This Week in Women’s Basketball: AU Pro Hoops is almost here


ATHLETES UNLIMITED: MAR 11 Team Mitchell vs Team Hillmon
Allisha Gray and Natasha Cloud celebrate during a game in Season 2 of AU Pro Basketball. | Photo by Erica Denhoff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Season 3 of Athletes Unlimited Pro Basketball begins next week. Get ready for the AU excitement, while also catching up on Hall of Fame and NIL news.

Here’s what’s happened and what’s coming in the world of women’s basketball:


AU Pro Hoops is ready for tip off

Season 3 of Athletes Unlimited Pro Basketball begins Thursday, Feb. 29.

The team captains for Week 1 are Odyssey Sims, Allisha Gray, Isabelle Harrison and Lexie Hull. The captains will draft their teams on Monday, Feb. 26 at 1 p.m. ET.

The schedule for Week 1 is:

Thursday, Feb. 29

Team Harrison vs. Team Gray (6 p.m. ET, WNBA App)

Team Sims vs. Team Hull (9 p.m. ET, WNBA App)

Saturday, Mar. 2

Team Hull vs. Team Gray (3 p.m. ET, WNBA App/Bally Sports)

Team Harrison vs. Team Sims (6 p.m. ET, ESPN+)

Sunday, Mar. 3

Team Hull vs. Team Harrison (3 p.m. ET, WNBA App/Bally Sports)

Team Gray vs. Team Sims (6 p.m. ET, WNBA App)

All games will be played at Fair Park Coliseum in Dallas, TX. Eighteen of the 24 total games will be available to stream through the WNBA App, while six games exclusively will be available through ESPN+. Eleven games also will be broadcast on Bally Sports regional sports networks and the Bally Sports app.

For more AU insight, participate in the Virtual Tip Off, scheduled for Monday, Feb. 26 at 7 pm. ET.

Congrats to the 2024 Hall of Fame finalists

In December, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced the initial nominees for the class of 2024. During NBA All-Star Weekend, the list of finalists was announced. Seimone Augustus and Marian Washington are the Women’s Committee finalists, Michelle Timms is an International Committee finalist and Harley Redin is a Women’s Veteran’s Committee finalist. Additionally, congratulations to Debbie Antonelli, who is the 2024 Curt Gowdy Electronic Media Award recipient.

Sabally, Gardner injuries

On Tuesday, the Dallas Wings revealed that the newly re-signed Satou Sabally recently underwent a procedure on her shoulder, which she injured while competing for Germany in the Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament. The organization expects Sabally to fully recover.

In Chicago, the injury news is bleaker, as Rebekah Gardner, a reserved free agent who had yet to sign a new deal, tore her Achilles while playing for Spar CityLift Girona in Spain.

Change coming to NIL restrictions?

On Friday, a federal judge in Tennessee issued a preliminary injunction that prevents the NCAA from restricting athletes who are in the process of being recruited and/or have entered the transfer portal from negotiating NIL deals with a third party.

Prior to Friday’s ruling, athletes could not be induced to attend a school through NIL opportunities. In short, “pay for play” was prohibited. Attorneys general in Tennessee and Virginia have argued that this NCAA restriction is illegal. The injunction is not permanent, but indicates the case against NCAA rules has a significant chance of success.

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