Angel Reese was ruled out of the Unmatched Finals with an injury, and Rose emerged victorious in the Chicago Sky star’s absence to beat Vinyl and become the first Unmatched Champions
Angel Reese was thrilled as her Rose won unrivaled to secure a $50,000 payday while sitting on the sidelines with a wrist injury.
On Monday night, Reese’s Rose emerged from the inaugural season as champions, despite being written off by many before the season. The Rose cruised to a 62-54 victory on Vinyl to claim Skinded’s first championship, with Brittney Sykes scoring a driving layup and the game-winning free throw to finish with 21 points.
Azurá Stevens had 19 points and 18 rebounds, while Chelsea Gray scored 18 points with eight assists for the Rose. The Vinyl was led by Rhyne Howard’s 22 points, while De Dearica Hamby and Aliyah Boston each scored 10 points in the loss.
Gray, who plays for the Las Vegas Aces, was voted the all-time playoff MVP after helping the Rose overcome a 1-4 start to win their first league title. The 32-year-old also set an all-time record with 39 points in the Rose’s semifinal win over the Aces to help them advance to the title game, where they emerged victorious. But they did it without Reese.
The Chicago Sky star missed the semifinals with a hand injury. During their final regular-season game, Reese appeared to reintegrate the left hand that had been surgically repaired and that prematurely ended her WNBA rookie season.
She was excluded from the finals, but Reese still supported her teammates—perhaps because of the lucrative $50,000 prize pool for each winning player. She took to social media to post: “50k needs DattTTT”
Unplanned, the new 3×3 league, was staged in Miami and co-founded by WNBA All-Stars Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart. The league paid each of its 36 players a guaranteed salary of $250,000 for the eight-week season, and Reese was happy to bring in the extra pay; she wrote another tweet that read, “So proud of this group man!”—along with a rose and pink-faced, crying emojis.
The Rose are the first Unmatched Champions ahead of the Moon Owls, Phantom, Vinyl, Mist, and Laces. Reese was named Unmatched Defensive Player of the Year and a Second Team All-American.
Unmatched offers the highest average salary of any women’s sports league, building a custom arena and practice and training facilities in Miami. Along with the guaranteed average salary, players also receive equity stakes as league owners, making it a compelling financial and professional endeavor.
In an interview with Wae, Reese spoke about the benefits of playing in the early stages of the league. She said, “For me, I stay in the States, I don’t have to go overseas. I make six figures, I live in Miami during my off-season. I play with 34 of the best players in the WNBA, who can get better. Some of the best coaches, we had T-Spoon, we have Phil, we have a lot of great coaches there.
“I’m excited to really enjoy composing and getting better. Obviously, the games are going to be cool and fun, but I just want to learn from the vets and stuff.”
