Unrivaled's second season provides key gathering place for WNBA players during CBA negotiations

MEDLEY, Fla. (AP) — Napheesa Collier sat on the bench at Sephora Arena laughing with Unrivaled teammate Skylar Diggins moments before tipoff between the Lunar Owls and Rose BC.

It was a tiny glimpse of what Unrivaled provided star WNBA players in Year 1: high-level competition and camaraderie while offering an arena for players to sharpen their skills ahead of the WNBA season.

Now, at a pivotal moment in the WNBA when players are negotiating what could be the most consequential collective bargaining agreement in league history, Unrivaled is serving a much bigger purpose. The league, which began its second season on Monday, is providing a central gathering place for players to strategize and build solidarity as CBA talks unfold.

“The offseason is always a harder time to try and connect with people,” Collier said in a Zoom last month, before being ruled out for the season because of ankle surgery, “and so to have our CBA happening in the offseason is usually a disadvantage in that way.

“To have players congregated where you can have those in-person conversations and updates and things like that, I think that does help things move more quickly.”

The league and WNBA Player's Association have been negotiating a new agreement for the past few months, extending the deadline a couple of times with the latest one set to expire on Friday. Last month, the WNBPA announced players have authorized their union’s executive council to call a strike if necessary, which could delay the WNBA expansion draft and the beginning of free agency that usually starts in late January. The season itself isn’t expected to begin until late April or early May.

“You heard a lot of chatter that what we're asking for is not sustainable for the business,” Collier said in a television interview during an Unrivaled game Monday night.

“Being on this side with Unrivaled, I know what it takes to run a sustainable business," added Collier, who co-founded the league with fellow WNBA star Breanna Stewart. "I think if they can't find a model that makes that happen, they need to put people in place who can ... I do think a deal is going to get done, but we're standing firm in what we believe, and were not going to back down.”

Ahead of its second season, Unrivaled announced that it is now valued at $340 million after closing its oversubscribed Series B investment round led by Bessemer Venture Partners — a massive figure for the young league and a reflection of the increasing momentum and interest in women’s sports.

“What we want to build this into is Champions League women’s basketball,” said Unrivaled president Alex Bazzell. “And that’s not a competition towards the WNBA, it’s just where we feel like we can kind of position ourselves in the market.”

Bazzell has repeated his belief in the league's potential longevity in part because of its ability to draw some of the game's biggest names — from Collier to the reigning WNBA Rookie of the Year Paige Bueckers — and their long term commitment. Around 75% of the league's players are signed through 2028.

"My strong belief is once people remove the women’s sports blinders and start looking at it relative to what’s going on in the ecosystem in terms of the data," Bazzell said, "it points to that right now. So we are very bullish on not just where we are today but where we’re going tomorrow."

AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball

Lunar Owls guard Skylar Diggins, left, and forward Napheesa Collier wear street clothes as they sit out the game with injuries, at the start of their Unrivaled 3-on-3 basketball game against Rose BC, Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, in Medley, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Breeze BC guard Paige Bueckers (5) is defended by Phantom BC guard Tiffany Hayes (31) in their Unrivaled 3-on-3 basketball game, Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, in Medley, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Rose BC guard Chelsea Gray (12) drives past Lunar Owls wing Rebecca Allen (9) in their Unrivaled 3-on-3 basketball game, Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, in Medley, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Breeze BC guard Paige Bueckers (5) drives past Phantom BC guard Tiffany Hayes in their Unrivaled 3-on-3 basketball game, Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, in Medley, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Lunar Owls forward Napheesa Collier, right, talks with guard Skylar Diggins as both sit out with injuries at the start of their Unrivaled 3-on-3 basketball game against Rose BC, Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, in Medley, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran's army chief threatened preemptive military action Wednesday over the “rhetoric” targeting the Islamic Republic, likely referring to U.S. President Donald Trump's warning that if Tehran “violently kills peaceful protesters,” the United States “will come to their rescue."

The comments by Maj. Gen. Amir Hatami come as Iran tries to respond to what it sees as a dual threat posed by Israel and the United States, as well as the protests sparked by its economic woes that have grown into a direct challenge to its theocracy.

Seeking to halt the anger, Iran's government began Wednesday paying the equivalent of $7 a month to subsidize rising costs for dinner table essentials like rice, meat and pastas. Shopkeepers warn prices for items as basic as cooking oil likely will triple under pressure from the collapse of Iran's rial currency and the end of a preferential subsidized dollar-rial exchange rate for importers and manufacturers — likely fueling further popular anger.

“More than a week of protests in Iran reflects not only worsening economic conditions, but longstanding anger at government repression and regime policies that have led to Iran’s global isolation,” the New York-based Soufan Center think tank said.

Hatami spoke to military academy students. He took over as commander in chief of Iran's army, known by the Farsi word "Artesh," after Israel killed a number of the country's top military commanders in June's 12-day war. He is the first regular military officer in decades to hold a position long controlled by Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.

“The Islamic Republic considers the intensification of such rhetoric against the Iranian nation as a threat and will not leave its continuation without a response," Hatami said, according to the state-run IRNA news agency.

He added, “I can say with confidence that today the readiness of Iran’s armed forces is far greater than before the war. If the enemy commits an error, it will face a more decisive response, and we will cut off the hand of any aggressor.”

Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, have been responding to Trump's comments, which took on more significance after the U.S. military raid that seized Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, a longtime ally of Tehran, over the weekend. But there's been no immediate public sign of Iran preparing for an attack in the region.

Iranian state television reported on the start of a new subsidy of the equivalent of $7, put into the bank accounts of heads of households across the country. More than 71 million people will receive the benefit, which is 10 million Iranian rials, it reported. The rial now trades at over 1.4 million to $1 and continues to depreciate.

The subsidy is more than double than the 4.5 million rial people previously received. But already, Iranian media report sharp rises in the cost of basic goods, including cooking oil, poultry and cheese, placing additional strain on households already burdened by international sanctions targeting the country and inflation.

Iran's vice president in charge of executive affairs, Mohammad Jafar Ghaempanah, told reporters on Wednesday that the country was in a “full-fledged economic war.” He called for “economic surgery” to eliminate rentier policies and corruption within the country.

Iran has faced rounds of nationwide protests in recent years. As sanctions tightened and Iran struggled after the June war with Israel, its rial currency sharply fell in December. Protests began soon after on Dec. 28. They reached their 11th day on Wednesday and didn't appear to be stopping.

Social media videos purported to show new cities like Bojnourd, Kerman, Rasht, Shiraz and Tabriz, as well some smaller towns, joining the demonstrations on Wednesday.

The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency offered the latest death toll of 36 for the demonstrations. It said 30 protesters, four children and two members of Iran’s security forces have been killed. Demonstrations have reached over 310 locations in 28 of Iran’s 31 provinces. More than 2,100 people have been arrested, it said.

The group, which relies on an activist network inside of Iran for its reporting, has been accurate in past unrest.

In this photograph released on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, by the official website of the Iranian Army, Iran's army chief Maj. Gen. Amir Hatami speaks to military academy students, in Tehran, Iran. (Masoud Nazari Mehrabi/Iranian Army via AP)

In this photograph released on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, by the official website of the Iranian Army, Iran's army chief Maj. Gen. Amir Hatami speaks to military academy students, in Tehran, Iran. (Masoud Nazari Mehrabi/Iranian Army via AP)