Tag: athletes unlimited basketball

Athletes Unlimited Pro Basketball announces third season will begin in February

Athletes Unlimited is a professional, domestic league boasting Olympians, WNBA champions and All-Stars.

Athletes Unlimited is a professional domestic league boasting Olympians, WNBA champions and all-stars. The third season takes place from Feb. 29-March 23, 2024, with all games being played at Fair Park Coliseum in Dallas, Texas.

Twenty-two players have signed contracts for the 2024 season, including two-time Olympic gold medalist and five-time WNBA All-Star Angel McCoughtry, former South Carolina standouts Tiffany Mitchell (Minnesota Lynx), Zia Cooke (Los Angeles Sparks) and Laeticia Amihere (Atlanta Dream) and recent top WNBA draft picks Queen Egbo (Washington Mystics) and Maddy Siegrist (Dallas Wings).

“We are thrilled to tip off Season 3 of Athletes Unlimited Pro Basketball with such an exciting roster featuring elite talent from across the women’s basketball landscape, and to be back in Dallas, a hotbed of basketball talent and culture,” said Megan Perry, Director of Basketball for Athletes Unlimited. “Fans will be treated to an exciting brand of basketball as these athletes compete to be crowned the champion.”

The players compete under a point system where players and teams are rewarded for individual and team performance. Each week, the four highest-ranked players are appointed captains and redraft teams for the following week’s competition. This not only allows fans to see different matchups each week, but it also allows the players to get a feel for different schemes and teammates.

Many athletes are returning for another season of Athletes Unlimited, including Sydney Colson and Kierstan Bell, members of the 2023 WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces; Lexie Brown (Los Angeles Sparks); Allisha Gray (Atlanta Dream); Kelsey Mitchell (Indiana Fever); and Odyssey Sims (Dallas Wings).

“I’m super excited to be part of Season 3,” said Brown, who chairs the AU pro basketball player executive committee. “Taking on the role of chairperson of the player executive committee has been a really fun experience for me so far and will continue to prepare me for my future goals in front office work. AU Pro Basketball will be the first time I’ve been on the court since July and I can’t wait to compete with and against the amazing players we have on the roster. I can’t say enough how grateful I am to have an opportunity to play in the off-season domestically.”

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Athletes Unlimited partners with Topps to offer first-of-its-kind cards

The 200-card base set features 185 athletes featuring all four Athletes Unlimited sports.

Athletes Unlimited has done it again, putting fans and players at the center of what it does. On Friday, Athletes Unlimited released, in collaboration with Topps, trading cards “featuring all four Athletes Unlimited sports (basketball, softball, lacrosse and volleyball) combined in one set.”

The 200-card base set features 185 athletes and is available at all Target and Barnes & Noble retail locations, Hobby Shops and via Topps and Fanatics. Topps has been a partner of Athletes Unlimited since its inception in 2020.

“Topps has been an incredible partner and supporter of Athletes Unlimited from the very beginning, showcasing the greatest female athletes in the world and providing our fans with an opportunity to own a piece of history,” said Jon Patricof, CEO and co-founder of Athletes Unlimited. “This new set featuring all four of our sports together marks an important milestone in our shared journey, and we are thrilled to see major retailers feature Athletes Unlimited on their shelves.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/CrlOPaUOsO-/

Basketball fans can get their hands on the cards of their favorite players. There are relic cards, limited versions, autographed cards and themed sets that include: Being Unlimited, Record Breakers and the RARE Topps Black Gold cards, which are limited to only 250 copies per featured athlete.

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Allisha Gray, Lexie Hull and CC Andrews earn honors at Athletes Unlimited Basketball

Athletes Unlimited Basketball wrapped Season 2 by awarding honors to the athletes.

Athletes Unlimited Basketball wrapped Season 2 by awarding honors to the athletes. NaLyssa Smith, Naz Hillmon and Odyssey Sims walked away with first through third place, respectively.

However, the awards didn’t stop there.

Allisha Gray took fourth in the league based on leaderboard points, Lexie Hull was named the Defensive Player of the Year and the 2023 Teammate of the Year Award presented by weThink was CC Andrews.

Gray is an Olympic gold medalist and currently plays for the Atlanta Dream of the WNBA, in addition to playing in Athletes Unlimited. She played with her WNBA teammate Naz Hillmon for four weeks of the Athletes Unlimited season. Points are meted out for buckets and great play on the court then tallied into leaderboard totals throughout the season. With this scoring system, Gray had 5,748 total points and shot 91.8% from the free-throw line.

The Athletes Unlimited 2023 All-Defensive Team was voted upon by players and the facilitators of the league. The All-Defensive Team included Ty Young, Jordin Canada, Natasha Cloud, Gray and Hull.

