Last week, Napheesa Collier won the highly anticipated 1V1 tournament for Unralivaled, who defeated Aaliyah Edwards in three matches after beating Katie Lue Samuelson, Courtney Williams and Azura Stevens in the first three rounds.
As such, Collier was awarded the tournament's lofty $200,000 prize.
But on Friday, Kendra Andrews from ESPN Collier immediately reported that he had decided to split the prize money with the training and performance staff of Lunar Owls. Collier wanted to show his gratitude to staff who are investing in the other 3-3 leagues, a new 3-3 league that he co-founded with Breanna Stewart.
Unralied's first season was a big win for Napheesa Collier
Others are in the middle of their first season, offering players the highest average salary in any women's sports league, in addition to equity. One of the league's unique draws featured 23 of the WNBA's best players in the 1V1 tournament, ranging from February 10th to February 14th.
Collier was not the only player to leave the 1V1 tournament with extra money. Edwards won the $50,000 runner-up award, but Stevens and Alique Ogamboir (both semi-finalists) each walked away at $25,000. Collier's teammates from Lunar Owls won $10,000 for joining the teams of Williams, Skylar Diggins-Smith, Allisha Gray and Shakira Austin.
Now, the coaching staff at Lunar Owls, led by DJ Sackmann, is taking part in the prize money.
For Collier, what was unparalleled was his chance to bounce back from his devastating losses in the WNBA Finals.
So far, Collier has also been the most dominant player in the league, averaging 29.3 points and 11.5 rebounds per 11.5 games.
The decision to share her prize money with the coaching staff reflects her broad desire to invest in the success of her league. Collier revealed from the jump how important the league's first season is to her.
“When you throw a party, do you want people to show up and have fun?” she said last month.
I asked Nafisa Collier about her experience playing basketball in the league she built, and she said it was a little more stressful than before:
“When you throw a party, do you want people to show up and have fun?” pic.twitter.com/jzlzivs1po
– Noah Dalzell (@noadalzell) January 28, 2025
The league aims to provide WNBA Players are offseason alternatives to going abroad, while providing state-of-the-art facilities in Miami. Childcare Center And everything an athlete needs.
“If you need to get treatment, work with a trainer, use a sauna or ice bath, I'll come here.
The unparalleled thing still has weeks of action left. The playoffs officially end on March 17th. The Colliers Lunner Owl team is currently the only unbeaten team in the league, and she was a huge success at the pace to become the league's MVP.
But perhaps the most influential moment from her unparalleled tenure is the opportunity to share her prize money with those who helped the startup leagues succeed.
