WNBA stars Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart have spent the past year reshaping the women’s basketball power structure in the United States. They founded an alternative league, Unrivaled, that has become a central lever in the most pivotal collective bargaining negotiation in recent sports history. On Thursday, the pair received significant recognition for their work.
Just hours before the WNBPA voted to authorize a labor strike, it was announced that the Unrivaled co-founders would be honored with Sports Illustrated’s Innovators of the Year Award at the annual Sportsperson of the Year ceremony in Las Vegas next month. The former UConn standouts are the second recipients of the award, joining 2024 winner and groundbreaking NWSL commissioner Sarah Berman.
Unrivaled’s Impact on Women’s Basketball
The first season of Unrivaled had a significant impact on the most recent WNBA campaign, whether by influencing free agency decisions or simply by showing players that there was a viable alternative that could pay them in the United States rather than overseas—or even in the WNBA. The most critical thing Unrivaled’s early success proved was that players ultimately hold the cards when it comes to the future of professional women’s basketball in the United States.
Historically, that’s an equally recent and meaningful development.
“This year represents meaningful change that will impact generations of basketball players and fans to come, and I’m honored Sports Illustrated is recognizing this work,” Stewart said. “It’s a special honor to be awarded alongside Napheesa, and I’m looking forward to celebrating the inspiring innovation and excellence of our fellow awardees in January.”
The threat of change is also why the WNBA has been adamant that players not be allowed to play in third-party leagues, such as Unrivaled, or in Europe, under the new CBA. The elephant in the room has long been that players never actually wanted to take on additional commitments overseas, but the lack of financial resources in the W necessitated it.
Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier changed the landscape of women’s basketball by co-founding the player-owned league Unrivaled. Congrats to Stewart and Collier on being named Innovators of the Year 👏 pic.twitter.com/btBuqVjpcd
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) December 18, 2025
It’s only been a decade since Diana Taurasi sat out an entire WNBA season in her prime to stay fresh for her Russian club. In large part because of Collier and Stewart’s work in establishing an American alternative, the best players in the world will likely never have to make the same financially-driven decisions again.
“I’ve always believed that athletes have the power to shape the future of our sport,”
Collier said. “I’m grateful to be recognized, along with my co-founder, for pushing those boundaries. This moment motivates me to keep building, keep advocating, and keep creating opportunities for the next generation.”