Hull was then voted as the Defensive Player of the Year. She tied for first in steals with 29 on the season and added 97 rebounds. She was the No. 6 overall pick by Indiana Fever in the 2022 WNBA draft.

Andrews won the Sportsmanship Award in the inaugural season of Athletes Unlimited Basketball in 2022 and won the 2023 Teammate of the Year Award. The Teammate of the Year Award was voted on by the players and goes to an individual who exemplifies the most growth-minded awareness of the attributes of good character, integrity and grit.

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Odyssey Sims lands bronze in 2023 Athletes Unlimited basketball championship

“I’m still really good at basketball. I think some people think I fell off but I haven’t. AU speaks volumes so I just let my game talk. Everything else will show for itself,” Sims told Savanna Collins – Digital Media Reporter at Athletes Unlimited.

Athletes Unlimited gives athletes the ability to shine on and off their field of play. WNBA free agent and veteran Athletes Unlimited basketball player Odyssey Sims understands that life is a balance, and she is balancing her personal and professional life with seeming ease.

Sims just finished her second season with Athletes Unlimited and took home the bronze medal. Athletes in this league earn points based not only on buckets, but also on great performances, steals, assists and more. Athletes can also lose points for mistakes on the court. The totals Sims racked up this year are impressive, which landed her in third place on the leader board at the end of the season.

She totaled 6,383 points and led the league in assists (106), minutes played (560), points scored (392) and free throws made (89). She became the first player in Athletes Unlimited basketball history to score 700 career points and was the first Athletes Unlimited basketball player to serve as a captain in all five weeks during a season.

She finished with an 8-7 record as captain this season.

“I’m still really good at basketball. I think some people think I fell off but I haven’t,” Sims told Athletes Unlimited digital media reporter Savanna Collins. “AU speaks volumes so I just let my game talk. Everything else will show for itself.”

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Naz Hillmon wins silver in 2023 Athletes Unlimited basketball championship

The overall champions were crowned and All-American Michigan college basketball standout and current WNBA player Naz Hillmon took home the silver.

While the scoring system for Athletes Unlimited Basketball is slightly different than traditional systems, the excitement and passion is on another level. The players are excited to play, with smiles and laughter filling practices and games.

The second season of Athletes Unlimited Basketball took place in Dallas, Texas, and consisted of five weeks of play. The overall champions were crowned, and Naz Hillmon, a former All-American who plays in the WNBA, took home the silver.

Hillmon played college basketball at Michigan and was the women’s program’s first All-American. She was the first Michigan basketball player – male or female – to score 2,000 points and grab 1,000 rebounds. Hillmon recorded a double-double in the team’s four games in the 2022 NCAA Tournament, finishing her career with 52 overall.

She was drafted 15th overall by the Atlanta Dream in the 2022 WNBA draft and started in 12 of 24 games played in her first season. Before the start of the 2023 WNBA season, Hillmon joined Athletes Unlimited for its second season of play and she turned heads.

Each week of Athletes Unlimited, new captains are picked based on the unique scoring system. Hillmon was in the captain’s chair 12 times and holds an 8-4 record at the helm of her teams.

Hillmon is the winningest captain and medalist of the 2023 season with 3,300 win points acquired from quarters (33) and games (11). Hillmon also was voted MVP honors nine times.

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NaLyssa Smith crowned 2023 Athletes Unlimited basketball champion

Smith set Athletes Unlimited records left and right, including the points in a single game and the most rebounds in a season.

Athletes Unlimited is a new kind of sports league in which the athletes are the epicenter of all decisions. Within that frame of reference, the league crowns individual champions for the season.

At the end of Season 2 of Athletes Unlimited basketball, NaLyssa Smith was crowned the champion and earned the top spot on the athlete leaderboard. This was her first season in Athletes Unlimited, although she is not new to the professional basketball world.

Smith plays for the WNBA’s Indiana Fever and was the No. 2 pick in the 2022 WNBA draft.

Smith set Athletes Unlimited records for points in a single game (50), most rebounds in a season (184), most double-doubles in a season (12) and most leader-board points in a single game (863). She ranked second in free throws made (86) and points scored (363) and finished the season with 6,811 points on the leaderboard.

“Every team I was on, they were so supportive of me,” Smith said. “They helped me achieve every goal I wanted this year. … I’ve been in second in everything. … Just winning this, it means everything. It feels great. I’m enjoying this moment. I worked so hard for this. I put in so much.”

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Dijonai Carrington unavailable for the remainder of Season 2

After being inactive in Week 1 of the season, Carrington was active for Week 2 and Week 3.

Dijonai Carrington is a guard for the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun who played college basketball at Baylor University. She was selected with the 20th pick in the 2021 WNBA draft by the Sun. Carrington also plays for Athletes Unlimited, which plays during part of the WNBA offseason.

