Athletes Unlimited, a professional women’s basketball league taking place in Nashville, Tennessee during the WNBA offseason, is set to conclude this weekend — with its championship game slated for Sunday.
Maddy Siegrist and the 4 WNBA players dominating Athletes Unlimited
The Dallas Wings forward is poised to win AU MVP.
Jade Hewitt
Noa Dalzell is a senior writer covering the WNBA and all of women’s basketball for Breakaway, SB Nation’s women’s sports vertical, as well as the Celtics for CelticsBlog.
The league, which includes 40 women’s basketball players who compete in 5-on-5 basketball three times a week, resembles traditional team basketball but also maintains a leaderboard that tallies players’ individual performances. Each week, the top four players on the leaderboard become captains, and teams are reshuffled accordingly.
With just one game left to play, here’s who tops the Athletes Unlimited leaderboard.
1. Maddy Siegrist (Dallas Wings): The Dallas Wings forward has dominated Athletes Unlimited fresh off her sophomore campaign as a pro. She leads all players in MVP points, made two-pointers, and offensive rebounds. Her play has also translated into team success; she’s won more quarters than any other players and is tied for most wins overall.
The Wings will look different next season without Satou Sabally and Natasha Howard, but if Siegrist takes another leap, those losses can begin to be abated.
Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
2. Odyssey Sims (Los Angeles Sparks): Sims, who re-signed with the Los Angeles Sparks earlier this month, has been dominant in Athletes Unlimited. She leads all players in assists and free throws made, and is currently second in steals.
Sims recently went on Locked on Women’s Basketball and discussed her mentality in chasing the AU MVP.
“I just always tell myself, that’s going to take care of itself,” she said. “I can’t go out and play perfect all week and make sure that I try to go 10 for 10 and not have any turnovers, and not have any errors. I think what’s going to happen, if I’m a champion at the end of it, then it was destined for it to be me. If it’s not, if it’s Maddy, it was destined to be her at the end of the day.”
3. Crystal Bradford (former WNNBA player): Crystal Bradford has been out of the WNBA since 2021, but you wouldn’t be able to tell by watching her hoop for Athletes Unlimited. She currently leads all players in defensive rebounds and steals, and is third overall on the individual leaderboard.
4. Ty Harris (Dallas Wings): Ty Harris is fresh off a career-best season with the Connecticut Sun, and her success in Uncasville has carried over to AU Pro. She currently leads all players in three-pointers made and is fourth overall on the leaderboard.
5. Maya Caldwell (Atlanta Dream): Dream guard Maya Caldwell has had a great AU season. The former 2021 third-round pick is currently ranked fifth overall and has the fourth-most MVP votes.
Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images
Team Bradford and Team Simms are set to face off on Thursday night, followed by Team Siegrist vs Team Harris.
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