Philly is Unrivaled: Historic Night Breaks Records Once Held By This '90s Boy Band

Unrivaled made its mark in the City of Brotherly Love, leaving history in its wake. Trading South Beach sun for the Philadelphia frost—Unrivaled is sizzling.

Photo Credit: Unrivaled

Unrivaled not only expanded its reach to the north, but the three-on-three women’s professional basketball league seized control of Philadelphia. On Jan. 14, the league announced that its Philly takeover, set for Jan. 30, was sold out.

That wasn’t an exaggeration. The first-ever Philly tour drew in a whopping 21,490 at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Home of the 76ers and Flyers, tonight’s doubleheader set an all-time record for the highest regular-season women’s basketball game. A league run from January through March, tonight marked Unrivaled’s first-ever expansion game. Aside from tonight, all games have been held at Sephora Arena in Miami.

Just Women’s Sports reported this week that ticket demand for Unrivaled was higher than for the 76ers’ games.

Not just that, the 21,000+ fans set an all-time attendance record for the Xfinity Mobile Arena. Let that sink in—Unrivaled holds the record attendance for the largest arena in Philadelphia. Among those in attendance were Wanda Sykes, Dawn Staley, Robin Roberts, Leslie Jones, Andre Drummond, and NBA guard Kyle Lowry just to name a few.

The old mark drew in 21,305 during Michael Jordan’s last game as a member of the Chicago Bulls in Philadelphia on April 17, 1998. Yes, I’m talking about THE Michael Jordan, arguably the best player to ever grace the hardwood.

Turns out they were right on the money, literally.

Unrivaled Breaks Arena Attendance, Tops Backstreet Boys, Michael Jordan

The historic news doesn’t come as a surprise, given that Philadelphia was awarded the 18th WNBA franchise, the newest expansion team set to debut in 2030. Now in its second season, Unrivaled drew in unprecedented numbers last year. Drawing in a league valuation of $340 million following the first year, the inaugural season generated nearly 590 million social media impressions. Furthermore, merchandise sales exceeded seven figures, and the league averaged 221,000 viewers.

Clearly, the appetite is robust for Unrivaled and women’s basketball. Here’s a statistic that shows the significant growth and popularity of women’s basketball. Having broken the arena’s all-time attendance record, the previous record was set by the iconic heartthrob pop group The Backstreet Boys, whose Into the Millennium Tour drew 21,305 fans in September 1999.

Yes, I’m talking about the popular 90s and 2000s band that produced ‘I Want It That Way’ and ‘Everybody (Backstreet’s Back).’

With over 21,000 attendees, the crowd got their money’s worth. The first matchup of the doubleheader included Phantom BC’s 71-68 victory over Breeze BC, thanks to Kelsey Plum’s game-winning layup. Headlined by Paige Bueckers’ 23-point performance, the former UConn standout couldn’t propel her squad (Breeze) to victory. However, it was a thrilling back-and-forth matchup that went down to the wire.

It’s not the Ellie Wave, but it’s certainly packed here in Philly tonight #Unrivaled pic.twitter.com/knU1XLWqac

— Geoff Magliocchetti (@GeoffJMags) January 31, 2026

Marina Mabrey Steals the Show, Makes History

Perhaps Lunar Owls guard Marina Mabrey stole the spotlight on Friday. A New Jersey native, Mabrey grew up just an hour from Philly and delivered the performance of her life. Leading Lunar Owls to an 85-75 victory over Rose BC—Mabrey set an Unrivaled scoring record with 47 points, shooting 18-28 from the field, and 10-15 from beyond the arc. Leading a shorthanded club, Mabrey delivered heat check after heat check.

Marina Mabrey in Unrivaled win on Friday:

47 PTS
18-28 FG
10-15 3PT

All-time league record set in PTS, FG, 3PM.pic.twitter.com/cyGZMZb2rL

— Underdog WNBA (@UnderdogWNBA) January 31, 2026

Far exceeding the WNBA’s single-game attendance record of 20,711 set by the Indiana Fever and Washington Mystics in 2024, tonight’s event shattered several other benchmarks. Women’s basketball has seen a surge in popularity over the past couple of years, including the Caitlin Clark era. Tonight’s numbers only prove one thing: the demand for women’s sports is insatiable.

Paige Bueckers on Attendance: “It’s Beautiful to See”

When asked whether tonight’s event compares to any other, Bueckers isn’t a fan of living in comparison, but expressed her shared enjoyment of the fans and of being part of history.

“I’m not a huge fan of living in comparison because I really just enjoy each moment in itself,” said Bueckers post-game. “This is amazing—even when we were warming up, the crowd was screaming, and they were really just there to support. You look up in the stands and see many different-colored jerseys. There is just so many women to support, and so that’s really, really huge.”

Along with her post-game comments, Bueckers emphasized her desire to set the stage for future generations and explained why this event held such personal significance for her.

“It’s beautiful to see, just because we feel like, again, the women before us paved the way, and now we’re finally getting the recognition, the media coverage, accessibility on TV. Like, we’re playing in an NBA arena and sold out 21,000, so it really means a lot. Just because of me growing up watching the game and knowing how amazing those women were, and how many people have paved the way, and then what we want for the next generation as well. It’s really amazing to be a part of, and we never want to take it for granted, just these opportunities.”

Unrivaled President, Alex Bazzell, mentioned “we will be doing more of these in the future,” indicating Unrivaled’s expansion is very much in future plans. That said, this is another reminder that the rise of women’s sports goes beyond the WNBA.

Unrivaled will return to action in South Beach Saturday night, as Hive BC will square off against Mist BC at 4:30 p.m. ET, and Laces BC and Vinyl BC will match up at 5:45 p.m. ET (truTV/ HBO Max).

Be sure to follow Sara Jane on X, @SaraJGamelli