Napheesa Collier

The WNBA Star Bringing More Money to Women’s Basketball — and Its Players

Napheesa Collier isn’t just setting records on the court — although the WNBA star was named the Defensive Player of the Year and runner-up for league MVP, and she earned her second gold medal with Team USA at the Paris Olympics. She’s also leading the charge to make women’s basketball more bankable, especially for the players who power the game. Not only is she fighting for better pay for her WNBA peers, as a vice president of the WNBA executive committee, she also partnered with fellow WNBA standout Breanna Stewart to found Unrivaled, a new three-on-three women’s basketball league. In its first year, the league raised $35 million, landed a multi-year media rights deal with Warner Bros. Discovery’s TNT Sports, and snagged corporate sponsorships with brands like Under Armour, Sprite, and Samsung. The endeavor has paid off for Collier personally, too, after the power forward won the league’s one-on-one tournament and took home $200,000, the largest single prize in women’s basketball history.

By Audrey Goodson Kingo