JuJu Watkins and Dawn Staley Join New List of Big Name Unrivaled Investors
We are almost exactly one month away from the launch of the new Unrivaled 3x3 women's basketball league, which tips off for its first season on January 17 in Miami, Florida.
It's no secret that Unrivaled has already secured some extremely solid investors (such as former ESPN President John Skipper) which is why the new league can pay its players an unprecedented salary for a women's sports league.
And according to a press release that was released on December 16, Unrivaled will have even more financial backing that includes a few giants within the sports world.
"Today, groundbreaking professional women’s basketball league announced the close of an oversubscribed Series A investment round headlined by superstar investors, including NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo, Olympic Gold Medalist Michael Phelps, Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Member and University of South Carolina Women’s Basketball Coach Dawn Staley, University of Southern California Women’s Basketball Star JuJu Watkins, and many more," an email attached the press release wrote.
"Given their contributions, Unrivaled secured more than $28 million in Series A funding to go along with the $7 million raised during the league’s seed round, which was announced in May 2024. The $35 million total reflects the tangible enthusiasm for Unrivaled that both transcends and elevates women’s sports."
New 3-on-3 women's basketball league Unrivaled has just announced investments from:
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) December 16, 2024
• Dawn Staley
• JuJu Watkins
• Michael Phelps
• Giannis Antetokounmpo pic.twitter.com/NUDIgKUSm0
Watkins (who is still just 19 years old) and Staley being part of this new round of investors — which includes major names like Michael Phelps and Giannis Antetokounmpo — is such a major win for women's sports. These women's college basketball icons are clearly keen on investing in their sport and helping grow this new league that has a ton of hype and intrigue around it.
Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.