For Sydney Colson, the inaugural Athletes Unlimited basketball season has been a culmination of hard work.

One of the first athletes to sign on with the league, Colson was instrumental in recruiting other players and helping to ensure the debut season would be a success. AU basketball generated buzz even before the first game tipped off in January, and the attention has only skyrocketed as the competition enters Week 4.

“It’s been really good to see how much the players are enjoying it, how much the staff is having a great time watching while they’re working simultaneously,” Colson tells Just Women’s Sports.

“And then fan support in the first week was tremendous, just seeing everybody happy that this league is in existence now, and wanting to tune in online or make it out to Vegas has been really good to see.”

As the games have ramped up, Colson’s goals haven’t shifted: Day in and day out, she is there to compete. And when her teams have been hit with COVID-19 issues, Colson has had to step up as a leader. Her experience playing professional basketball in the WNBA and abroad has helped with that responsibility.

“I think our team was the only team in the first week to lose three players to COVID-19 that probably would have started. But in basketball, there’s adversity. You’ve got to push through, and it’s next man up,” says Colson, who’s played for five different WNBA teams during her career, most recently with the Chicago Sky in 2020.

“It has been enjoyable. It’s just about figuring out each week within the group that you’re with. So, no shifting of goals — just compete.”

There has been time for some fun and games, too. Colson, who has aspirations of entering the entertainment industry when her playing career is over, is one of the league’s most active athletes on social media. Her quick wit has captured the attention of Twitter users and also flourished within the AU bubble.

she has attempted to start ONE rumor & she is the only one that repeats it. she’s messy. https://t.co/7N2UmRtzl4

— Lexie Brown (@Lexiebrown) February 9, 2022

i file complaints against Sydney daily. https://t.co/5C0iqK5h8z

— Imani McGee-Stafford (@imanitrishawn_) February 9, 2022

The tweets offer insight into the player relationships forming in Las Vegas. While some have played against each other for years in college or the WNBA, many of them have never spent this much time together in one defined location. Colson has tried to make the most of the opportunity.

“I try to make sure I’m chatting with people that I don’t really know,” she says. “It’s a good opportunity to be around people that maybe you didn’t know before.”

The AU system that requires rotating captains to pick new teams every week has helped players forge bonds. Colson has found herself on three different teams so far: Team Mitchell in Week 1, Team Russell in Week 2 and Team Hawkins in Weeks 3 and 4. Colson and Tianna Hawkins, AU’s current points leader, have found a groove in recent weeks, giving Hawkins reason to redraft her.

Despite being shuffled around, Colson hasn’t let the changes phase her.

“Leadership, whether I’m a captain or not, it’s talking, being vocal and keeping people engaged,” she says. “Sometimes people won’t play a lot one week on a team, and then the next week you might be in a different role and you’re being asked to play more minutes.

“It’s an adjustment, and you have to be ready to adjust quickly.”

Colson has been at her best in the last two games, accumulating 922 points to vault into 18th place on the leaderboard with 2,073 total points. Through nine games this season, the guard is averaging 16.3 points, nine assists and 2.5 rebounds in 35 minutes per game.

Colson likes the AU format because it allows players like her to rebound from one week to the next. Hawkins is the most extreme example of that flexibility, jumping from 14th on the leaderboard to first after just two games earlier this month. She set an Athletes Unlimited scoring record with 38 points on Feb. 4, and then broke her own mark the next night with 46 points.

While the WNBA has established itself as the premier women’s basketball league in the nation as it enters its 26th year in existence, Colson sees ways in which Athletes Unlimited is setting itself apart.

“I think both leagues can get something from the other, and can learn something from the other,” she says. “I think the social media team here is incredible. They have a lot of people committed to it.”

The broadcasts with commentators Sheryl Swoopes and Cindy Brunson have helped shine a light on the athletes and their stories. They’ll often mic up players on the sidelines to get their live insights during the game, a feature that’s not always available for fans in professional sports.

“They’re not leaving it up to whatever media outlet is doing a broadcast for the game,” Colson says. “AU has their people. There are a ton of different camera angles throughout the game, angles that you don’t see in the WNBA. I think it’s just, like, a different book.”

Which is why Colson is planning on coming back next season.

“I was way too involved from the beginning to just do one season,” she says. “It’s been incredible.”

Emma Hruby is an associate editor at Just Women’s Sports.

Cameron Brink already has her rookie of the year pick for the upcoming WNBA season, and it’s Indiana-bound star Caitlin Clark. 

In the latest edition of Kelley on the Street, host Kelley O'Hara caught up with Brink in New York hours before the Stanford phenom went No. 2 overall to the Los Angeles Sparks at the 2024 WNBA Draft. When O’Hara asked who would win the WNBA's rookie of the year, she answered without pause.

"Caitlin Clark," she said, while a fan commented that she thought Brink would take home the award. Brink later added that the extra foul granted to WNBA players will be "good for me."

"I hope it’s me," Charisma Osborne, who was later drafted by the Phoenix Mercury, said when asked her ROY prediction. "But, I don’t know — we’ll see."

