2024 WNBA Finals - Game Five - Source: Getty

Napheesa Collier highlights $35 million Unrivaled investment featuring Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joe Ingles & other stars

Modified Dec 17, 2024 03:21 GMT

Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart co-founded the "Unrivaled" league and the response from the investors was overwhelming. On December 16, thanking the investors, the league announced that the investment round in the league had come to an end.

Collier reposted the post from Unrivaled on her Instagram story. The story highlighted the $35 million investment. The list of investors has some of the big names around the world, including some of the current and former NBA players.

2004 NBA champion and former Detroit Pistons player Rip Hamilton, the Minnesota Timberwolves player Joe Ingles and Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo have invested in the league.

The investments have also come from college basketball. USC Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley is one of the investors in the 3X3 league. Interestingly, JuJu Watkins, who is yet to turn pro is also one of the investors. 23-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps and his wife Nicole have also joined the list of investors.

Napheesa Collier's IG story [Credit: IG/@napheesa24]

Collier's IG story [Credit: IG/@napheesa24]

Napheesa Collier will represent the Lunar Owls Basketball Club in the Unrivaled. The Owls will open the season against her rival Breanna Stewart and the Mist Basketball Club on January 17, at 7:00 PM ET. The game will be televised on TNT.

Napheesa Collier talks teaming up with on-court rival Breanna Stewart for Unrivaled

Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier faced each other in the WNBA Finals. While Stewart's New York Liberty got the best of Collier's Lynx, off the court both made a winning decision.

Napheesa Collier spoke with Bleacher Report about teaming up with Stewart for Unrivaled. The reigning Defensive Player of the Year said that it was "cool" and "rewarding" working with the Liberty star and her UConn teammate.

"It's been great," Collier told Bleacher Report. "Coming together for something that's bigger than us has been amazing as well. I think we both see the vision, even with women's sports already exploding, that it can grow even more.

"We've just taken that opportunity, and it's been very cool working with Stewie the past couple years on this and building it and seeing it come to fruition from the ground up. It's been super rewarding."

There has already been so much attention turned towards Unrivaled with so many of the WNBA stars participating in the inaugural season. If the inaugural season of the league is successful, it could also legitimately fuel the WNBA's overall marketing. Unrivaled will begin the first-ever season on January 17 next year.