The Unrivaled semifinals will be held Monday night in New York City, but the continued talks over a new collective bargaining agreement in the WNBA loom large over the 3-on-3 league that 

Paige Bueckers said that all she wants to do is play basketball. But in speaking to the media in the hours before her Breeze team faces Breanna Stewart and Mist BC in the second semifinal at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, the WNBA’s reigning Rookie of the Year expressed disappointment with how little apparent progress has been made since the 2020 CBA expired on Jan. 9.

“At this point, it’s not really a negotiation anymore. Both sides aren’t moving,” Bueckers said. “We as players we don’t want to have a strike, we want to have a season. But there are things that need to be handled, and we want to do it as professionals.”

Paige Bueckers airs out her frustration with WNBA CBA negotiations:

“At this point it’s not really a negotiation anymore… we as players we don’t want to have a strike, we want to have a season.” pic.twitter.com/Gpb7AvJ5WS

— Sportico (@Sportico) March 2, 2026

The WNBA has told the Women’s National Basketball Players Association that the framework of a new CBA must be in place by March 10 in order to guarantee a full season, which is slated to start on May 8.

In addition, the league needs to hold free agency and an expansion draft for the Portland Fire and the Toronto Tempo.

It is clear that frustration — from Bueckers and others — is only growing at the protracted state of CBA talks.

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