AU Pro Basketball: Everything to know before the fourth season begins

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The fourth season of Athletes Unlimited Pro Basketball begins Wednesday, Feb. 5 in Nashville, with a doubleheader starting with Team Bell vs. Team Westbrook (6 p.m. ET, ESPN+) followed by Team Harrison vs. Team Colson (8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN+).

Here’s everything you need to know before AU officially tips off in Nashville:

Meet the Week One rosters

One of the unique features of AU is the changing rosters, where, each week, players can explore new synergies with different teammates.

In past seasons, team captains who drafted the weekly rosters were based on the season-long AU Leaderboard. (More on that below.) This season, for Weeks Two and Three, the four players who accumulated the most points in the previous week will earn the captaincies. Then, for the final week of the season, Week Four, captains will be selected based on the season-long AU Leaderboard.

For Week One, captains were chosen through a lottery drawing, and the winners were Isabelle Harrison (Gold), Evina Westbrook (Orange), Kierstan Bell (Blue) and Sydney Colson (Purple).

And the teams drafted by the quartet of captains are:

Team Bell (Blue): Kierstan Bell, Odyssey Sims, Jordan Horston, McKenzie Forbes, Asia Taylor, Angel Jackson, Christyn Williams, Dyaisha Fair, Desi-Rae Young, Jude Schimmel

Team Harrison (Gold): Isabelle Harrison, Maddy Siegrist, Taylor Mikesell, Lexie Brown, G’Mrice Davis, Taj Cole, Sequoia Holmes, Dorie Harrison, Rebecca Harris and Charisma Osborne

Team Westbrook (Orange): Evina Westbrook, Ty Harris, Elizabeth Williams, Bria Hartley, Victaria Saxton, Kia Nurse, Jaylyn Sherrod, Crystal Bradford, Suriya McGuire, Kenisha Bell

Team Colson (Purple): Sydney Colson, Alissa Pili, Theresa Plaisance, Alysha Clark, Shey Peddy, Maya Caldwell, Kiara Leslie, Lydia Rivers, Meighan Simmons, Aishah Sutherland

Of the four opening week squads, Team Westbrook is particularly intriguing. New Dallas Wing Ty Harris running pick and rolls with Elizabeth Williams, who is back healthy after missing the majority of the 2024 WNBA season with the Chicago Sky due a torn meniscus, could serve as a steady-yet-productive offensive fulcrum. And with extended opportunities, speed demon Jaylyn Sherrod, who re-signed with the New York Liberty on a training camp contract, and the underrated Victaria Saxton, who recently was waived by the Indiana Fever, could provide impactful play.

Scoring system refresher

AU’s unique scoring system rewards outstanding individual play within team success. Players earn points for positive plays, lose points for negative plays and accumulate more points when their team wins quarters and games. Particularly excellent players also can earn additional MVP points.

All players’ points will be tracked on the AU Leaderboard, and the leader at season’s end will be named AU Champion for the 2025 season.

Win Points:

Quarter: +60 points
Game: +180 points

Game MVPs:

MVP 1: +90 points
MVP 2: +60 points
MVP 3: +30 points

Positive Individual Stats:

Assist: +10 points
Steal: +10 points
Block: +10 points
Shooting or personal foul drawn: +4 points
Offensive foul drawn: +8 points
Defensive rebound: +5 points
Offensive rebound +10 points
Made free throw: +10 points
Made 2-pointer: +20 points
Made 3-pointer: +30 points

Negative Individual Stats:

Shooting or personal foul committed: -8 points
Offensive or other foul committed: -8 points
Turnover: -10 points
Missed free throw: -10 points
Missed 2-pointer: -10 points
Missed 3-pointer: -10 points

If a game goes into overtime, no additional points are awarded for the extra period. Overtime is five minutes; if the game remains tied, the first team to score seven more points will win.

Week One schedule

From now until Mar. 2, there will be six AU games a week played at Nashville Municipal Auditorium, usually on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Games will be available on ESPN+, Fan Duel Sports Network and/or the WNBA App. Here’s when and how to watch Week One:

Wednesday, Feb. 5

Team Bell vs. Team Westbrook (6 p.m. ET, ESPN+)

Team Harrison vs. Team Colson (8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN+)

Friday, Feb. 7

Team Colson vs. Team Westbrook (6 p.m. ET, WNBA App/Fan Duel Sports Network)

Team Bell vs. Team Harrison (8:30 p.m. ET, WNBA App/Fan Duel Sports Network)