4 Breakout Performances of AU Pro Basketball Season Five
Athletes Unlimited Pro Basketball Season Five brought a wave of new talent to the hardwood, from WNBA veterans stepping into the AU format for the first time to members of the 2025 draft class still creating their professional identities.
Four players in particular used the season to showcase their games in major ways and added some dominant performances to their growing professional resumes.
Rebekah Gardner
Rebekah Gardner arrived at AU after appearing in 41 WNBA games with the New York Liberty and averaging 3.7 points per game. What followed was a performance that bore little resemblance to those modest numbers. Gardner quickly established herself as one of the most effective leaders in the competition, opening the season with 17 points and the second-highest leaderboard score in Week One before securing a captain’s role she never relinquished.
She captained the Week Two Glow, Week Three Rhythm, and Week Four Glow again to close out the season. She finished with a 6-3 record as a captain and three MVP awards. Gardner ranked second in the league in both field goal percentage and three-point percentage while averaging 12.8 points per game, and earned a spot on the All-Defensive Team. Her 248 leaderboard points secured a third-place finish in the final standings.
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Aneesah Morrow
Aneesah Morrow came into Season Five after a productive rookie year with the Connecticut Sun. While it was no surprise that she was a contributor, the volume of her production exceeded expectations. She made a splash from the season’s start and never let up.
Morrow averaged 17.6 points per game while recording 11 double-figure scoring performances across her 12 appearances, and reached a season-high 25 points on two separate occasions in Weeks Three and Four. She ranked second in the league in points, rebounds (12.3), and steals per game. She earned six game MVP nods and a spot on the All-Defensive Team, and closed out the season as the second-place finisher on the final leaderboard.
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Kaitlyn Chen
Kaitlyn Chen entered Season Five as a promising member of the 2025 WNBA draft class, having averaged 10.3 minutes and two points per game in her rookie season with the Valkyries. AU gave her room to find confidence and show what she was truly capable of, and she made the most of it.
Chen earned Newcomer of the Year honors after becoming one of the league’s most sought-after guards, taking over as captain of the Week Two Gold Rush following a dominant debut week. She averaged 14.8 points, 4.9 assists, and 3.6 rebounds per game while ranking second in assists per game and third in three-point percentage. Her season-high 32-point performance in Week Three was the biggest moment of a breakout campaign that ended with a sixth-place finish and 4,593 total leaderboard points, boosted by four game MVP awards.
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Sarah Ashlee Barker
Sarah Ashlee Barker came into Season Five as a 2025 draft class member still searching for consistent WNBA minutes, having averaged 3.1 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 0.9 assists per game with the LA Sparks. Her AU debut offered an opportunity to come into her own as a pro, and she steadily increased her production throughout the four weeks of play.
Barker set back-to-back season highs in Week Four with a 22-point performance followed by a 24-point outing. She finished the season averaging 13.6 points per game on 50.8 percent shooting, and earned MVP 1, MVP 2, and MVP 3 honors across her 12 appearances. She closed out the competition as the 10th-place finisher on the leaderboard.
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Siera Jones is the digital media reporter at Athletes Unlimited. You can follow her on Instagram and X @sieraajones.
