Unrivaled Basketball to play games in Philadelphia during 2026 season

Four of the league’s eight teams will play back-to-back games starting Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

Unrivaled Basketball announced its first-ever tour stop in Philadelphia

Unrivaled Basketball announced its first-ever tour stop in Philadelphia during a press conference at Love Park on Oct. 2, 2025. (Cory Sharber/WHYY)

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Unrivaled Basketball, the 3v3 professional women’s league, will make a tour stop in Philadelphia during its 2026 season following massive success in its inaugural year.

The league will make its first-ever tour stop at the Xfinity Mobile Arena with two games on Jan. 30, 2026. Tickets are available now — more than 5,000 have already been sold. It’ll be the first time women’s professional basketball has set up shop in the city since the Philadelphia Rage played back in 1998.

Mural Arts helped unveil an Unrivaled art piece
Mural Arts helped unveil an Unrivaled art piece at Love Park to celebrate the slate of games coming to Philadelphia in January. (Cory Sharber/WHYY)

WNBA champion and Unrivaled athlete Natasha Cloud made a special homecoming appearance during a press conference at Love Park on Thursday. She said it’ll be the first time she’s played in Philadelphia since starring as an all-conference guard at St. Joseph’s University.

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“You truly are a product of your environment, and this city has raised me,” Cloud said. “We get everything out the mud. Nothing came easy to us. There’s no silver spoons here. All we know how to do is work, and that’s how I show up on the court every single day. And that is a testament to the city, to everything that you have given to me to put me in the space that I’m in.”

WNBA champion and Unrivaled athlete Natasha Cloud
WNBA champion and Unrivaled athlete Natasha Cloud dapped up fans in her hometown crowd at Love Park on Oct. 2, 2025 after announcing the slate of games at Xfinity Mobile Arena in January. (Cory Sharber/WHYY)

The league was founded by WNBA All-Stars Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart to give some of the league’s top stars a platform to play in the United States during the offseason.

“I’m eternally grateful to be playing for Unrivaled to not have to go overseas for eight months and be away from my family and be in situations that aren’t necessarily safe to us,” Cloud said. “To be able to stay here, to be able to provide for my family and do it with such top-tier individuals and human beings is the best.”

Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker said the Unrivaled games in Philly will be part of the city’s semiquincentennial celebrations for the year. It’ll be made even sweeter knowing women’s professional basketball is coming to Philadelphia for the first time in more than 25 years.

“A whole generation has grown up without seeing the best women’s basketball players take the floor in this city, but that changes right now,” Parker said. “This is more than just a league for us. This revolutionary professional women’s basketball league is, in essence, reshaping the entire sports landscape.”

Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker
Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker said with Unrivaled coming to Philadelphia in January, it will be the first time women’s professional basketball has been in the city since 1998. (Cory Sharber/WHYY)

Since its launch, the league has gained major traction, securing a media rights deal with TNT Sports and reaching a $340 million valuation. Investors include NBA stars Stephen Curry and Giannis Antetokounmpo, tennis icon and Title IX trailblazer Billie Jean King, and Philly’s own basketball legend Dawn Staley.

The league played its inaugural season in Miami, with six teams featuring six players each. Unrivaled president Alex Bazzell said the league is “obviously honored to help kick off professional women’s basketball the right way.”

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“It’s the first time we are leaving our home in Miami,” Bazzell said. “And what we always say is if we’re going to go somewhere, we’re going to go somewhere and do it right.”

In 2026, 48 players will suit up for the league across eight different teams. Notable Philly-based players will include WNBA champion Kahleah Copper and former Villanova standout Maddy Siegrist.

Unrivaled’s second season will start Jan. 5, 2026, and will air on TNT, truTV and stream on HBO Max.

The WNBA Finals start Friday between the Phoenix Mercury and Las Vegas Aces in a best-of-seven series for the league’s top crown. Philadelphia’s WNBA expansion team will start playing in 2030.

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