1 vs 1 A. Edwards # 8 seed vs N. Collier #1 seek : A Husky Win!

[Zarathustra]

In the finals of the UNRIVALED LEAGUE's one on one tournament it was
# 8 seed Aaliyah . Edwards vs # 1 seed Napheesa Collier Best 2 out of 3
with the finals tied at one to one. THE HUSKY WON! i.e. Napheesa!! 8 - 0

Aaliyah got to finals by beating two # 1 seeds: Stewie in the first round
and Arike O. in the semi-finals. Napheesa defeated another former
Husky, A. Steven in the other semi-final. Great Stuff!

 

[CL82]

Aaliyah got gassed otherwise I thought she had it after the first game.

 

[oldude]

So the wife of the league commissioner won the inaugural 1v1 tournament?

 

[MilfordHusky]

So the wife of the league commissioner won the inaugural 1v1 tournament?

I think he’s the President.

 

[MilfordHusky]

I thought Liya looked really, really good.

Phee was simply Phee-nomenal.

 

[Zarathustra]

So the wife of the league commissioner won the inaugural 1v1 tournament?

It looks like the "wife's" team, THE LUNAR OWLS, might also win the 3X3
league. The "OWLS" are 8 - 0! BTW, with Napheesa winning the
ONE on ONE competition (worth $200,000.00), the rest her 3x3
teammates also won $ 10,000 each. Now that is team sharing!
League play continues next week: TNT, etc.

 

[Skeets]

Aaliyah got gassed otherwise I thought she had it after the first game.

I thought the same thing. Starting in the second game Phee was blowing right around her. That didn't happen in the first game.

Is there a better advertisement for UConn than having 3 Huskies in the final 4? (High school kid: "Gee which college offer should I accept? I dunno let's see what's happening in the 1x1 tournament.)

 

[RoadMaster]

Swipe..

 

[yhun89]

Hard fought, but you could tell Li was exhausted in the end. Wasn’t getting up to guard and was outrun by her for the last few possessions. Great fight otherwise.

On another note, Phee might have some of the best post footwork I’ve ever seen. You think it’s a travel, but no, she just knows when to use her pivot and gather step.

 

[JellyBean]

That was a fun 1v1 competition and pretty competitive tournament. Congrats, Phee and to Aaliyah for making it to the Championship round.

 

[and one]

Fun to watch for sure. I was rooting for AE for no other reason than she needs the money more than Phee. But all's good with Phee getting the win.

Aside from the actual basketball, the telecast was so over the top as to be almost unwatchable. I know, this is the way the hype-machine runs these days. All exclamation points and rows of emojis. The interviews (to loosely use the term) were so awful the players looked like they wanted to bolt and run.

 

[Jackalope]

I love Phee, but the nickname "Queen Phee" is a little over the top, and definitely does not suit her personality.

 

[EricLA]

I thought the whole tourney was done well. Visually, it was on point - not a mis-step anywhere. Well organized, the trophy was a good size (unlike the MVP Plum got for the all star game), and it was a fun, fast paced format. I thought it was cute that the crown on the trophy came off and was put on Pheesa's head. Next time they need to make it a tiara since the crown didn't fit well over her bun! The announcers were very good - giving us info without being over the top (the rules are obviously completely different).

Would have liked for them to interview Liya after the finals, even tho she lost. Felt like a missed opportunity. I thought Liya was just terrific. I think Pheesa has a broader skill set (especially her step back jumper), but Liya was unstoppable the rest of the tourney. She definitely was gassed at the end.

Speaking of Liya, after she thumped Alisha Gray in quarterfinals, you could tell Gray was really pissed. And after she beat Arike in the semifinals, Arike dropped -bomb as she walked off the floor. Neither was a poor loser, but you could tell neither thought they would lose to Aliyah.

$200K to the winner, $50K to the runner up, and $10K to all the teammates of the winner. Lots of fun for the players, and great camaraderie. In the W, there are definitely players with beefs, who dislike others, play overly physical, scuffles, etc. Haven't really seen that in unrivaled. Maybe it's there but I haven't seen it. Just fun, hard fought, high quality basketball. I hope the investors think this is a success and it continues to grow.

I've really enjoyed the format. Some surprise "stars" in the league - and it seems to really benefit athletic forwards/wings. Players like Jackson, Howard, Burrell, Liya, Phee, Stewie, Hamby and Sabally. Of course the guards are getting theirs - led by McBride (or is she more a wing?), Tiff Hayes, Ionescu, Gray, and Copper.

BTW anyone know why Wilson is not in the league?

 

[Zarathustra]

Fun to watch for sure. I was rooting for AE for no other reason than she needs the money more than Phee. But all's good with Phee getting the win.

Aside from the actual basketball, the telecast was so over the top as to be almost unwatchable. I know, this is the way the hype-machine runs these days. All exclamation points and rows of emojis. The interviews (to loosely use the term) were so awful the players looked like they wanted to bolt and run.

Even though I agree about the "over the top" statement (see "and one", above), as I watched all the commercials, etc., I said to myself: "If this is what it takes for the UN-
RIVALED 3x3 and 1X1 to succeed, then I willing to put up with the accompanying aggravation. Go Aaliyah! Go Napheesa!, Go Stewie! and all the other UNRIVALED
sisters! I also agree with another thread posting === 1X1 was a great
endorsement for all H.S. (for example, Irish, and Canadian, and Ecuadoran! etc), players to come to Storrs

 

[HuskyNan]

Fun to watch for sure. I was rooting for AE for no other reason than she needs the money more than Phee. But all's good with Phee getting the win.

