Hi everyone and welcome new subscribers! We are The Townies, a collective trying to change the way we talk about women’s hoops. Please reach out to say hi or to challenge us to a game of 3v3.
A short while ago, the new Unrivaled league started in Miami. Two WNBA players, Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart, created the 3v3 league in part so elite WNBA players don’t have to play overseas in the offseason.
To get into the spirit of things, the Townies (and their wives and friends) held a draft lottery to decide which team everyone would root for.
I ended up with the Lunar Owls (Napheesa Collier, Courtney Williams, Skylar Diggins-Smith and company), which I’m feeling pretty good about.
Overall, watching Unrivaled kinda feels like randomly getting to see your summer camp best friends during the school year. Like: is this really happening? Is it gonna last?
This weekend I sat down with the Townies to see how they’re feeling about their Unrivaled team and the league in general.
The following conversation has been edited for rambling and cancel-able opinions, but is still pretty unfiltered and revealing if you ask me.
Which Unrivaled team did you choose? Why?
Kess: With the second pick in the draft I chose Phantom, because I love BG and Sabrina and they didn't have any players I don’t like. A lot of teams had at least one person who I was less excited to root for.
Kayla: I chose the Mist because Rose was gone. (Rose has Kahleah Copper, Angel Reese, etc.) But the Mist were my second pick because of Jewell Loyd and Stewie.
Alissa: Wait, are you a Jewell Loyd fan? I don’t know that I knew that about you.
Kayla: I don’t know that I’m a huge fan, I just think she has so many different skills that translate well to 3v3. She’s just such an offensive player. And Stewie is so versatile. I saw those two players and was like: “OK, they’re gonna be good.” I just don’t think the chemistry is good yet.
Kess: Part of me wanted to pick the Laces for Kate Money Martin, but I don't really f* with Alyssa Thomas. But now I kinda regret it cause they're so fun to watch.
I also regret picking Phantom. They tanked a lil’ to start and their merch isn't as cool as the other teams. Rose is definitely the coolest logo and merch, but wifey got there first, so.
Alissa: Any regrets for you Kayla? (At 0-4, the Mist have the league’s worst record.)
Kayla: No. Just gotta let it shake out.
What were your initial impressions of the games?
Kayla: I love full-court 3v3. I think it’s a cool concept. It’s an offensive-minded person’s dream. No help side defense. You get to see so much individual skill and talent showcased.
One of my reactions was that the crowd wasn’t lit. I know it’s a smaller crowd, so maybe that has to do with it. But I mean, you have to be a pretty big women’s basketball fan to go to these games, so I thought the crowd would be more lit.
Alissa: I wonder if there’s like a Super Bowl vibe, where it’s more of a VIP event than it is a fan intensity thing. Or maybe a lot of people aren’t like us and didn’t have drafts within their friend groups to get hyped for the league.
Kess: I think as a product, this league is genius. They're doing so many of the marketing things that I've felt would be easy for the WNBA to do. I watch the games and just think, “damn, Stewie and Pheesa got it right.” They're doing the thing. They’re more than just ballers, they’re business ballers.
Sometimes during the games there are “YMCA” stretches where players are just wilding out and jacking transition 3’s, etc. What do you think of those stretches?
Kess: That part really messed the Phantom up, cause the 3’s weren't falling. I wonder if as time goes on, teams will see the pros and cons of being more particular with their 3-point shot selection.
Kayla: I think those stretches happen in the WNBA anyways. It’s just a part of the game, and in modern basketball I think transition is becoming more widely accepted as a good opportunity to get open shots.
Alissa: I feel like the fact that basketball as an institution didn’t recognize transition as a great scoring opportunity for so long is really dumb.
Kayla: Right, like it was viewed as risky, or, “you won’t get the best shot because we're not running a play in the half court offense.” But sometimes your most open shot might be a 15 footer in transition.
Which Unrivaled team do you think you’d fit in with the most?
Kess: I’m not sure. I really wanna be Kate Martin's bestie, but AT scares me. I've also been wondering where AT’s wifey is. DeWanna didn't wanna play? Is she just back at the team apartment chillin’?
Kayla: The team that I want to fit in with would be Rose. There’s so many cool people on the team. Chelsea Gray, the best point guard in the W, subjectively. You’ve got Kah, who’s just so cool. And Angel Reese, one of the biggest personalities and young players in the league. So I would want to fit in with them, but I don't think I would. I don’t think I have the chill necessary.
Alissa: I don’t know that they’re that chill? But I know what you mean, as a team they do have an “We’re cooler than you,” energy which…
Kayla: Which I don’t have. I think I would actually fit in more with Phantom. Natasha Cloud, my (celebrity crush) wifey is there. And I mean, who doesn’t wanna play with their wife? Sloot and Quigs did. And Marina is cool, we have our Chicago bond, she’s making everybody mac and cheese.
