Unparalleled silences critics with a record attendance of more than 21,000

Unrivaled started as an ideaand it has become a phenomenon.

The women’s three-on-three basketball competition began Last year in Miamiand this year the league has decided to go on tour. The first stop on Friday evening resulted in record crowds for a sold-out doubleheader.

With 21,490 fans at Philadelphia’s Xfinity Mobile Arena, Unrivaled set all-time records for the most-attended professional women’s basketball game in the regular season and the most-attended event ever at the arena that hosts the Philadelphia 76ers and Flyers, as well as numerous concerts.

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The previous respective records were 20,711, set by Caitlin Clark‘s Indiana Fever and the Washington Mystics on September 19, 2024, and 21,424, hosted by the Backstreet Boys’ “Into the Millennium” Tour on September 29, 1999.

Some critics may be surprised, given the low ratings at the start of the league’s second season. But David Levy, an early investor in the league and former president of TNT Sports, felt the numbers were skewed and that success was on the horizon.

The Breeze’s Paige Bueckers controls the ball against the Phantom during the first half of the Unrivaled 2026 game at Xfinity Mobile Arena on January 30, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Hunter Martin/Getty Images/Getty Images)

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“I’m concerned with the facts. The facts are that every other metric is going up,” Levy said.

Levy said he knew the league would be a hit when he realized the quality of play was A-plus.

“The most important thing is that the product on the floor has to be great. I didn’t know that beforehand. I didn’t know how hard these girls were going to play. I didn’t know that. Was this going to be more of a scrimmage? But after the first two weeks, I knew it was gold,” Levy said.

Clark and A’ja Wilson, perhaps the The WNBA’s two biggest starshave yet to join the competition. But that’s OK for now, Levy said.

“If you had closed your eyes and tried to say, ‘What if this was…’ NBA product? And you had the top 56 NBA players, except Steph Curry and LeBron didn’t play, but everyone else participated. This would be the hottest part of the summer. If that was a summer league, it would be sold out,” Levy said.

The Breeze’s Cameron Brink controls the ball against the Phantom during the second half of the Unrivaled 2026 game at Xfinity Mobile Arena on January 30, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Hunter Martin/Getty Images/Getty Images)

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“Every great player plays in a three-on-three league. It’s absolutely a huge opportunity, and that’s why I think it’s grown so quickly. The quality of the game, the names on the back of the jerseys, the social strategy is great. These women all have equality. Everyone has a following; female athletes are fully engaged with their fans. The range of impressions, I think, is phenomenal. I think that’s why the league is as successful as it is after just a year and three weeks.”