It was just another night in Unrivaled’s inaugural season, fast, exciting, and with the best of the WNBA. Competitive matchups were expected, but no one could have ever guessed the jaw-dropping moment that would set social media ablaze. Breanna Stewart, two-time WNBA MVP, was scheduled to face Washington Mystics rookie Aaliyah Edwards in a 1on1 tournament. Everyone was left talking after what happened next.
On February 10, 2025, during Unrivaled’s first-ever 1-on-1 tournament, Edwards delivered a shocking upset, completely shutting out Stewart 12-0 in under two minutes.
Bleacher Report shared the clip, and it went viral with 13.8 million views. If you looked close enough, you’d see spectators calling on the NBA to adopt a similar event for the All-Star Weekend. Basketball analyst Rachel DeMita joined in on the conversation and made a pretty strong case in favor of the idea.
“If you look at this post by Bleacher Report, it currently has 13.8 million views. There are a lot of comments here. A lot of retweets, and many people are talking about how this is what the NBA should be doing. People have been screaming at the top of their lungs for the NBA to hold a 1v1 tournament at NBA All-Star.” said DeMita.
Jan 17, 2025; Miami, FL, USA; Skylar Diggins-Smith (4) of the Lunar Owls drives toward the basket as Breanna Stewart (30) of the Mist defends during the first half of the Unrivaled women’s professional 3v3 basketball league at Wayfair Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images
With $350,000 on the line, Unrivaled’s single elimination style of play was making comparisons with high stakes UFC style showdowns. Meanwhile, NBA’s viewership trajectory has been inconsistent at best over the last few years. All-Star weekend has seen a steady decline from 9 million in 2011 to 5.40 last year. The three-point shooting contest between Stephen Curry and Sabrina Ionescu did add to the excitement in 2024, but the slam dunk contest, once a signature event of the weekend, seems to settle in the back.
The beginning of the 2024-25 season too saw a notable dip in the viewership compared to last year and it was an alarming call for the league. The facts aren’t lost on Adam Silver and maybe why we see newer formats on the weekend.
All-Star weekend’s new looks over the years leaves more to be desired
The All-Star weekend has seen no lessened efforts to add a spark every so often. We have seen the USA vs. World format and the 3-point contest involving Sab before. Up it a notch this year because we have All-Star Celebrity game and Rising star’s mini-tournament in place.
As the weekend makes its way to the Bay Area for the first time since 2000, we had Kai Cenat, Bayley, Druski, Masai Russell and Terrell Owens lighting up Oakland Arena. The slam dunk contest sees a shake up too with the judge panel including the likes of Kevin Garnett and increased fan involvement through votes. Enter Rising Stars, where young talents from NBA and G-league find an opportunity to play among the NBA bigs, and we know the league is open to embrace new ideas.
Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier’s 1 vs 1 has left the fans wanting for more. Imagine all the talks and challenges in the NBA coming to fruitation if the men’s league were to adopt the new format. High stakes, single elimination rounds, and best-of-three finals is quite the picture. Moreover, the intensity brought in with the ‘make it, take it’ rule might just be what the All-Star weekend ends.
The conversation has started. Fans are on board. That leaves it up to the NBA to decide if they are ready to listen.
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