2022 Athletes Unlimited Basketball season

2022 AU Basketball Season
League	Athletes Unlimited Basketball
Sport	Basketball
Duration	January 26 - February 26
TV partner(s)	CBS Sports Network, YouTube, FS2
Season champions	Tianna Hawkins
Seasons
2023  →

The 2022 Season was the Athletes Unlimited Basketball's first in existence. The season was played in Las Vegas and ran from January 26 to February 26. ^[1] The format in which teams are redrafted each week allows athletes to accumulate points for both individual and team performances, culminating with one individual winner. ^[2]

Tianna Hawkins became the inaugural Overall Season Winner - finishing with 6,836 points. She also led in many statistical categories. She led the league in rebounds (166) and ranked second in points (357), and owns single-game records for points (43), leaderboard points (790) and field goals (19). ^[3]

Players

Name	Position	College	Current Team
CC Andrews	Guard	Saint Joseph's
Antoinette Bannister	Guard/Forward	East Carolina
Kalani Brown	Center	Baylor	Hatayspor
Lexie Brown	Guard	Duke	Chicago Sky
Kirby Burkholder	Guard	James Madison	Santurce
Marjorie Butler	Guard	Georgia
DiJonai Carrington	Guard/Forward	Stanford/Baylor	Connecticut Sun
Essence Carson	Guard	Rutgers
Brittany Carter	Guard	Ball State	Keltern (Germany)
Natasha Cloud	Guard	Saint Joseph's	Washington Mystics
Taj Cole	Guard	Georgia	Baloncesto Málaga
Sydney Colson	Guard	Texas A&M	Las Vegas Aces
Drew Edelman	Forward	USC	Hollywood Wonder (WUBA)
Nikki Greene	Center	Penn State	Union Féminine Angers Basket 49
Mikiah Herbert Harrigan	Forward	South Carolina	Seattle Storm
Rebecca Harris	Forward	Illinois	WBC Dynamo Kyiv
Isabelle Harrison	Forward	Tennessee	Dallas Wings
Tianna Hawkins	Forward	Maryland	Atlanta Dream
Ariel Hearn	Guard	Memphis	Sherbrooke Suns
Grace Hunter	Guard	North Carolina State
Briahanna Jackson	Guard	Louisville	Club Aztks
Meme Jackson	Guard/Forward	Tennessee	Santurce
Tyce Knox	Guard	Texas A&M
Jessica Kuster	Forward	Rice
Takoia Larry	Forward	Texas Wesleyan
Jantel Lavender	Forward	Ohio State	Indiana Fever
Akela Maize	Center	North Carolina State	La Glacerie
Lauren Manis	Forward	Holy Cross	Cegledi
Shannon McCallum	Guard	Charlotte
Danielle L. McCray	Guard/Forward	Kansas	Poznań
Danielle M. McCray	Forward	Mississippi	Hannover
Imani McGee-Stafford	Center	Texas
Laurin Mincy	Guard	Maryland
Kelsey Mitchell	Guard	Ohio State	Indiana Fever
Chelsea Phillips	Forward	Park University	FSV Rijeka
Toccara Ross	Forward	Iowa State	Pioneras de Delicias
Tina Roy	Guard	South Carolina
Mercedes Russell	Center	Tennessee	Seattle Storm
Odyssey Sims	Guard	Baylor	Atlanta Dream
Antoinette Thompson	Guard	TCU	Saarlouis
Destinee Walker	Guard	North Carolina/Notre Dame	Niki Lefkadas
Becca Wann-Taylor	Guard/Forward	Richmond
Courtney Williams	Guard	South Florida	Atlanta Dream
Dominique Wilson	Guard	North Carolina State	Śląsk Wrocław
Tamera Young	Guard/Forward	James Madison

^[4]

Scoring system

There are multiple ways for players to accumulate points during games to make their way into 1 of the 4 captain spots. ^[5]

Win Points

Win points are all about the team performance. They accumulate during both individual quarters and overall game wins. Each quarter is worth +50 points and overall games are worth +100 points. If a quarter is tied, the points roll over to the subsequent quarter.

Game MVPs

After each game, the players and members of The Unlimited Club will vote for players who they feel had standout performances. These points will be added to the player's individual total. Points will be awarded as follows:

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

Individual Stats

The final component of points is individual stats. Players will earn points based on their performance:

• Assist: +10
• Steal: +10
• Block: +10
• Shooting Foul Drawn: +4
• Personal Foul Drawn: +4
• Offensive Foul Drawn: +8
• Defensive Rebound: +5
• Offensive Rebound: +10
• Made FT: +10
• Made 2: +20
• Made 3: +30

Players can also lose points for certain actions, such as committing fouls, turning over the ball or missing a shot:

• Shooting Foul Committed: -8
• Personal Foul Committed: -8
• Offensive Foul Committed: -16
• Other Foul Committed: -8
• Turnover: -10
• Missed FT: -10
• Missed 2: -10
• Missed 3: -10

Captains

Each week, based on the point system, the top 4 players will draft their teams. They will draft in a snake style system.

