Sabrina Ionescu and Kayla McBride’s Unrivaled debuts Saturday were the first time they played a competitive basketball game since the WNBA Finals. It has been almost three months since the Liberty beat the Minnesota Lynx in overtime to claim the franchise’s first title.

Unrivaled makes its debut on Friday and some players are hoping that it puts some pressure on the WNBA to make key changes.

FIBA 3×3 historically has led to players’ improving in isolation and pick-and-rolls. For instance, Jackie Young ’s 2021 Olympics experience helped transform her ballhandling, and Hailey Van Lith has become a dramatically better pick-and-roll player after the 2024 Paris Olympics.