This offseason, 48 WNBA players will play in Unrivaled, the professional 3-on-3 basketball league that Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart co-founded last year. Some players, as per usual, will head overseas for offseason basketball.
5 WNBA rookies will play in Unrivaled offseason alternative — including former UConn star
Te-Hina Paopao, Aneesah Morrow, Kaitlyn Chen, and other WNBA rookies will lace up for Athletes Unlimited in Nashville this WNBA offseason.
Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images
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.
But, there’s also a third option: Athletes Unlimited (AU). AU is a month-long league taking place in Nashville in features 40 women’s basketball players who compete in regular 5-on-5 basketball games three times a week.
While the product on the floor might look like regular team basketball, the scoring system is quite different from your average league, as individuals rack up points for both individual and team success, and in the end, one individual athlete is crowned the league’s winner.
Athletes Unlimited has already announced that five WNBA rookies will participate in the upcoming season:
- Aaliyah Nye, Las Vegas Aces
- Te-Hina Paopao, Atlanta Dream
- Bree Hall, Indiana Fever
- Kaitlyn Chen, Golden State Valkyries
- Aneesah Morrow, Connecticut Su
Nye, drafted 13th overall, averaged 3.8 points in 15.3 minutes per night, appearing in all 44 games for the Aces.
Paopao, drafted 18th, averaged 5.8 points and 2.4 assists in 16.7 minutes per night for the Dream
Hall, drafted 20th by the Fever, saw limited on-court minutes but enjoyed brief stints with the Fever and Valkyries. She’s currently on the Fever’s playoff roster.
Chen, drafted 30th by the Valkyries, was cut earlier in the season, but re-signed with Golden State and ultimately appeared in 24 games, finishing out the postseason in the Bay.
Morrow, drafted 7th by the Sun, averaged 7.7 points and 6.9 rebounds in 18.9 minutes per night for the Sun. She appeared in 41 games for Connecticut and started more than half of those (23). Already, she’s established herself as one of the league’s premier rebounders.
In addition, the league has shared that the following players will participate, though more announcements are coming.
- Ariel Atkins, Chicago Sky
- Lexie Brown, Seattle Storm
- Tina Charles, Connecticut Sun
- Alysha Clark, Washington Mystics
- Isabelle Harrison, New York Liberty
- Kia Nurse, Chicago Sky
- Jacy Sheldon, Washington Mystics
- Odyssey Sims, Indiana Fever
- NaLyssa Smith, Las Vegas Aces
- Kiah Stokes, Las Vegas Aces
- Jaylyn Sherrod, Minnesota Lynx
- Deja Kelly
- Theresa Plaicance
Last year, Dallas Wings forward Maddy Siegrist was crowned the league’s individual winner, while Indiana Fever guard Odyssey Sims was the league’s runner-up. A plethora of WNBA players, including Dallas Wings guard Ty Harris, Connecticut Sun guard Bria Hartley, and others participated.
Athletes Unlimited tips off in February in the Nashsville Municipal Auditorium.
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