• Week 1 Captains: Kelsey Mitchell, Mercedes Russell, Odyssey Sims, and DiJonai Carrington ^[6]
• Week 2 Captains: Natasha Cloud, Lexie Brown, Isabelle Harrison, and Mercedes Russell ^[7]
• Week 3 Captains: Tianna Hawkins, Lexie Brown, Natasha Cloud, and Isabelle Harrison ^[8]
• Week 4 Captains: Tianna Hawkins, Natasha Cloud, Isabelle Harrison, and Odyssey Sims ^[9]
• Week 5 Captains: Tianna Hawkins, Natasha Cloud, Isabelle Harrison, and Lexie Brown ^[10]

Games

Week 1

2022 Athletes Unlimited Season

Week 1 Date Time (ET) Matchup TV Result High points High rebounds High assists High blocks Wednesday, January 26 9:00 p.m. Team Sims vs Team Russell YouTube 71–80 Taj Cole (21) Danni M. McCray (12) Sims Cole (4) Mikiah Herbert Harrigan (2) 11:00 p.m. Team Mitchell vs Team Carrington CBS Sports Network 85–92 Isabelle Harrison (21) McGee-Stafford Carrington (11) Natasha Cloud (13) Harrison Kuster (2) Friday, January 28 7:00 p.m. Team Carrington vs Team Russell FS2 110-104 (2OT) DiJonai Carrington (30) Russell Lavender Harrison (10) Natasha Cloud (15) Manis Cole Carter (1) 9:30 p.m. Team Sims vs Team Mitchell FS2 103–108 Kalani Brown (32) Essence Carson (11) Odyssey Sims (12) Kalani Brown (2) Saturday, January 29 7:00 p.m. Team Carrington vs Team Sims FS2 84-78 Odyssey Sims (24) Mikiah Herbert Harrigan (9) Odyssey Sims (8) Mikiah Herbert Harrigan (2) 9:30 p.m. Team Russell vs Team Mitchell YouTube 79-71 Mercedes Russell (20) Tianna Hawkins (11) Cole Brown (5) Danni M McCray (4)

Week 2

2022 Athletes Unlimited Season

Week 2 Date Time (ET) Matchup TV Result High points High rebounds High assists High blocks Wednesday, February 2 6:30 p.m. Team Harrison vs Team Brown YouTube 76-83 Isabelle Harrison (29) Isabelle Harrison (12) Lexie Brown (5) Imani McGee-Stafford (4) 9:00 p.m. Team Cloud vs Team Russell Bally Sports 105-94 Natasha Cloud (30) Russell Greene (11) Natasha Cloud (8) Nikki Greene (3) Friday, February 4 7:00 p.m. Team Russell vs Team Brown FS2 98-85 Tianna Hawkins (38) Lexie Brown (10) Lexie Brown (8) Greene Carson (1) 9:30 p.m. Team Harrison vs Team Cloud FS2 95-89 Courtney Williams (30) Kalani Brown (11) Natasha Cloud (7) Sims Williams Brown Harrison (1) Saturday, February 5 7:00 p.m. Team Russell vs Team Harrison FS2 74-100 Mercedes Russell (20) Russell Lavender (8) Courtney Williams (10) Greene Jackson (1) 10:00 p.m. Team Brown vs Team Cloud Bally Sports 97-84 Tianna Hawkins (46) Cloud Hawkins (10) Taj Cole (12) Tianna Hawkins (3)

Week 3

2022 Athletes Unlimited Season

Week 3 Date Time (ET) Matchup TV Result High points High rebounds High assists High blocks Wednesday, February 9 6:30 p.m. Team Cloud vs Team Brown YouTube 85-80 DiJonai Carrington (25) Kalani Brown (12) Natasha Cloud (6) Herbert Harrigan Manis Carson Jantel Lavender Cloud (1) 9:00 p.m. Team Hawkins vs Team Harrison Bally Sports 54-79 Tianna Hawkins (20) Nikki Greene (10) Courtney Williams (8) Greene Russell Harrison Hawkins (1) Friday, February 11 7:00 p.m. Team Harrison vs Team Brown FS2 86-81 Isabelle Harrison (25) Odyssey Sims (12) Courtney Williams (10) McGee-Stafford Cole (2) 9:30 p.m. Team Cloud vs Team Hawkins FS2 70-90 Tianna Hawkins (28) Drew Edelman (14) Sydney Colson (9) Edelman Hawkins (2) Saturday, February 12 7:30 p.m. Team Harrison vs Team Cloud FS2 85-79 Odyssey Sims (32) Courtney Williams (12) Natasha Cloud (10) Courtney Williams (2) 10:30 p.m. Team Brown vs Team Hawkins Bally Sports 90-104 Tianna Hawkins (32) Tianna Hawkins (14) Sydney Colson (9) Hawkins Lavender McGee-Stafford Jackson (1)

