Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier are co-founders of the new 3-on-3 women’s league Unrivaled, which is scheduled to begin play in January.

But first, the former UConn teammates will compete against each other in this year’s WNBA finals.

Stewart, the 2023 league MVP, is seeking the third championship of her career but her first in two seasons with the Liberty after losing to the Las Vegas Aces in the title round last year.

Collier, the runner-up in MVP voting that year behind Vegas’ A’ja Wilson, was a freshman, while Stewart was a senior on the Huskies’ four-team NCAA championship squad in 2016, the youngest in Geno Auriemma’s storied program.

“My first impression of Phee was that she was this versatile kid who came to UConn in the pickup (games), long and lanky and kind of just not sure where we were supposed to go,” said Stewart, a two-time champion with Seattle Storm in 2018 and 2020, said a day before the series opener Thursday night at Barclays Center. “Seeing her evolve from there to who she is now, the growth and maturity, is something that never ceases to amaze me.

“She was my freshman student. So if you understand what I’m saying, you’re so proud of your development.”

Collier, the 2019 WNBA Rookie of the Year after being selected sixth overall in the draft by the Lynx, has finished in the top five in MVP voting three times in the last five years.

The 6-foot-10 forward was also named the league’s best defensive player this season and was also a teammate of Stewart and Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu in Team USA’s gold medal win at the Paris Olympics this summer.

“When she was in school, we probably didn’t talk as much because it’s like a bridge in time,” Stewart said. “Being in the league, being a mom, and of course being a business partner at USA Basketball, we’ve definitely developed a bond or kind of rekindled it since college.

“I am pleased with the success she has achieved on and off the field and know it will be an uphill battle.”

Unrivaled is scheduled to launch in Miami in January with six teams and 30 players, but Stewart and Collier will put their shared business interests aside for the next seven to 10 days, with a potentially pivotal Game 5 at Barclays Center scheduled for October. 20.

Both players scored 20.4 points per game, leading their respective teams during the regular season, but Collier raised her scoring average to a league-best 27.1 points with 9.7 rebounds in seven postseason appearances in the first increased in both rounds against Phoenix and Connecticut.

“I love Stewie. “To be honest, it’s a great honor to be able to play with her again at the Olympics,” Collier said before Thursday’s game. “She’s one of the best players in the world, so it was so cool. And of course we start this league together

“But I think it’s two really great basketball teams competing, one and two in the league competing, and I think we’re the best teams, so I’m excited to see how it turns out.”

Collier has averaged nearly twice as many points as the Lynx’s second-highest scorers in the playoffs, guards Courtney Williams (13.7 ppg) and Kayla McBride (13.6).

The top-seeded Libs lost twice in three games to the Lynx in the regular season and a third time in the 2024 Commissioner’s Cup.

“They play basketball the right way,” Liberty coach Sandy Brondello said. “Great teamwork, great defense. They make it difficult. They shoot great and give you the distance you need. They are a good team.

“Of course they beat us a few times, but I don’t think they saw us at our best. It’s a new season now and we have to do our best.”