Athletes Unlimited is one of many offseason leagues in which WNBA players and hopefuls can compete. It will kick off on February 4 in Nashville. Much like Unrivaled, which is already in full swing, Athletes Unlimited is a great opportunity for players to work on their game and develop new skills.
Another parallel to Unrivaled is the presence of a WNBA legend. Lisa Leslie regularly calls Unrivaled games and has been working with players in her free time. Sheryl Swoopes will fill a similar role at Athletes Unlimited.
“I’m super excited to be able to, again, be on the broadcast, but, for me, it’s more than just being on the broadcast,” Swoopes said on The Women’s Hoops Show with Jordan Robinson. “It’s being around the players. It’s being able to mentor the players a little bit.”
One thing that separates Athletes Unlimited from Unrivaled is that it is not quite as star-studded. The roster features some big names and championship veterans, like Tina Charles, Kiah Stokes, and Alysha Clark. But much of the roster is made up of young players who either haven’t secured a role in the WNBA yet or found themselves at the end of the bench. That makes Swoopes’s willingness to mentor players even more important.
Swoopes was one of the WNBA’s first superstars. She won four titles with the Houston Comets between 1997 and 2000, won three MVP awards and three DPOY awards, made six All-Star teams, and was named to seven All-WNBA teams. She also led the league in points and steals twice each. Swoopes knows what it takes to excel at the highest level.
Athletes Unlimited features a lot of young talent
This year’s Athletes Unlimited roster features a great mix of veterans and young players, but many of them have one thing in common: they want to solidify their role in the WNBA or earn a chance to make a roster ahead of the 2026 season.
Veterans Shey Peddy, Aerial Powers, Odyssey Sims, and Mercedes Russel, for example, found themselves without a WNBA team either before or during the 2025 season. The first three all signed with the Fever. Sims, especially, became a hero for a Fever team that just couldn’t escape season-ending injuries.
There is also a ton of young talent who is still working hard to carve out a consistent role in the W. Grace Berger, was waived by the Fever, Lynx, and Sparks before finally landing a rest-of-season contract with the Wings.
Kaitlyn Chen didn’t make the Valkyries’ initial roster, but joined the team to make up for several EuroBasket absences. She stuck around for the rest of the season, but didn’t play much. Zia Cooke went through a similar experience with the Storm. The team traded her to Washington and then re-signed her when the Mystics’ waived her, and she spent most of the season on the bench.
Bree Hall and Deja Kelly haven’t had a real shot at WNBA minutes quite yet. Hall was drafted by the Fever in the second round but was waived. Later in the season, she signed hardship contracts with the Valkyries and Fever. She barely played, though. Kelly went undrafted before securing a training camp contract with the Aces. Some strong preseason outings weren’t enough for her to make an Aces team that had championship aspirations.
Athletes Unlimited is a great opportunity for these players to show why they belong on a WNBA roster. With two more teams joining the league and developmental roster spots being a possibility under a new CBA, there will be more opportunities than ever.