Week 4

2022 Athletes Unlimited Season

Week 4 Date Time (ET) Matchup TV Result High points High rebounds High assists High blocks Wednesday, February 16 6:30 p.m. Team Cloud vs Team Harrison YouTube 87-85 Natasha Cloud (27) DiJonai Carrington (11) Isabelle Harrison (8) McGee-Stafford Lavender (2) 9:00 p.m. Team Hawkins vs Team Sims Bally Sports Network 86-76 Kelsey Mitchell (32) Hawkins Walker (11) Colson Sims (8) Nikki Greene (2) Friday, February 18 7:00 p.m. Team Sims vs Team Harrison Bally Sports Network 87-71 Taj Cole (26) Kuster Harrison (11) Cole Williams (5) Herbert Harrigan Harrison (3) 11:30 p.m. Team Cloud vs Team Hawkins CBS Sports Network 110-113 DiJonai Carrington (41) Carrington Hawkins (14) Natasha Cloud (8) Kalani Brown (4) Saturday, February 19 7:00 p.m. Team Sims vs Team Cloud FS2 81-91 Sims Carrington (28) Manis Carrington (11) Courtney Williams (10) Laurin Mincy (4) 9:30 p.m. Team Harrison vs Team Hawkins FS2 100-93 Tianna Hawkins (29) Tianna Hawkins (12) Sydney Colson (13) Hawkins Jantel Lavender (1)

Week 5

2022 Athletes Unlimited Season

Week 5 Date Time (ET) Matchup TV Result High points High rebounds High assists High blocks Wednesday, February 23 9:00 p.m. Team Harrison vs Team Cloud Bally Sports Network 78-88 Sims DiJonai Carrington (22) Imani McGee-Stafford (15) Natasha Cloud (9) McGee-Stafford Herbert Harrigan (1) 11:30 p.m. Team Hawkins vs Team Brown CBS Sports Network 80-70 Kalani Brown (22) Tianna Hawkins (14) Taj Cole (8) Kalani Brown (3) Friday, February 25 7:00 p.m. Team Brown vs Team Cloud FS2 97-88 Natasha Cloud (31) Kalani Brown (16) Taj Cole (8) Kalani Brown (4) 9:30 p.m. Team Harrison vs Team Hawkins FS2 74-85 Isabelle Harrison (28) Tianna Hawkins (13) Sydney Colson (10) Nikki Greene (3) Saturday, February 26 7:00 p.m. Team Brown vs Team Harrison FS2 103-90 Odyssey Sims (30) Kalani Brown (10) Cole Williams (9) Herbert Harrigan Greene Kuster Brown (10 10:00 p.m. Team Cloud vs Team Hawkins Bally Sports Network 111-116 (3OT) Tianna Hawkins (35) Tianna Hawkins (18) Natasha Cloud (19) Manis Carrington (1)

Leaderboard

Below is the leaderboard which tallies the total points earned via the scoring system that each player has accumulated during the games that are played each week. The points are on a running-tally from week to week. The list reflects the final standings - culminating after Week 5.

