MEDLEY, Fla. – Napheesa Collier is … unrivaled.
Collier, the reigning WNBA Defensive Player of the Year, won the Unrivaled 1-on-1 tournament Friday night, beating center Aaliyah Edwards for the grand prize of $200,000.
An Unrivaled co-founder with Breanna Stewart, Collier was “Crowned The One” as she accepted a trophy and crown on stage following the win.
“Phee, you have earned the biggest single prize money in women’s basketball history,” Unrivaled commissioner Micky Lawler said while presenting a mega-sized $200,000 check.
Collier is set to make $214,284 in the final year of her contract with the Minnesota Lynx this upcoming WNBA season, according to Spotrac.com.
She didn’t have to play five months of a WNBA season or seven months overseas to earn that much on Friday.
“My entire WNBA salary is what I got for 30 minutes of playing 1-on-1 – which is insane to even say,” Collier said during her postgame press conference.
Collier responded after falling 9-6 in the first game to Edwards in their best-of-three final series by winning the second game, 9-4, and shutting out Edwards 8-0 in the deciding game.
She celebrated by hugging supporters by her bench and lifting her 2-year-old daughter, Mila, before kissing her husband, Unrivaled president Alex Bazzell, on the baseline.
Collier beat Katie Lou Samuelson in the first round, Rickea Jackson in the second round, and Lunar Owls teammate Courtney Williams in the quarterfinal before facing Edwards. She also secured $10,000 for each of her club teammates — Williams, Skylar Diggins-Smith, Allisha Gray, and Shakira Austin.
“Of course we want to win the prize money, but we want to further the culture,” Collier said of the 1-on-1 tournament’s possible effect on the sport. ‘It feels great to win that money, I’m not going to lie. But it makes it better we get to share it with our team. I’m excited for that.”
Collier and Edwards each reached the final after winning their semifinal matchups earlier in the night. Edwards beat Arike Ogunbowale, while Collier beat Azurá Stevens. Each won by a score of 11-2. Ogunbowale and Stevens each walk away with $25,000 as semifinalists.
The Washington Mystics’ Edwards, the No. 6 pick in the 2024 WNBA draft, was the unheralded No. 8 seed who made it to the final. She takes home $50,000 as the runner-up.
Edwards beat Stewart – a three-time WNBA champion and three-time Olympic gold medalist – 12-0 in the first round, and did not have a second-round matchup as players dropped out of the tournament due to injuries.
She then beat Gray in the quarterfinals before ousting her second No. 1 seed, Ogunbowale, in the tournament. But she was unable to beat a third in Collier.
Edwards wasn’t a fan of the best-of-three final format, with the winner needing eight points to win instead of 11 points in every other game in the tournament. But she walks away with some bragging rights, herself.
“Absolutely, I’m in a good mood. I made it to the finals, and it’s the last step of this whole tournament. I’m proud of myself. No one could take that away from me,” Edwards said.
“All the work I put in, I was able to showcase that and let everyone know I’m not one to play with. … More people are noticing how much my work is paying off, and I think that’s the biggest reward.”
Edwards attended Connecticut just like Collier, and called the final a “full circle moment” after practicing against Collier at UConn about two years ago when Collier was pregnant.
Edwards asked Collier the final question of her postgame press conference, asking if she’d like to “run it back again” before the two posed for a photo together before the end of their night.
“I don’t want to run it back next year because you’re a really tough defender, but I have no doubt that we will be playing each other again” Collier told Edwards.
Unrivaled’s 1-on-1 tournament was the midseason point in the women’s basketball 3-on-3 league founded and started by WNBA players as an offseason alternative. The regular season resumes Tuesday and runs until March 10. The playoff semifinals will be on March 16, and the final will be on March 17.
Collier has been Unrivaled’s best player, leading the undefeated Lunar Owls (8-0) with 29.3 points and 11.5 rebounds. Her 1-on-1 tournament win is a continuation of her success in the last year, where she won her second Olympic basketball gold medal at the Paris Games last summer and had a runner-up finish with the Lynx in the WNBA Finals last October.
One thing Collier is going to use her prize winnings on: Maybe, a new pair of sneakers. The superstitious Collier has often worn her Nike Kobe 9 Elite Low Protro ‘Halo’ sneakers through the last year of competition and complained about getting a little bit of red sauce on them at Unrivaled.
“I’m so superstitious. It’s like a sickness. I wore them in the WNBA Finals, and we did well. And I wore them all season here, and I’m doing well,” Collier said.
“They’re so stained, though, like I spilled sauce on them. They’re dirty from people stepping on them. So, I might have to retire this pair, but I’ll probably get the same pair (again).”
Unrivaled highlights
Unrivaled 1-on-1 semifinal results Friday
Napheesa Collier has advanced to the finals, after beating Azura Stevens 11-2 during their semifinal matchup.
Aaliyah Edwards has advanced to the finals, after beating Arike Ogunbowale 11-2 during their semifinal matchup to start the night.
How to watch Unrivaled 1-on-1 finals on TV
Unrivaled is available on cable television on TNT and TruTV in the United States, and TSN+ in Canada.
Watch: Unrivaled games on Sling TV
How to live stream Unrivaled 1-on-1 finals
Unrivaled games are also available to live stream on Max, and internationally on YouTube.
What do Unrivaled players win?
The winner of the 1-on-1 tournament will win $200,000, the runner-up will receive $50,000, and the other two semifinalists will take away $25,000. Each club teammate of the winner will also receive $10,000.
Unrivaled 1-on-1 quarterfinals results Tuesday
Here’s the quarterfinal results from Tuesday night:
Aaliyah Edwards beats Allisha Gray, 12-6.
Azura Stevens beats Rae Burrell, 12-2.
Napheesa Collier beats Courtney Williams, 12-4.
Arike Ogunbowale beats Satou Sabally, 12-8.
Unrivaled 1-on-1 second-round results Tuesday
Here are results of the second-round games Tuesday night:
Allisha Gray beats Kahleah Copper, 11-5.
Rae Burrell beats Jewell Loyd, 11-4.
Azura Stevens beats Shakira Austin, 11-4.
Napheesa Collier beats Rickea Jackson, 12-5.
Courtney Williams beats Rhyne Howard, 11-9.
Arike Ogunbowale beats Skylar Diggins-Smith, 11-8.
Satou Sabally beats DiJonai Carrington, 11-4.
Unrivaled 1-on-1 tournament, first-round results Monday
Napheesa Collier beat Katie Lou Samuelson, 12-6.
Shakira Austin beat Chelsea Gray, 12-2.
Kahleah Copper beat Aliyah Boston, 11-6.
Rhyne Howard beat Lexie Hull, 12-7.
Skylar Diggins-Smith beat, Dearica Hamby 11-3.
Allisha Gray beat Jordin Canada, 11-4.
Rickea Jackson beat Jackie Young, 11-3.
Aaliyah Edwards beat Breanna Stewart, 12-0.
Which Unrivaled players are not participating in the 1-on-1 tournament?
Unrivaled announced Sunday night that the following players won’t participate due to injury: Tiffany Hayes, Kayla McBride, Alyssa Thomas, Natasha Cloud, Brittney Sykes, Kate Martin and Marina Mabrey.
Angel Reese, Brittney Griner, Sabrina Ionescu, Courtney Vandersloot, Stefanie Dolson and Cameron Brink were already scheduled to not participate.