"It's not meant to be LIV Golf" - Napheesa Collier's husband Alex Bazzell assures Unrivaled isn't a 'thorn' to WNBA's growth

The highly anticipated tip-off of Unrivaled's inaugural season is just days away. The stage is set for Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart's women's professional basketball league, which will begin following the most successful professional women's basketball season of all time in the WNBA.

Women's basketball has never been more popular, but Unrivaled wants to assure those concerned that the league won't stunt the WNBA's immense growth. On Monday, Unrivaled president and Napheesa Collier's husband, Alex Bazzell, commented on the theory that the new 3x3 league could take attention away from the growing WNBA.

"I don't think our goal here is to put pressure (on the WNBA). It's not meant to be a LIV Golf, PGA situation by any stretch. We think we're very complimentary. The WNBA is in a very short window of a season, and you have seven months of an offseason... The WNBA has been great to us, you have seen teams promoting what we're doing," he said (via si.com).

Bazzell added Unrivaled isn't going to be a "thorn" in the WNBA's side.

"We don't look at this as trying to be a thorn in the WNBA's side just because of how rapidly that's growing. We only want to help that. I think indirectly we help each other a lot. We're not here unless the WNBA is growing the way it is," he said.

Unrivaled landed deals with some of the WNBA's biggest stars and is certainly likely to continue the rapid growth in popularity of women's basketball. The league is scheduled for tip-off on Jan. 17 from Miami.

Napheesa Collier, Breanna Stewart headline first Unrivaled game

Napheesa Collier's Lunar Owls Basketball Club will take on Breanna Stewart's Mist Basketball Club in the first-ever Unrivaled contest. The league's founders will provide an entertaining matchup to start the inaugural season with a bang.

Collier's Lunar Owls squad is rounded out with Courtney Williams, Skylar Diggins-Smith, Allisha Gray, Shakira Austin, and Cameron Brink, though Brink will miss her first season in Unrivaled after suffering a torn ACL in her rookie WNBA campaign.

Stewart's team consists of DiJonai Carrington, Courtney Vandersloot, Jewell Lloyd, Aaliyah Edwards, and Rickea Jackson suiting up alongside the three-time WNBA champion.

Rose Basketball Club and Vinyl Basketball Club will follow the Mist-Lunar Owls matchup for the second leg of a opening-day double-header for Unrivaled. Streaming for Unrivaled contests is available on MAX.