Watch more of Kelley on the Street:

Maria Sanchez issued a statement on Thursday, confirming recent reports that she has requested a trade from the Houston Dash. 

In it, she revealed that the club has been aware of the request "since late March."

"This has all taken a toll and isn’t an easy thing to talk about, but I want to confirm that I’ve requested an immediate trade," she wrote. "My expectations and reasons have been clear. I trust that my current club’s management will honor my decision in a timely manner and proceed with accepting a trade."

"I’m eager to refocus and dive back into what I love most: playing football," she concluded.

Thank you, everyone, for the outpouring of kindness and support. pic.twitter.com/gcnN7dhCJU

— Maria Sanchez (@Maria17_7) April 19, 2024

Reports of Sanchez's trade request first surfaced on ESPN last week, and were later confirmed by multiple sources. 

In December of last year, Sanchez signed a three-year contract with the Dash valued at $1.5 million including bonuses and an option year. It was the largest contract in NWSL history at the time — a figure that would be eclipsed by multiple contracts in the following months. 

Sanchez spent the offseason as a restricted free agent, meaning that Houston could match any other team's offer to retain her rights. Should the Dash trade Sanchez, her current contract terms would remain intact, limiting potential buyers to teams able to afford to take on an inking of that size.

The Dash has yet to address the trade, instead reiterating to ESPN that Sanchez is "under contract, a choice she made in free agency at the end of 2023." 

Both the NWSL trade window and transfer window close tonight, April 19th, at 12 a.m. ET. The window will stay closed through the next 11 regular season games, reopening on August 1st, 2024.

The four-time league champion Seattle Storm unveiled their new practice facility on Thursday, with Storm co-owner Lisa Brummel dubbing Interbay's Seattle Storm Center for Basketball Performance the team’s "new home."

"It's just such a special space," Brummel told Fox 13 Seattle. "I think when the players get here, it's gonna be overwhelming."

The sprawling 50,000-square-foot, $64 million property is just the second designated practice facility to be designed and built expressly for a WNBA team, with the Storm further noting that 85% of all design and engineering team members involved in the project's construction were women and people of color. The finished product holds two professional indoor courts, two 3x3 outdoor courts, a state-of-the-art locker room, and players' lounge, plus designated areas for strength and conditioning, kitchen, dining, and nutrition, and recovery. 

"This facility reflects our commitment to providing our athletes an exceptional environment that supports their growth, health, and performance," said Storm co-owner Ginny Gilder in an official team release. "It’s built for women, by women, embodying our dedication to leading the way in professional women’s sports."

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For their part, the team can't wait to make the faciilty their own.

"It's amazing," Storm guard Jewell Loyd told Fox 13. "Not having to drive everywhere around, knowing you have access anytime of the day to get into the gym, to workout." 

Head coach Noelle Quinn said she predicts the team is "never going to leave this building."

"Which is a good thing for me," she continued. "You talk about having an edge in performance. We want our athletes to not only perform on the court, but get whatever they need."

All of the Storm's staff and operations will now live under one roof, and the team also has plans to launch a youth basketball program operating out of the building.

The Caitlin Clark effect is quickly making its mark on the big leagues, as WNBA host teams around the country rush to upgrade their Fever games to larger arenas in order to accommodate surging ticket sales.

With Clark mere weeks away from her Indiana Fever debut, both the Las Vegas Aces and Washington Mystics have officially relocated their scheduled home games with head coach Christie Sides' squad. On Thursday, the Mystics became the latest to adjust their plans, moving their June 7th matchup from Entertainment & Sports Arena in Southwest DC to the more centrally located — and much larger — Capital One Arena "due to unprecedented demand."

The Mystics home court's capacity taps out at 4,200, while Capital One Arena — home to the Wizards, Capitals, and Georgetown Hoya's Men's Basketball — can fit nearly five times that crowd at some 20,000 spectators.

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"The move to Capital One Arena will allow for additional fans in the stands as well as premium hospitality options, including Suites and the all-new all-inclusive courtside Hennessy Lofts," the team announced via Thursday's press release.

The Aces were one of the first teams to switch venues, aiming to take on the Indiana Fever in front of as many as 20,000 fans inside T-Mobile Arena on July 2nd. That’s a sizable a boost from their home venue, which holds just 12,000.

For those still planning to face the Fever in their home arenas, ticket prices have skyrocketed. Previously scheduled construction has already forced the LA Sparks to relocate their first five games — including their May 24th clash with the Fever — to Long Beach State's Walter Pyramid. The temporary venue is quite the downsize, holding just 4,000 in comparison to Crypto.com Arena's near-19,000. As of Friday, the get-in price for that game started around $400.

Despite fans launching a Change.org petition urging relocation, the Chicago Sky say they're unable to move their June 23rd Fever meeting from Wintrust Arena's 10,000-seat facility to the 23,500-seat United Center due to a concert. Tickets for that game start around $325 as of Friday.