MEDLEY, Fla. (AP) 鈥� Napheesa Collier of the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx took home $200,000 on Friday after she beat Washington Mystics forward Aaliyah Edwards in the final of Unrivaled’s 1-on-1 tournament.
The winner’s check was the largest one-day prize in women’s basketball history, Unrivaled commissioner Micky Lawler said, a big payday that was among the goals of Collier and fellow WNBA star Breanna Stewart when they founded the 3-on-3 league.
Unrivaled gives WNBA players opportunities to compete in the United States and earn good salaries 鈥� an especially attractive option for players who for years suited up overseas in the offseason to supplement their income. Players earn an average salary of more than $220,000 during the eight-week season, which is close to the maximum base salary in the WNBA.
鈥淢y entire WNBA salary is what I just got in 30 minutes of playing 1-on-1,鈥� Collier said. 鈥淲hich is insane to even say. And same for (playing) overseas. A lot of people, this is their full contract, so you鈥檙e playing seven months for this kind of money.鈥�
Collier, a No. 1 seed in the 30-player tournament, won the best-of-three series 2-1 over the eighth-seeded Edwards to become Unrivaled’s first 1-on-1 champion.
Each game between the former UConn standouts was played to a winning score of 8, with Edwards coming from behind to take the opener and Collier winning the final two.
Collier’s five Unrivaled teammates each received $10,000 from the tournament’s $350,000 prize pool. Edwards got $50,000 for reaching the final.
Collier hopes women’s basketball can embrace the 1-on-1 format.
鈥淵ou see guys or boys playing in the parks 鈥� like pickup or one-on-ones, and you don鈥檛 see that on the women鈥檚 side as much,鈥� she said. 鈥淪o that鈥檚 something we鈥檙e trying to change, just that atmosphere where everything鈥檚 not as organized basketball, but just playing in your backyard or at the park.鈥�
The win capped a dominant tournament run for Collier, who plays for Unrivaled’s Lunar Owls and leads Unrivaled in scoring at 29.3 points per game.
Earlier Friday, Collier overwhelmed former UConn teammate and No. 6 seed Azura Stevens in their semifinal matchup. Collier scored the first eight points of the game and the reigning WNBA Defensive Player of the Year relied on stifling defense to win 11-2.
Collier breezed past Katie Lou Samuelson in the first round before winning a physical second-round battle against Rickea Jackson. She then beat her Lynx and Lunar Owls teammate Courtney Williams to reach the semifinals.
She shot her way past Edwards in the decisive Game 3, making 4 of 6 shots and holding Edwards scoreless.
Edwards, who plays for Mist in Unrivaled, beat two top-seeded opponents on her way to the final, cruising past No. 1 seed Arike Ogunbowale 11-2 in the first semifinal matchup earlier Friday. Before that, she shut down No. 1 seed Stewart 12-0 in the opening round. After earning a second-round bye, Edwards topped third-seeded Allisha Gray 12-6.
Ogunbowale and Stevens won $25,000 each for reaching the semifinals. Rounds up to the finals were single-elimination and played to a winning score of 11. All games had traditional scoring, with each basket worth either two or three points.
The 22-year-old Edwards is preparing for her second season with the Mystics and hopes her performance Friday shows how hard she’s been working to improve.
鈥淚鈥檓 proud of myself. No one could take that away from me,鈥� Edwards said. 鈥淎ll the work I put in. I was able to just showcase that and kind of let everyone know that, you know, I鈥檓 not one to play with.鈥�
Collier noted that the physicality of some matchups left a lot of players gassed during the tournament, which is something she said could be addressed next season.
She’d love to see a similar event for NBA players.
鈥淚t鈥檚 up to the players if they want to do it,鈥� Collier said. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e putting your name on the line. You鈥檙e putting your reputation on the line. It鈥檚 a vulnerable situation. So again, I really commend everyone who competed in this because … anyone can win.鈥�
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