– Naz Hillmon, Odyssey Sims and Allisha Gray Round Out Top Four Finishers
– Lexie Hull Named Defensive Player of the Year
– CC Andrews Named Teammate of the Year Presented by WeThink
– Athletes Unlimited Basketball to Return in 2024
Dallas, Texas – In a thrilling, record-setting, come-from-behind finish,
forward NaLyssa Smith claimed the Athletes Unlimited Basketball championship with
an Athletes Unlimited-record 50 points in the season’s final game at Fair Park Coliseum.
With her standout performance, Smith passed forward Naz Hillmon, who herself had
taken over the top spot on the leaderboard in Saturday’s first game. Smith finished with
6,811 leaderboard points, with Hillmon, guard Odyssey Sims and guard Allisha Gray
comprising the top four finishers. Guard Lexie Hull was named Defensive Player of the
Year, while guard CC Andrews received the Teammate of the Year award presented by
WeThink.
In addition, Athletes Unlimited announced that a third season of basketball will take
place in early 2024. Details regarding timing and location will be announced at a later
date.
To commemorate her victory, Smith will receive medals designed and hand-fabricated
by Lisa Issenberg, founder of Kiitellä, inc. Kiitellä is a Finnish word meaning “to thank,
applaud or praise,” and Issenberg creates awards that are innovative, mixed-media,
non-traditional works of art, pieces that celebrate accomplishment, humanity, and
philanthropy. Kiitellä is committed to being a responsible steward of our environment,
with each step in the process, from design to fabrication to delivery, using minimal
energy and material.
Athletes Unlimited will also commission a portrait of Smith for its Champions Collection,
which features emerging artists whose work and approach speaks to the mission and
values of Athletes Unlimited. Smith’s portrait will be created by Ari Brielle, a visual
artist born and based in Dallas whose work explores the politicization and vastness of
the Black American femme identity and experience. Painting from photographs of
women and femmes in her life, Brielle creates her own visual vocabulary that chronicles
Black contemporary experiences.
“First and foremost, I’d like to thank God,” said Smith during the Closing Ceremony
following Saturday’s games. “I also want to thank my family and team. Every team I was
on supported me and allowed me to achieve my best. I feel like I’ve come in second in
everything recently, so winning this means everything.”
Smith, who shot 20-of-27 from the field in her record-setting finale while also registering
her league-record 12th double-double, also grabbed 13 rebounds and completed her
inaugural Athletes Unlimited season with a league single-game record of 863
leaderboard points.
In 15 games this season, Smith ranked second in the circuit with a 24.2 scoring average
while grabbing a league single-season record 184 rebounds.
Smith joins forward Tianna Hawkins as champions of Athletes Unlimited Basketball
after Hawkins claimed the inaugural crown in Las Vegas last year.
The league co-leader with 29 steals, Hull also ranked among the top players with 12
blocked shots. The former Stanford star also performed well offensively by registering
double figures in 10-of-15 games, including a season-high 26 points against Team Cole
in Week One.
Hull joined Gray, guards Jordin Canada and Natasha Cloud and guard/forward Ty
Young on the league’s All-Defensive Team.
“Every time I step on the court, I want to impact the game in a positive way,” Hull said. “I
feel like my defense is something I can count on regardless of how the rest of the game
is going.”
“Luke 17:33 says ‘Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses their
life will keep it.’ Thank you to everyone for always allowing me to be myself,” said
Andrews, who also earned the 2022 Athletes Unlimited Basketball Sportsmanship
Award.
“Congratulations to NaLyssa Smith on becoming our Athletes Unlimited Basketball
Champion, to Lexie Hull on being named Defensive Player of the Year award and to CC
Andrews for winning our Teammate of the Year award presented by WeThink,” said Jon
Patricof, CEO and Co-Founder of Athletes Unlimited. “The intensity of the competition
and the strength of our world-class roster leave us more confident than ever that
Athletes Unlimited Basketball can help provide year-round opportunities for the best
women’s basketball players in the world to compete at the highest level in the United
States.”
As its basketball season wraps up, the Athletes Unlimited Volleyball Exhibition Tour has
started, featuring a roster of 16 top professional players visiting nine top college
programs and playing exhibition matches on their campuses. AUX Softball will begin its
second season this summer on June 12, followed by Athletes Unlimited Lacrosse’s third
campaign starting on July 20 and the fourth championship season of Athletes Unlimited
Softball beginning on July 28. Athletes Unlimited embarks on its third volleyball season
in October in the Phoenix area.
Athletes Unlimited is a new model of pro sports, where athletes are decision-makers
and individual players are champions of team sports. Athletes Unlimited operates a
network of professional women’s softball, lacrosse, volleyball and basketball leagues
featuring world-class competition and fan experience, and stands out as an organization
driven by the athletes that play in the leagues, with athlete representation on the
company’s board of directors, each league led by a Player Executive Committee, and
players sharing in long-term profits of the company, all while being proactive in shaping
policies supporting the mothers that play in the league. Athletes Unlimited is the first
professional sports league to be organized as a Public Benefit Corporation and the first
U.S. based pro sports league to be committed to carbon-neutrality. The second season
of Athletes Unlimited Basketball got underway in February 2023, followed by a new
season of AUX Softball in June. The 2023 Athletes Unlimited Lacrosse and Softball
Championship Seasons are set for this summer followed by the third season of
Volleyball this fall. For more information, visit AUProSports.com.