Season 2 of Athletes Unlimited basketball kicked off in Dallas on Feb. 19 with the Week 1 draft. After being inactive in Week 1 of the season, Carrington was active for Week 2 and Week 3. However, it was first reported by basketball insider Khristina Williams, per Jade Hewitt, and since confirmed by Athletes Unlimited that Carrington will be unavailable for the remainder of Season 2.

While Carrington has not been playing, she has been vital to her team. Fellow Athletes Unlimited player, Rebecca Harris, shared her thoughts on the news.

Fans still get to see Carrington on the sidelines and have the chance to meet her and get an autograph, but they will have to wait to watch her play until the WNBA season starts.

Carrington and the Connecticut Sun play their first game of the WNBA season on May 19 against the Indiana Fever at Gainbridge Fieldhouse at 6 p.m. CT.

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Oregon’s Sedona Prince shared her plans for the future of her career

With the way the seasons are structured, there is no conflict for athletes to play in the WNBA and in Athletes Unlimited.

If you follow along with March Madness, you have heard the name Sedona Prince. She shined a spotlight on the NCAA’s inequitable treatment of the women’s and men’s basketball tournaments.

@sedonerrr

it’s 2021 and we are still fighting for bits and pieces of equality. #ncaa #inequality #fightforchange

♬ original sound – Sedona Prince

This brought a national spotlight to not only the women’s March Madness, but to Prince herself. She made headlines again when the Supreme Court of the United States ruled against the NCAA in Alston v. NCAA, which ushered in the era of college athletes being able to monetize their own name, image and likeness.

Prince told Boardroom in 2022 that “with the help of her representation at Wasserman, she’s made north of $500,000 across 18 business and partnership deals, with no plans of slowing down” in one year after the Alston decision. She has deals with notable brands Crocs, Uninterrupted, Dick’s Sporting Goods and Champs to name a few.

With her ability to make money in college through her platform, she opted to stay at Oregon for the 2022-2023 season. However, a season-ending elbow injury cut the season short.

She graduated from the university in May 2022 and entered her name into the 2023 WNBA draft that takes place on April 10. It will be exclusively televised on ESPN from 7-9 p.m. EDT and available on the ESPN app.

However, in a short interview on March 11, Prince also revealed she wants to play in Athletes Unlimited basketball Season 3. With the way the seasons are structured, there is no conflict for athletes to play in the WNBA and in Athletes Unlimited.

While Prince’s college career was cut short, we could see her in the upcoming WNBA season and the upcoming Athletes Unlimited season. More Prince is good for all of us.

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Rosters set for Week 4 of Athletes Unlimited basketball

The four players from the previous week with the highest points accumulation are elected captains and draft their dream team.

Each week the new captains for the four Athletes Unlimited basketball teams redraft their teams. The four players with the most points in the previous week are named captains and draft their teams.

Week 4 games start on March 15 and the Week 4 draft was on March 12.

The Week 4 rosters are set with some players competing against their Week 3 teammates. You can follow along with the drafts each week via YouTube.

There are five rounds in the draft each week and a total of 40 roster spots up for grabs with four spots being held by the captains for a total of 44 roster spots in the league.

The basketball is exciting, unique and an opportunity for more players to play professional basketball domestically and not have to travel overseas to play. This is the second season for Athletes Unlimited, which is located in Dallas.

The season runs through March 25.

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Week 3 of Athletes Unlimited basketball ended with surprise guests in attendance

The Athletes Unlimited hoops season runs through March 25 in Dallas.

Athletes Unlimited basketball, a professional women’s basketball league, ended its third week of play on March 11. It had a few surprise guests in the building, including University of Oregon’s Sedona Prince and Los Angeles Sparks and WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike. Prince made headlines in 2021 when she highlighted the inequities between the men’s and women’s NCAA tournaments.

Prince gave a behind-the-scenes glimpse at Athletes Unlimited hoops and ran down a bit of the scoring system and how captains are picked each week. While the rules for the game are the same as the WNBA, the individual points players can earn, the ranking system and the weekly drafts are different than other basketball leagues.

The night was dedicated to the Special Olympics. Debbie Antonelli, a women’s college basketball analyst and founder of 24 Hours of Nothing But Net, was in attendance to help with the 24-hour shoot-a-thon.

The shoot-a-thon was successful: 2,400 free throws were made in 24 hours. Las Vegas Aces’ Theresa Plaisance chose the Special Olympics as her Athlete Cause this season. This program, powered by Give Lively, provides players of Athletes Unlimited a fundraising platform that allows them “to donate funds equal to 100% of their season win bonus to support the causes they love.”

The halftime free-throw contest wasn’t as successful in terms of buckets made, but the participants and audience had fun, which was all that mattered.

The Athletes Unlimited hoops season runs through March 25. Dallas is the home for Season 2 of Athletes Unlimited Basketball and one ticket allows entry to two games.

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