Aside from the actual basketball, the telecast was so over the top as to be almost unwatchable. I know, this is the way the hype-machine runs these days. All exclamation points and rows of emojis. The interviews (to loosely use the term) were so awful the players looked like they wanted to bolt and run.

I think us older folks aren’t the target audience. Younger people like the emojis and over the top-ness

 

[BRS24]

I thought the whole tourney was done well. Visually, it was on point - not a mis-step anywhere. Well organized, the trophy was a good size (unlike the MVP Plum got for the all star game), and it was a fun, fast paced format. I thought it was cute that the crown on the trophy came off and was put on Pheesa's head. Next time they need to make it a tiara since the crown didn't fit well over her bun! The announcers were very good - giving us info without being over the top (the rules are obviously completely different).

Would have liked for them to interview Liya after the finals, even tho she lost. Felt like a missed opportunity. I thought Liya was just terrific. I think Pheesa has a broader skill set (especially her step back jumper), but Liya was unstoppable the rest of the tourney. She definitely was gassed at the end.

Speaking of Liya, after she thumped Alisha Gray in quarterfinals, you could tell Gray was really pissed. And after she beat Arike in the semifinals, Arike dropped -bomb as she walked off the floor. Neither was a poor loser, but you could tell neither thought they would lose to Aliyah.

$200K to the winner, $50K to the runner up, and $10K to all the teammates of the winner. Lots of fun for the players, and great camaraderie. In the W, there are definitely players with beefs, who dislike others, play overly physical, scuffles, etc. Haven't really seen that in unrivaled. Maybe it's there but I haven't seen it. Just fun, hard fought, high quality basketball. I hope the investors think this is a success and it continues to grow.

I've really enjoyed the format. Some surprise "stars" in the league - and it seems to really benefit athletic forwards/wings. Players like Jackson, Howard, Burrell, Liya, Phee, Stewie, Hamby and Sabally. Of course the guards are getting theirs - led by McBride (or is she more a wing?), Tiff Hayes, Ionescu, Gray, and Copper.

BTW anyone know why Wilson is not in the league?

Liya seemed to have a chip from the beginning, and that's the edge she needs for the W this summer. And shame on Gray and Arike for perhaps assuming that they'd beat her. I thought guards would dominate this tourney, however there were some surprises. I thought Skylar would go further. Liya's skillset has expanded and improved from last summer. She was so confident in her drives, and those 3 pt shots vs Stewie were amazing.

I was glad to see this final, as I did not want to see a Phee v Arike "rematch".

Between Unrivaled and AU winter play, I hope the leagues continue to be successful so that players do not have to go overseas if they want to make money. In the Candice/Stewie podcast, there was chatter about more stateside opps being good, however players in the Olympic pool would need international experience, as it's a different game than the W.

In addition to WIlson, I was also wondering about Clark, however based on endorsement $$, they can be more selective as to what they do in the offseason. Clark may have needed the rest after playing continuously from October 2023 to June 2024.

 

[Jonathan14]

I thought the whole tourney was done well. Visually, it was on point - not a mis-step anywhere. Well organized, the trophy was a good size (unlike the MVP Plum got for the all star game), and it was a fun, fast paced format. I thought it was cute that the crown on the trophy came off and was put on Pheesa's head. Next time they need to make it a tiara since the crown didn't fit well over her bun! The announcers were very good - giving us info without being over the top (the rules are obviously completely different).

Would have liked for them to interview Liya after the finals, even tho she lost. Felt like a missed opportunity. I thought Liya was just terrific. I think Pheesa has a broader skill set (especially her step back jumper), but Liya was unstoppable the rest of the tourney. She definitely was gassed at the end.

Speaking of Liya, after she thumped Alisha Gray in quarterfinals, you could tell Gray was really pissed. And after she beat Arike in the semifinals, Arike dropped -bomb as she walked off the floor. Neither was a poor loser, but you could tell neither thought they would lose to Aliyah.

$200K to the winner, $50K to the runner up, and $10K to all the teammates of the winner. Lots of fun for the players, and great camaraderie. In the W, there are definitely players with beefs, who dislike others, play overly physical, scuffles, etc. Haven't really seen that in unrivaled. Maybe it's there but I haven't seen it. Just fun, hard fought, high quality basketball. I hope the investors think this is a success and it continues to grow.

I've really enjoyed the format. Some surprise "stars" in the league - and it seems to really benefit athletic forwards/wings. Players like Jackson, Howard, Burrell, Liya, Phee, Stewie, Hamby and Sabally. Of course the guards are getting theirs - led by McBride (or is she more a wing?), Tiff Hayes, Ionescu, Gray, and Copper.

BTW anyone know why Wilson is not in the league?

I agree with you 100% about not interviewing Aaliyah. Why not take 1 minute to present a trophy to the runner-up like they do in a tennis Grand Slam? I bet some young people see themselves reflected more in the underdog rookie than in the veteran All-WNBA mom and wife.

As for A'ja, I read before the Unrivaled season started that, with the exception of her first off-season from the WNBA, A'ja has spent her off-seasons doing a similar conditioning and training routine, resting and rehabbing any injuries, and that has worked so well for her development as a player that she wasn't eager to change it. She and Napheesa are good friends and she had good words to say about the league and the opportunities it gave WNBA players. She also said she wouldn't rule out playing in the future.