Minnesota Lynx’s Napheesa Collier honored in TIME 100 list for Unrivaled league
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Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier is among the people selected by TIME magazine for its annual list of the 100 most influential people.
That list was announced Wednesday.
Collier and fellow WNBA star Breanna Stewart, from the New York Liberty, are included in the “pioneers” section of the list. It highlights their creation of Unrivaled, the women’s professional 3-on-3 basketball league that started play earlier this year.
WNBA players often play overseas during the off-season, and the new league is a way for them to earn money in the U.S. The TIME 100 entry notes that Collier and Stewart founded the league while also leading their respective teams to the WNBA finals last season.
“Unrivaled makes female athletes think about everything differently. It’s not always just take the salary and sign on the dotted line and be happy. Sometimes you can just do it yourself better,” wrote Alex Morgan, World Cup and Olympic soccer champion. “That’s what Phee and Stewie did here. The launch of Unrivaled will go down in history as a pivotal moment for continuing the tidal wave of momentum in women’s sports.”
Unrivaled Commissioner Micky Lawler said next season will likely continue with six teams but expects the league could expand to other markets beyond Miami. More than 20 players are already under contract for the next two season.
The Lynx’s first regular season home game is May 21 at 7 p.m. against the Dallas Wings, the team that recently drafted Minnesotan Paige Bueckers.
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