Unrivaled is already paving a new path the impact of which is being felt throughout the basketball landscape. The brand-new women’s league recently held a 1v1 tournament, pitting 30 of the best female players in the world against one another for a cash prize of $200K. The tournament was won by Napheesa Collier, who beat Aaliyah Edwards in the finals.
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This bold tournament inspired Fox reporter Rachel Nichols to ask several NBA players whether they would be interested in a 1v1 tournament in the future — and the response was mostly quite positive. This included responses from top league talents like James Harden, Anthony Edwards, Dame Lillard, Kyrie Irving, and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Harden told Nichols that the idea “would be fire.” He later added that the level of competition in the league is so high that it would force players to “bring their A-game” and “bust out some moves.”
“Hell Yeah” – Anthony Edwards.
On Open Run, I asked a bunch of NBA All Stars what they thought of doing a 1-on-1 tourney at next year’s event – and a LOT of them said they’re in. Let’s go… pic.twitter.com/k5ppQCCRyp— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) February 17, 2025
Nichols spoke to Edwards next. He gave a resounding, “Hell yeah,” to the idea, then predicted that he would be the tournament champion. Giannis agreed with Nichols’ pitch as well, adding that the thrill of playing “1 on 1 with anybody” means he would “love to do it.”
Irving gave the most layered response out of everyone. The 2016 NBA Champion said he’s down for the idea, but also claimed there needs to be an “appreciation” for 1 on 1 play first. He believes that even commentators would have to call the action differently than they what they do on a traditional 5 on 5 setting.
But he seemed excited about the prospect nonetheless.
Could a 1 v 1 NBA tournament really work out?
While the idea sounds incredibly exciting on paper, there are certain setbacks to having a 1 v 1 NBA tournament. For starters, the league could face the same issue it currently has right now with the slam-dunk contest, which is stars opting to not participate despite claiming they are interested early on.
Unrivaled founder Breanna Stewart still participated in the women’s 1 v 1 tournament even though she had publicly acknowledged that going toe-to-toe against one other player wasn’t the strongest point of her game. There’s certainly a possibility that some top NBA names would be good sports like Stewart, but there’s also a possibility that they would not.
Another setback is determining some sort of class system. Putting a powerhouse forward like Anthony Davis against a smaller guard like Dame Lillard provides a mismatch. Sure Dame could shoot the three-ball, but if he misses? Davis will outpower him in the post for an easy victory.
If the NBA were to go in this direction it could certainly provide more spark to the All-Star weekend. However, with basketball being such a team sport one wonders if the excitement would fade away after a single season.
