Kendra Andrews, ESPN
MIAMI — Skyler Diggins-Smith separated from Dijonai Carrington just outside the 3-point arc and made a shot, clinching the first win in Unrivaled history.
As it hissed in, Diggins-Smith ran down the court and her Lunar Owls teammates chased her, celebrating their 84-80 victory over the Mist on Friday night. Ta.
“The atmosphere was emotional,” Diggins-Smith said from center court. “We’re going to celebrate this tonight.”
The “winning score” for this new 3-on-3 women’s basketball league is determined by adding 11 points to the first team’s score by the third quarter. That means every match is decided by the winner.
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But this was just as great as Unrivaled could have dreamed of as its first game.
“It was everything we hoped for,” Lunar Owls player and league co-founder Nafeesa Collier said. “I think this was a great first game to show what we can do and what the experience will be like.”
On the opening night of Unrivaled, the 870-seat arena at the MediaPro Center was sold out. Fans lined up in a light rain hours before the doors opened and enjoyed the fan activation the league had set up for them. Inside, Hall of Famer Steve Nash and U.S. soccer player Alex Morgan were seated courtside. WNBA executives were scattered throughout the stands.
In such a small space, the players said they felt like the crowd was “on top of them.” And since it was played on a neutral court, there was no home court advantage.
Jewell Lloyd likened the energy in the building to a pickup game. Collier said it was like a high school basketball championship. Chelsea Gray said it goes beyond both of those similarities.
“It felt like the fans were right there on the court,” Gray said. Rose lost 79-73 to Vinall in the second game. “With or without music, there was always energy during the various proceedings of the game. I really like the atmosphere. Everybody wanted to see good basketball.”
Collier added: “Obviously (the fanfare) is a distraction. It’s the opening weekend, but we’re playing in the finals, we’re playing in college, we’re playing in the championship game, there’s a lot going on. As a professional, you can block it.
Using a condensed full court rather than the half court of Olympic 3×3 basketball, Unrivaled creates a very fast-paced game.
But players said they weren’t too surprised because it was the same style and tempo they had experienced in training camp and preseason games.
“There’s no timing to actually take the ball away. There’s only three guys on the floor,” Gray said. “It’s a little different from that standpoint. But you definitely have to stay in shape to play this game.”
Mist and Moon Owl took a combined 130 shots. Vinyl and Rose attempted 126 points. Lloyd scored 34 points (23 in the first half) and Vinyl’s Ryne Howard finished with 33 points.
The players noted that the shots taken were not out of character and were required in a game where only three players per team are on the court at a time.
“It was really fun. We’ve been practicing and scrimmaging, so it was really fun to be out there in front of a live crowd,” Collier said. “We’re just enjoying the experience of the game. There’s a lot of fanfare involved, but once the ball goes up, we’re just out there playing basketball.”
