the win - a constant over New York's three-year run of dominance across the Eastern Conference. Towns is still considered day-to-day with a finger injury that cost him game time this week.