15 WNBA players sign on for Athletes Unlimited's second basketball season

• Athletes Unlimited has signed 15 current or past WNBA players for its second basketball campaign.
• Former WNBA All-Stars, champions, and top-notch rookies will face off for a month in Dallas, Texas.

Athletes Unlimited has inked 31 players — including 15 current and former WNBA stars — for its upcoming basketball season.

The innovative professional basketball league, which serves as a complement to the WNBA by keeping stars stateside during the off-season, announced Tuesday that it's set to host its second campaign from February 22 to March 26, 2023 in Dallas.

In addition to returning six of its top 10 stars from last year's campaign in Las Vegas — including Natasha Cloud, Lexie Brown, Odyssey Sims, DiJonai Carrington, Courtney Williams, and Taj Cole — Athletes Unlimited has signed several additional WNBA stars, champions, standout rookies, and even an Olympic gold medalist to its impressive roster of contenders.

NaLyssa Smith, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2022 WNBA Draft who went on to earn All-Rookie honors after her professional debut, could have easily traveled overseas to play like many others in the W. Instead, she chose to remain in the US and join AU back in her home state of Texas.

"I love that it's in Dallas, so my family could see me play again," Smith told Insider. "Because they missed a lot there in the WNBA for sure."

Location was far from the only factor influencing the Indiana Fever forward's decision to suit up for AU. A former Baylor Bear, Smith joined the Fever's ranks for her rookie season less than a month after ending her collegiate career.

Had she gone abroad to compete for a European or Asian club, Smith very well could have spent an entire year playing at the top levels of women's basketball without a moment for rest and recovery. She knew herself and her body well enough to understand that she "needed a break, honestly."

And Athletes Unlimited gave her the time for just that.

"I went straight from college straight to the WNBA, then it would've been straight to overseas," Smith said. "So I knew like as soon as the WNBA ended I was gonna do AU, because it gives you some time to prepare."

"Then you go play AU and you still get to compete at a high level," she added. "It's not you taking time off — you're still going to compete and you get to play with different people... I feel like this is gonna help me grow a lot."

Athletes Unlimited's unique athlete-centered model, which offers a markedly different product from the more traditional approach to basketball the WNBA has taken for 26 seasons and counting, also appealed to Smith. In each Athletes Unlimited league — there are currently four, including softball, basketball, lacrosse, and volleyball — players earn points based on both team wins and individual performance.

The player leaderboard changes in real-time, and at the end of each week, the top four point earners become the captains of reshuffled squads for the following week's games. Basketball, where individual stat lines drive much of the discourse, pairs well with AU's approach to quantifying both individual and team contributions.

"I like how different the scoring is and how it's not just your average basketball game," Smith said. That's one of the things that drew me to AU, and also playing with different players each week and being able to be a captain."

"There's some excitement in wanting to compete hard so you could be a captain," she added, then vowed "to be on the top" of the leaderboard.

For Smith and the other 30 players headed to Dallas' Fair Park Coliseum in a few months, Athletes Unlimited's broadcast deal is a major bonus, too. All 30 games will be readily accessible to audiences around the world, and for fans in the United States, five contests appear on CBS Sports Network.

"I watched last season — I watch it a lot, actually, because it was televised on places that we could watch it, so that was another thing that I liked about it," Smith said. "After the WNBA season, a lot of players go overseas, but you don't get to really watch them and follow their path. AU you gives you that opportunity to keep watching and keep following your favorite players.

"So I knew right then and there like I was gonna do it, and that's why I'm here," she added.

As with AU's other sports leagues, participating athletes will be — and already have been — instrumental to decision-making efforts ahead of the basketball season. Players are empowered to control everything from uniforms and accommodations to roster formation and league rules.

And without team owners in the mix, the athletes split league profits. Athletes Unlimited even enables players to compete on behalf of non-profit organizations via its "Athlete Causes" program.

Though the complete Athletes Unlimited basketball schedule has yet to be finalized, fans can prepare for the upcoming season by tuning in for the CBS special "Athletes Unlimited: A Pro Sports Revolution," Saturday at 1:30 p.m. ET. Tickets to watch in-person in Dallas go on sale Thursday at 12 p.m. ET on AU's website.

The list of participating athletes for the 2023 Athletes Unlimited basketball season is as follows: