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Sue Bird Explains How Unrivaled Has Benefitted From the WNBA

Sue Bird got honest about how Unrivaled has capitalized on the WNBA's massive boom in popularity.

Grant Young

Jul 12, 2023; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Sue Bird arrives on the red carpet before the 2023 ESPYS at the Dolby Theatre. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Jul 12, 2023; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Sue Bird arrives on the red carpet before the 2023 ESPYS at the Dolby Theatre. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The women's basketball world is now just two days away from the highly-anticipated start of the Unrivaled 3x3 women's basketball league, which tips off on January 17 in Miami, Florida.

Unrivaled has already secured an impressive number of investments from major names within the basketball community. Among these are Geno Auriemma, Dawn Staley, JuJu Watkins, Giannis Antetokoumnpo, and many other prominent figures in the sports industry.

One person who isn't a confirmed Unrivaled investor to this point is WNBA legend Sue Bird. However, Bird made it clear that she's bullish on this new league during a January 15 episode of her A Touch More podcast.

"Unrivaled has benefited from the WNBA, the growth in women’s basketball in general. It's coming at the exact right time," Bird said. "Sometimes, how do you explain when timing is so perfect? It just happened the way it happened.

"To their credit, from a business standpoint, [they're] making the most, they're capitalizing on this boom. They're capitalizing. You already mentioned the sponsorships, the partnerships, getting the media deal," Bird continued of Unrivaled. "All of that, the timing was so perfect."

She then added, "And that's where I do think Unrivaled and the WNBA can really benefit each other. They're different games, so it's not in direct competition. Yet, they can do everything... and it will just continue to raise the profile of both leagues, which I really love.

It sounds like Bird will be tuned in to Unrivaled's first slate of games between some of the sport's biggest superstars on Friday.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

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.

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