Speaking of Marina. On Instagram recently, Angel asked Marina whether she left Chicago because of her. (Marina denied that). What’s your current theory of why Marina left Chicago midseason?
Kayla: We did have the whole sub-theory that there was a love between Marina and Chennedy Carter. A forbidden love. I don’t know that that’s true, it’s just a fun theory that I want to be true. It seems like maybe there were just locker room issues on the Sky that we didn’t know about. Which is crazy given how we follow the team. Perhaps that was affecting Marina.
Kess: I think it’s possible Marina left Chicago for the "locker room vibes." And that Angel contributed to that in ways by being such a young player that Chicago was obsessed with building around. On the bench it always felt like everyone had an opinion and no one was a leader. I could see how listening to a young voice (Angel) who hadn't even been in the league a year could’ve been frustrating for Mabs. Sometimes Mabrey sees red and probably thrives under the clear guidance of an Alyssa Thomas/DeWanna Bonner monarchy in Connecticut.
One theme from Unrivaled so far is that the league is a big bonding experience for all the players. What do you think about that? Do you think any of the non-Unrivaled WNBA players are getting jelly seeing the fun times on socials?
Kayla: Some of the Unrivaled players probably have, like, their best friends from their teams back home. And those at-home besties might be getting jealous of these new Unrivaled best friendships. Plus, Unrivaled is this exclusive league where you had to be invited to be a part of it, so maybe the bubble players that thought they should have been Unrivaled–they’re probably experiencing some jealousy.
But overall, it seems like everyone is having a lot of fun. They’re in better facilities and set-ups than is the norm for WNBA teams, which makes it easy to bond when you’re not upset about your working conditions.
Kess: I hope that Unrivaled kinda feels like college basketball winter break. That they’re just making food and walking into each other's rooms without texting first. And that right after games they text each other and trash talk and gossip etc.
There was an Instagram moment of DiJonai Carrington giving Marina a bag full of seasonings, implying that Marina needs help properly seasoning her food. What are your thoughts on this?
Kayla: I’m glad someone’s there for Marina. It can be hard. She’s moving to a new city, Miami. You don't have your cabinet full of seasonings. And if you’re like me, you don’t really know what seasonings to have for everything. DiJonai sounds like she knows. I’m happy that Marina has that in her life.
Kess: The Mabrey sisters have been big on social media lately. I do believe it's possible Marina needs more seasonings. But I also think she's a player of a generation that didn't get shoe deals in college and isn't popular enough of a pro to get one now. So bits like her cooking segment and being visible on social media is how she can make some extra money on the side. Just a hypothesis.
Unrivaled is using a special format for the fourth quarter called the “Elam ending.” After the third quarter ends, they turn the clock off and create a “target score” based on the score so far, and whichever team hits the target first wins.
In regular basketball, the fourth quarter can become really annoying. The losing team is fouling to stop the clock, or the winning team is stalling to waste time, and the game loses its rhythm. The Elam ending gets rid of all of that, and it also ensures that the game always ends on basketball’s pinnacle achievement: a made basket.
I remember reading about the Elam ending years ago when it was considered this radical idea that would deform the game. But then they started using it at the NBA All-Star games, and it was cool, and now Unrivaled is using it too. What do you guys think of it?
Kayla: I love the dynamics. When a team gets really close to that target score, tension rises, excitement rises, and especially in tight games I think that’s gonna make it more exciting rather than a normal fourth quarter where you’re going back and forth, fouling, and taking more time. It’s gonna be free flowing basketball throughout the whole time.
Kess: I think it's so dope. So so dope. Like a great addition to the product that makes tuning in so fun and is great for making clips that are social media friendly. And so far there hasn't been a boring game winner, they've all been cool plays or dope shots.
Are there any WNBA players that you wish were in the league but aren’t?
Kayla: Candace Parker.
Kess: I wish Diana Taurasi ten years ago could be in it cause she'd be so funny. Or like Wubble-era Sue Bird so Megan Rapinoe could be courtside.
I also wish Kelsey Plum would have played because 1) I’m in love with her and 2) she's so funny to watch.
I also wish Caitlin Clark fandom was less hyper crazy because someone just sinking deep 3’s would be so hard to guard in this format and would be fun.
I keep feeling like players should dunk, maybe because they get so much runway to build up to their drives, but a dunking A’ja Wilson would be fun.
Since you’re now probably feeling inspired to watch Unrivaled, tune in tonight at 6:30 CT to see my Lunar Owls play Vinyl, and again at 7:30 CT for Rose vs. Laces!! The games are on TNT and streaming on Max.