With Three Days Until Tip Off, It's Time for an Athletes Unlimited Crash Course

Weekly Drafts

Each week begins on Sunday at the draft and this week’s captains were determined by performance during the scrimmage games. Kelsey Mitchell (No. 1) will be in gold, Mercedes Russell (No. 2) will lead the orange team, Odyssey Sims (No. 3) will wear blue and the purple team will be captained by DiJonai Carrington (No. 4).

The captains will be allowed two minutes per pick, and can call for advice or strategize with Athletes Unlimited facilitators, staff and teammates to assemble their team. Every Sunday the top four on the leaderboard become captains and pick new teams to compete in the upcoming week together.

Tune in Sunday, Jan. 23 at 3 p.m. ET on Facebook and YouTube for our first ever Athletes Unlimited Basketball Draft.

TFW you remember the very first draft is this weekend 😁

Tune in Sunday, January 23rd at 12 PM PT on Facebook and YouTube for our first ever Athletes Unlimited Basketball Draft! 🏀

FB: https://t.co/8DEJlZkLbX
YT: https://t.co/XRGElGHYpp pic.twitter.com/TBrAU8uu4x

— Athletes Unlimited (@AUProSports) January 20, 2022

Following the Leaderboard

Now that you know about the captains and weekly draft it’s time to explain how they get there. The Athletes Unlimited scoring system centers around moving up and down the Leaderboard. Athletes earn — or lose — points in three categories: win points, stat points and MVP points.

Win points are acquired as a team: +50 for winning each quarter and +100 for winning the overall game.

Stat points are based on individual performance with positive and negative values given to many of the stats you see in a box score like an assist (+10), steal (+10) or made three-pointer (+30). There’s also the chance to lose points for things like turnovers (-10), missed free-throws (-10) or committing an offensive foul (-16). For a full break down of the individual stats, check out How We Play.

The final way an athlete can move up the leaderboard are MVP Points. After each game, the players and members of The Unlimited Club vote for players who they feel had standout performances. These points will be added to the player’s individual total. Three players earn MVP honors each game and are awarded points as follows:

MVP 1: +90 points

MVP 2: +60 points

MVP 3: +30 points

MVP Voting and the Unlimited Club

MVP Voting is your way as a fan to pat an athlete on the back and say, “great game.” This is one of many exclusive benefits of being an Unlimited Club member.

With multiple tiers to fit your interest as a fan, you can get closer than ever to the games and athletes. Get invitations to virtual events, early access to tickets, 10% off select merchandise and more through the Pro, MVP and Captain level tiers.

Not sure you’re ready for the commitment? Everyone can join the Rookie Tier of the Unlimited Club for free to keep you updated with the newsletter, make your Unlimited Pick and have access to the Athletes Unlimited App.

How to Watch

Just like the weekly draft, five of the Athletes Unlimited Basketball games will have the ease of streaming. These games will be available on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.

Facebook: Games will be available at https://www.facebook.com/AUProSports/ on on the Facebook app (App Store | Google Play). The weekly draft will also be hosted on Facebook.

YouTube: Games will be available at https://www.youtube.com/c/AthletesUnlimited or on the YouTube app (App Store | Google Play).

Twitter: Games will be available at https://twitter.com/AUProSports or on the Twitter app (App Store | Google Play).

On Jan. 26 we’ll open up the season with Team Russell vs. Team Sims at 8 p.m. ET, streamed live on Athletes Unlimited Digital Platforms. Click on the TV and flip over to CBS Sports Network later that evening at 11 p.m. ET for Team Carrington vs. Team Mitchell.

Athletes Unlimited has partnered with CBS Sports Network, FOX Sports, Bally Sports Regional Sports Network to bring you the other 25 games this season.

If you want more info on what channel to find the games or where to find them on your local listing, we’ve created a Where to Watch Guide to keep you tuned in.

Athlete Causes

While we all love the game action and innovative point system, it is connected to something bigger than moving up the leaderboard.

The Athlete Causes program, powered by Give Lively, will provide funding to charities of the players’ choosing equal to 50% of their season bonus. Players will have the opportunity to create their own fundraising pages to support the organizations of their choice. You can find a full list of causes our athletes are playing for this season here.

If you’ve made it this far, you’re not just a women’s basketball fan — you’re an AU Basketball fan now.