It’s unclear whether Diana Taurasi, the face of the Mercury, will play in her 21st season with Phoenix. What lies ahead for the franchise?

Years ago, Phoenix Mercury guard Natasha Cloud began to hear about rumblings of a basketball league. That league would become Unrivaled. The 3×3 league, put together by Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart has been the talk of the WNBA offseason.

After years of hard work, Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier's vision finally became reality when Unrivaled tipped off in Miami last week. The debut of the long-anticipated 3-on-3 league has brought women's professional basketball into a new era.

As some of the biggest WNBA stars are competing in Unrivaled amid free agency, there’s a lot of speculation surrounding market movements. In that scenario, a Phoenix Mercury veteran will listen to offers for the first time.

The WNBA season is months away, but there’s now an opportunity to watch WNBA stars including Breanna Stewart, Napheesa Collier and Brittney Griner.

Brittney Griner has embraced the opportunity to stay sharp during the WNBA offseason by playing in the newly launched Unrivaled 3-on-3 basketball league. The Phoenix Mercury All-Star praised the league for filling a void in her year-round training routine and providing an alternative to playing overseas.

New York Liberty stars were unable to withstand a fourth quarter comeback in the debut of the new 3-on-3 league.

Starting a professional sports league from scratch, even one as relatively small in scope as Unrivaled, was not an easy task. The star duo has received plenty of support along the way, including from WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert, who gave her blessing to the project early on.

The new 3-on-3 Unrivaled league cofounded by Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier reached 364,000 viewers in its TNT debut.

Unrivaled is the next big thing in women’s sports, setting a new standard for how professional women athletes should be treated in their respective leagues.

Oct 16, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart (30) shoots against the Minnesota Lynx during the second half of game three of the 2024 WNBA Finals at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

Center Brittney Griner is expected to see what other options are on the table before returning to the Phoenix Mercury - the franchise she's spent her entire WNBA career with