Unrivaled helped Kahleah Copper find joy in basketball again. Now it could be coming to her hometown.

The 2024 WNBA season was difficult for Kahleah Copper. After competing for Team USA in the Paris Olympics, she struggled in the second half of the season with the Phoenix Mercury.

A back injury, which she suffered halfway through September, only made matters worse. Over the last 12 games of her regular season, Copper averaged 16.8 points, compared to 23.2 before the Olympics.

“I had a rough second half,” she said. “It was just a lot that year.”

A burgeoning three-on-three league — Unrivaled Basketball — helped her find joy in the sport again. Rather than playing overseas last offseason, Copper decided to try Unrivaled, which is based in the Miami area.

She’s glad she did. The shooting guard said it brought her back to her North Philly roots: playing three-on-three pickup games at 33rd and Diamond and a “makeshift court” on 32nd and Berks.

Copper was in middle school at the time. She was one of the only girls in her league and had little exposure to high-level women’s basketball, beyond catching a glimpse of a WNBA game during computer class at Girard College.

Now, things are changing. Philadelphia is getting its first WNBA team in 2030. And Unrivaled — which is entering its second season — could be coming to Copper’s hometown as a tour stop.

“I think that would be lit,” Copper said of that possibility. “I think us not having a WNBA team [yet], you’re not really seeing professionals. I think that it would be great because Philly has got some of the best fans in the world. Super passionate for every sport that we have.”

» READ MORE: After injury setbacks, Kahleah Copper brings ‘just a kid from North Philly’ energy to Mercury

Unrivaled was founded in 2023 by WNBA forwards Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart. The goal was to present an offseason alternative to the league’s players, many of whom traveled overseas to compete.

Some players liked the change of scenery. But many missed their families and loved ones while they were gone. There were language barriers and cultural changes to overcome. Some of the countries in which they played could be dangerous to the players’ livelihoods.

There wasn’t a better option in the United States, so Collier and Stewart decided to create one. Unrivaled’s six teams would practice and compete on a soundstage at Wayfair Arena in Medley, Fla., in front of 850 fans.

It would be three-on-three basketball, on a 72-foot-long court, meant to encourage a faster-paced, more exciting style of play. Players would have access to everything they needed and more: top chefs, childcare, nursery rooms, infrared saunas, estheticians.

Unrivaled hired skills and development coaches to work with its athletes throughout the eight-week season, led by USA Basketball performance coach Susan Borchardt, as well as training and medical staff.

On top of that, the majority of the women would have an ownership stake in the league. All players would be paid six-figure salaries, with their contracts negotiated between their agents and league executives.

“When I first heard about it, I’m like, ‘This is going to be dope,’” said Copper, who played for Rose Basketball Club. “I felt like you could just hoop. I felt like it took me back to my childhood, just playing at the playground.

“And then being able to make really good money and be in Miami in the winter? Yeah, that’s definitely too good to be true.”

In its first season, Unrivaled drew some of the biggest names in women’s basketball: Sabrina Ionescu, Angel Reese, Skylar Diggins, Broomall native Natasha Cloud, and more.

The idea was to not just make the WNBA offseason bearable, but to make it enjoyable. To not just pay players well, but to do so while helping them elevate their games.

Copper, a graduate of Prep Charter and Rutgers, believes playing three-on-three has helped her in that regard. It was the style she grew up on in North Philly, when she was just a middle schooler with big aspirations.

“You’re just hooping,” she said. “Three-on-three is much different than five-on-five. If [you’re] a hooper, you know that. It’s so free, it’s so open, so much space. And with my game, I just like to play in space.”

» READ MORE: Before Philadelphia had a WNBA franchise, it had the Rage. Their former players are celebrating a full-circle moment.

According to Unrivaled, 35% of its players saw a career high in points per game in the first half of the 2025 WNBA season. Thirty-eight percent had a career-high in assists, and 26% saw personal bests in rebounds.

For Copper, there were multiple benefits. This year, she has shot better from deep, and is a more efficient player overall.

She’s also seen a shift in how she feels about the game itself. After a grind of a 2024 season, Unrivaled was a “fresh start.”

“It’s just finding that joy again, of just playing free and having fun,” Copper said.

She added: “Hoopers understand that three-on-three is just so different. It’s really like some pickup. You’ve got to guard. You really compete every single possession. And when you love the game, that’s the [expletive] that you love.”

The league has been expanding rapidly. On Sept. 10, it added two teams and recently saw its valuation increase to $340 million.

In an attempt to grow the league’s audience, Unrivaled has been eyeing a tour stop outside of its home arena in Florida this season. Philadelphia has emerged as a potential host.

If it does, Copper has no doubt it’ll have an impact on the next generation.

“I think for so many young girls in the area, it would be continuing to give them something to see,” she said, “so they can continue to aspire to be that.”