Unrivaled players rave over record crowd at Philly tour stop - ESPN

PHILADELPHIA — The 3-on-3 Unrivaled league made history in its inaugural tour stop, drawing 21,490 fans at Philadelphia's Xfinity Mobile Arena, an all-time record attendance for a regular-season women's professional basketball game as well as for any event in the venue's history.

The record attendance was announced during the first game of Friday's double-header.

«It was unbelievable,» league co-founder Napheesa Collier said. «You could feel the love tonight. I'm so glad we came here. I just can't explain it more than I was just so filled up with joy. It was amazing.»

Rose coach Nola Henry added: «It was just what women's basketball deserves.»

The contest marked the second-year league's first game outside of Miami, where its eight-week season runs early January through early March. It was also Philadelphia's first professional women's basketball game since 1998, when the ABL was still in operation and was home to the Philadelphia Rage. The city is set to welcome a WNBA expansion team in 2030, when it will become the league's 18th team.

The Unrivaled festivities in Philadelphia occurred across two days, with a community event and clinic held on Thursday before Friday's contests between the Breeze and Phantom (a 71-68 Phantom win) as well as the Rose and Lunar Owls (a 85-75 Lunar Owls win).

Fans assembled around the arena hours before tipoff, donning Unrivaled or WNBA gear to support their favorite stars or teams, and stayed through the three hours of action. Among the celebrities who made appearances and sat courtside were women's basketball legend Dawn Staley; former NFL standout Jason Kelce and his wife, Kylie; comedians Wanda Sykes and Leslie Jones; «Good Morning America» anchor Robin Roberts; and Philadelphia 76ers