Another women’s basketball league will tip off on Wednesday, as Athletes Unlimited will start its four-week run at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium. AU features a roster of players with WNBA and international experience, and is one of the growing options for not just basketball players, but all women athletes to continue their careers past college in the United States.
Athletes Unlimited, which launched in 2020 and also has a volleyball and a softball league, was one of the first to give WNBA players a place to play in the United States in the offseason, before Unrivaled became a destination for many of the league’s top stars. AU is backed by a diverse group of investors, including Kevin Durant and Rich Kleiman’s 35V. Durant and Kleiman are on AU’s advisory board alongside sports figures like Jessica Mendoza, Abby Wambach and Caroline Wozniacki.
Here’s what you need to know as the 2025 season gets set to tip off:
How does Athletes Unlimited work?
Now in its fourth season, Athletes Unlimited has a player-led format with an individual leaderboard of 40 players that will be divided into four new teams each week for six total games. Players are given points when their teams win a quarter, when they’re voted an MVP in a game, or when they make a positive impact in a game, such as with points, assists and rebounds. All the points are tallied on a leaderboard, and all impacts have different point values (players can also lose points for certain actions). Every week, team captains — the top players on the weekly leaderboard — draft their teammates. That means players can end up playing with several different teammates throughout the season.
At the end of the season on March 2, the player atop the leaderboard standings is the AU Champion. Tianna Hawkins (2022), NaLyssa Smith (2023) and Allisha Gray (2024) were the league’s previous champions. Gray and Smith are playing for Unrivaled this season and Hawkins is not on the AU roster, so a new champion will be crowned this season.
Who are some of the best players in the league?
About half of the overall roster is comprised of players who also are on WNBA rosters. If you’ve watched women’s college basketball at all in the last few years, you’ll still recognize many of the players who aren’t in the WNBA.
The most accomplished player in the league is Alysha Clark. She has been a part of three WNBA championship teams (two in Seattle, one in Las Vegas), and in 2023 was the WNBA’s Sixth Player of the Year. She is joined by two fellow Las Vegas Aces who also have two championships each, Sydney Colson and Kierstan Bell.
WNBA fans will recognize several standouts on the AU leaderboards. Lexie Brown, Isabelle Harrison, Elizabeth Williams and Kia Nurse are all tested WNBA veterans who can lead AU teams to wins.
Keep an eye out for young WNBA players who have made waves so far, as well. Jordan Horston, who plays for the Seattle Storm, is known for her defense. And the Dallas Wings’ Maddy Siegrist can be a lights-out shooter — she averaged a 50.6% field goal rate in her first two seasons in the WNBA.
What storylines should I look out for?
Athletes Unlimited will be the first time fans can see some players who were dealing with injury and illness as the 2024 season ended. Elizabeth Williams missed much of her season with the Chicago Sky with a torn meniscus. Lexie Brown, playing for the Los Angeles Sparks, missed much of the 2024 season as she dealt with Crohn’s disease. Both have the skill to be among the top performers in Athletes Unlimited.
With WNBA free agency still shaking out, fans will also get a chance to see new combinations of teammates on the court. The Sky recently signed Nurse, meaning she could get a chance to play with Williams, her teammate on a Chicago squad that will look different in 2025. Odyssey Sims and Brown are new teammates on a rebuilding Los Angeles team and could be teammates in AU.
Also, not every spot on a WNBA team has been filled. With several players still needing a team, AU will give them a chance to show off their skills in real games, rather than practices. This gives teams a better idea of how a player can fit on their roster, especially in a five-on-five format.
it just doesn’t get any better than this 🤩
we’re tipping off Wednesday, February 5th at The Nashville Municipal Auditorium! Beat ya there 😉 pic.twitter.com/aCP0OvelQP
— AU Pro Basketball (@AUProBasketball) January 31, 2025
How is this different from some of the other offseason WNBA options?
Unlike Unrivaled, Athletes Unlimited features a five-on-five format. And instead of coaches, each team has a facilitator to advise players, but again, it’s player-led. Captains have the most say in what a team will do on the court, including lineups and in-game decisions. But similar to Unrivaled, there’s no travel — all of the games will take place in Nashville over the four weeks of the season, just as Unrivaled is headquartered in Miami for its two-month season.
The key here is that WNBA players now have a host of options to keep playing in the offseason. The WNBA season is not long enough for a player to continue to improve her game, and players need more opportunities for game action. Players can still head overseas, as leagues in China, Europe and Australia continue to love having WNBA players on their teams. If they want to stay in the U.S., they can play for Unrivaled or AU. The options give the players leverage as they push for more money and better conditions.
How do I watch?
Every Athletes Unlimited game will air on the WNBA app. FanDuel Network will also air 14 of the league’s games, while 10 games will air on ESPN+. Cindy Brunson and women’s basketball legend Sheryl Swoopes will provide commentary for the games. Check out the game schedule here.
