NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Odyssey Sims won the Athletes Unlimited championship Sunday after finishing second in each of the last two seasons of the four-week event.
“I’m just happy,” Sims said with the the winner’s medal around his neck with a “GOAT” necklace. “I finally did it. This means more to me than anything else right now.”
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Sims finished with 6,764 points under a scoring system that takes into account team wins and individual performances, well ahead of second-place Aneesah Morrow, who had 5,344 points in her first season with AU Pro Basketball. Rebekah Gardner was third with 5,269 points, followed by Tina Charles, the WNBA’s career leader in rebounds and field goals, with 4,875 points.
Sims, a guard who split last season between the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks and the Indiana Fever, did not miss a game in that league’s first four seasons. Sims moved from sixth place in the first season to third place in 2023, and she was overtaken by Maddy Siegrist last year.
Sims said his experience since the start of the league could be considered a bit of cheating. Athletes Unlimited Features 41 players alternating between four teams while playing 24 games of 5-on-5 basketball. This was the league’s second season in Nashville.
Teams change weekly, with the top four players serving as captains and drafting rosters for hands-on management and coaching experience.
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“You have to understand,” Sims said of a format that can move a player not only between teams, but into new roles from week to week. “The most important thing is to be able to adapt to each situation. I understood because it’s my fifth year.”
Natasha Mack finished fifth with 4,777 points. Mack was also the defensive player of the year after leading the league in blocks and rebounds per game, and the rest of the defensive team included Gardner, Kiah Stokes, Morrow and Jaylyn Sherrod.
Guard Kaitlyn Chen was the newcomer of the year; she finished sixth with 4,593 points.
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