Rank	Player	Points	Notes
1	Tianna Hawkins	6,836
2	Natasha Cloud	5,919
3	Isabelle Harrison	5,373
4	Lexie Brown	5,317
5	Kalani Brown	5,192
6	Odyssey Sims	5,043
7	DiJonai Carrington	4,953
8	Jantel Lavender	4,473
9	Courtney Williams	4,461	Missed Week 1 due to COVID Protocols [11]
10	Taj Cole	4,415
11	Kelsey Mitchell	4,295	Missed the Game on February 5 [12]
12	Sydney Colson	4,162
13	Destinee Walker	4,032
14	Jessica Kuster	4,017
15	Air Hearn	3,861
16	Nikki Greene	3,813
17	Lauren Manis	3,426
18	Essence Carson	3,350	Inactive for Week 4 [13]
19	Tamera Young	3,320
20	Danni McCray	3,284
21	Imani McGee-Stafford	3,251	Entered COVID Protocol after 1 game in Week 1 [14]
22	Mercedes Russell	3,235	Inactive for the game on February 12, as well, as the entirety of Week 4 [15]
23	Rebecca Harris	3,152
24	Dominique Wilson	3,138
25	Drew Edelman	3,044
26	Laurin Mincy	3,019
27	MeMe Jackson	2,829
28	Kirby Burkholder	2,767
29	Toccara Ross	2,729
30	Marjorie Butler	2,676
31	Mikiah Herbert Harrigan	2,627
32	Briahanna Jackson	2,548
33	Akela Maize	2,541	Missed Week 1 due to COVID Protocols [16]
34	Shannon McCallum	2,281	Only played in Game 3 during Week 1 [17]
35	Brittany Carter	2,249
36	Danielle McCray	2,247	Inactive for Week 3-5 [18]
37	Chelsea Phillips	2,242
38	Grace Hunter	2,190
39	Becca Wann-Taylor	2,134
40	Antoinette Bannister	2,125
41	Takoia Larry	2,119
42	CC Andrews	2,055
43	Tina Roy	2,027
44	Antoinette Thompson	1,901	Missed the Game on February 4 [19]
45	Tyce Knox	1,300

Team Captain Records

Team Captains Records

Team	Record	Number of Weeks as Captain
Team Carrington	3–0	1
Team Hawkins	6–2	3
Team Harrison	6–5	4
Team Brown	4–4	3
Team Cloud	5–6	4
Team Russell	2–4	2
Team Mitchell	1–2	1
Team Sims	1–5	2

References

1. "ATHLETES UNLIMITED TO LAUNCH BASKETBALL LEAGUE IN 2022". auprosports.com. AU Pro Sports. Retrieved January 27, 2022.
2. "Athletes Unlimited Basketball Tips Off Inaugural Season In Las Vegas". Forbes.com. Forbes. Retrieved January 27, 2022.
3. Licata, Alexandra. "TIANNA HAWKINS CROWNED INAUGURAL AU HOOPS CHAMPION". auprosports.com. AU Pro Sports. Retrieved February 27, 2022.
4. "44 WORLD-CLASS PLAYERS SET TO COMPETE IN INAUGURAL BASKETBALL SEASON". auprosports.com. AU Pro Sports. Retrieved January 28, 2022.
5. "HOW WE SCORE". auprosports.com. AU Pro Sports. Retrieved January 27, 2022.
6. BRENNAN, CLARE. "DIJONAI CARRINGTON, ODYSSEY SIMS AMONG WEEK 1 ATHLETES UNLIMITED CAPTAINS". justwomenssports.com. Just Women's Sports. Retrieved January 27, 2022.
7. Brennan, Clare. "NATASHA CLOUD HEADLINES WEEK TWO ATHLETES UNLIMITED CAPTAINS". justwomenssports.com. Just Women's Sports. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
8. Hruby, Emma. "LEXIE BROWN PUTS GM TALENTS ON DISPLAY: AU BASKETBALL IN WEEK 3". justwomenssports.com. Just Women's Sports. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
9. Ramirez, W.G. "PREVIEW: THE PENULTIMATE WEEK FEATURES FAMILIAR CAPTAINS, NEW TEAMMATES". auprosports.com. AU Pro Sports. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
10. Licata, Alexandra. "HOOPS: MEET THE WEEK 5 TEAMS". auprosports.com. AU Pro Sports. Retrieved February 20, 2022.
11. "MAIZE, WILLIAMS UNAVAILABLE FOR WEEK 1. MCCALLUM JOINS ROSTER". auprosports.com. AU Pro Sports. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
12. "PLAYER STATUS". auprosports.com. AU Pro Sports. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
13. "PLAYER STATUS". auprosports.com. AU Pro Sports. Retrieved February 20, 2022.
14. Licata, Alexandra. "MCGEE-STAFFORD ADDED TO COVID-19 PROTOCOL". auprosports.com. AU Pro Sports. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
15. "PLAYER STATUS". auprosports.com. AU Pro Sports. Retrieved February 20, 2022.
16. "MAIZE, WILLIAMS UNAVAILABLE FOR WEEK 1. MCCALLUM JOINS ROSTER". auprosports.com. AU Pro Sports. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
17. "MAIZE, WILLIAMS UNAVAILABLE FOR WEEK 1. MCCALLUM JOINS ROSTER". auprosports.com. AU Pro Sports. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
18. "PLAYER STATUS". auprosports.com. AU Pro Sports. Retrieved February 20, 2022.
19. "PLAYER STATUS". auprosports.com. AU Pro Sports. Retrieved February 6, 2022.