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There are 15 players already signed with vital WNBA expertise together with Dallas Wings’ Allisha Gray.
DALLAS — Lexie Brown is again for a second 12 months of the Athletes Unlimited basketball league after having an incredible expertise within the inaugural season.
She is one in all 15 players with vital WNBA expertise already signed on to play within the league that may run from Feb. 22 to March 26 in Dallas.
“It brought my confidence back,” stated Brown, who completed within the high 4 of the league final season. “That’s one of many greatest issues for knowledgeable athlete, in 2022, how massive being in an excellent psychological place is. It was an incredible expertise and a studying expertise.”
So far, 31 of the 44 roster spots have been crammed. New players embody Dallas Wings’ Allisha Gray, who helped the U.S. win a gold medal in 3×3 within the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and WNBA rookies NaLyssa Smith and Naz Hillmon.
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Smith stated she watched plenty of the inaugural season final 12 months whereas she was in faculty at Baylor and noticed how a lot enjoyable the players had been having..
Going straight from faculty to the WNBA and never having a break was a giant purpose why Smith wished to play on this league as a substitute of going abroad.
“I knew that I needed a break,” she stated. “I didn’t want to sit for seven months, so AU gave me the opportunity to take a break and then play.”
Brown says that she understands individuals desirous to nonetheless play abroad due to the cash that’s supplied over there which could possibly be a pair hundred thousand {dollars} for high players.
“Sometimes that money is hard to turn down. I understand that 1000%,” she stated. “I keep telling as many players as possible, if you come home early you’ll have a blast. You’ll have so much fun.”
So far 21 of the players from final season have returned for the second version. Defending champion Tianna Hawkins is not in that group as she is taking part in abroad this winter.
Athletes Unlimited began in 2020 and likewise has softball, volleyball and lacrosse leagues during which there aren’t any crew homeowners and players share straight in league earnings. The basketball guidelines are just like the WNBA and there might be over $1 million for the 44 players to earn with the winner receiving roughly $50,000.
The league redrafts its groups every week with the highest 4 level scorers serving as captains. The league, which can have video games on the CBS Sports Network this 12 months, moved from Las Vegas to Dallas.
“I would say Dallas was attractive to us since we have a relationship with the Dallas Sports Commission,” stated Ilene Hauser, who’s the Director of Basketball. “AU volleyball has been playing there the last two years. Dallas is a hotbed for girls and women’s basketball… We have a number of players that have ties to the state of Texas. A few of them to Dallas and that’s a huge draw for us.”
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