Since January, Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart have been changing the game with their new women’s basketball league, Unrivaled. The league is already turning heads, especially with its intense one-on-one finals where players battled for a $200K prize down the line. When the dust settled, Collier stood tall as the champion. And she didn’t just win the paycheck, it caught the attention of NBA legend Kevin Garnett.

He gave Collier a well-deserved shout-out. But the picture didn’t end there. He had something to say to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, something that could push the conversation about women’s basketball even further.

The Unrivaled 1-on-1 tournament ended thrillingly, with No. 1 seed Napheesa Collier ending Aaliyah Edwards’ Cinderella run. Edwards took Game 1 with a 9-6 win. But Collier responded with a dominant 9-4 victory in Game 2. And the stage was set for the last and final showdown. The winner takes all but any hopes for a nail-biter quickly faded. Collier shut out Edwards 9-0.

Notably, Kevin was shocked to see this unexpected performance from Collier and couldn’t hold himself back from showing his respect to her on his Instagram. Along with praising Collier, he had a strong message for Adam Silver.

Kevin shared the picture of Collier getting the crown after becoming the tournament champion with the trophy in her hand. Kevin wrote, “Shout out to the QUENN of the hill 👑Napheesa @napheesa24..You did it😤🫡💯”. It was very much expected from a legend to show respect to another. But what Kevin did next was unexpected. He wrote, “Hey NBA @nba TAKE notes…frfr💯 @Unrivaledbasketball 🔥🔥🔥🫡💯”.

Now, this shows that Kevin applauded Unrivaled for embracing the one-on-one format before the NBA. And successfully managed to pull in new fans to the game. And this is something that Commissioner Adam should look into too, or did he mean something else? What do you think?

Whatever his intention might be, one thing is certain, this is a moment to celebrate for Napheesa Collier and the WNBA. But do you know what Collier had to say after winning the tournament?

Napheesa Collier after winning the Unrivaled burns some words

Before the Unrivaled tournament even began, Napheesa Collier made her mission clear. “You see guys or boys playing in the parks, like pickup or one-on-ones, and you don’t see that on the women’s side as much,” she said. “So that’s something we’re trying to change—just that atmosphere where everything’s not as organized basketball, but just playing in your backyard or at the park.” 

It’s great for women’s basketball considering how the WNBA continues to grow. Unlike the expansion plans in the NBA getting stalled, the WNBA goes all in with expansion plans. They remain keen to add new teams to the already stacked league.

Along with Breanna Stewart, Collier aimed to shake up the WNBA landscape, and she successfully did so. But, along with changing the culture, she didn’t ignore the financial side of the game either. After winning the tournament, she dropped a truth bomb. “My entire WNBA salary is what I just got in 30 minutes of playing 1-on-1, which is insane to even say. And same for overseas. A lot of people, this is their full contract, so you’re playing seven months for this kind of money,” she said.

She wasn’t exaggerating. The average Unrivaled salary sits at over $220,000 for an eight-week season, right around the WNBA’s max base salary. But this is just the beginning. Where will this new league go from here? Will Collier’s push for change reshape the future of women’s basketball? What do you think?