Indiana Fever forward Victaria Saxton has announced her plans to participate in Athletes Unlimited this offseason, making her the third Fever player to commit to a United States-based offseason league.
Saxton is set to enter her third WNBA season as a member of the Fever. The South Carolina product has played just 24 games in her professional career, but her participation in this league should be a great step in her development.
While Unrivaled is making its presence felt this winter in the 3v3 format, Athletes Unlimited is a 5v5 offseason league for WNBA stars. Their twist: Each player is simultaneously playing for their team and themselves.
What you need to know about Athletes Unlimited
The overall goal of Athletes Unlimited is to score as many points as possible. No, not those points-- Players earn points by winning quarters, winning games, and performing "positive plays," like scoring or rebounding. Players can also lose points for making a negative play, such as a foul or turnover. Check out the full scoring breakdown on the Athletes Unlimited website under the "How We Score" section.
The league consists of four teams with 10 players apiece. Four team captains draft their nine teammates and play a week's worth of games. At the end of the week, the top four point scorers are chosen as new team captains, and the cycle continues for the entire month.
No matter what team Victaria Saxton is drafted to, she will play three games weekly. Those three games are her chance to earn as many points as possible. All points are tallied at the end of the week to choose new captains, but they are also recorded in each player's overall total. The one player with the most points at the end of the season is crowned champion-- it isn't a team that wins the trophy in Athletes Unlimited.
Fever forward NaLyssa Smith was crowned the Athletes Unlimited champion in 2022, so Saxton has someone in the Indiana locker room that can offer some guidance along the way.
The initial player draft is set to commence on February 3, 2025, and the final games will be played on March 2. That gives Fever fans one month to catch Saxton in action ahead of the 2025 WNBA season.
Television/streaming rights information is yet to be announced, but the Athletes Unlimited website states that information is coming soon. Be sure to check back as February 3 approaches.