The 2025 WNBA playoffs were one to be heralded as they set new precedents in women’s basketball
history.
The Las Vegas Aces and Phoenix Mercury went head-to-head in an intense matchup spanning four games. The Aces pulled out the victory with a close final score of 97-86.
Starting their playoff season, the Aces were optimistic as the New York Liberty, who defeated them last year, were kicked out in the first-round game this year courtesy of the Phoenix Mercury, setting up a showdown between two titans.
People immediately took notice: for the first time in two decades, the WNBA hit all new milestones with the playoffs in terms of viewership and attendance.
However, the intense competition between the many iconic teams is not the only reason the WNBA has drawn attention. Their commissioner has faced criticism for not paying their players enough, with players at all-star weekend wearing “pay us what you owe us” shirts in protest.
These discrepancies in payment have caused many players to become irate and even travel overseas during the offseason to make enough money. Several players have even spoken out in post-game press conferences, stating, “if you have good players, you should pay them.”
More recently, WNBA All-Star Napheesa Collier hosted an exit interview calling out the commissioner, Cathy Engelbert, for not paying the players and continuing to employ negligent officials who cause players to come out of games with injuries, leaving them sidelined for the rest of the season.
With players continuously unhappy, this has opened the door for other women’s basketball leagues to step up and fill the gap.
A league that lives up to its name of rivaling the WNBA would be Unrivaled. This league was formed by Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier, both Olympic medalists in basketball and champions of the WNBA.
Unrivaled debuted during the WNBA’s offseason and contrasts with the normal playing style of the WNBA as Unrivaled is a three-on-three league. This league is said to set off the WNBA by offering players higher salaries and giving them more opportunities to showcase why they
deserve recognition.
While many fans complain of the WNBA streaming style and where to view games, Unrivaled has made a multi-year deal with sports networks and the streaming service HBO Max, so fans do not have to worry about where to watch games.
Not only does Unrivaled listen to its fans but also the very players that bring attention to their league. Having a league founded by the
very athletes who spoke up about player mistreatment and difference in pay shows players and fans alike that the sphere surrounding women’s sports is making a big change in the right direction.
This can potentially reshape the way athletes are paid and how officials address working conditions within future games.
With all the talk of better pay and better working conditions surrounding the WNBA and women’s sports in general, it is clear that players and fans equally have lit a match under the league’s leadership towards better treatment, that they hope to see catch flame