DiJonai Carrington, Odyssey Sims, Mercedes Russell and Kelsey Mitchell have been selected as Athletes Unlimited’s week one basketball captains.

The @AUProSports basketball week 1 captains are set.

Tune into the draft at 3PM ET streaming on AU's YouTube and Facebook.

🟡: @Kelz_Hoop
🟠: @MerSladezz
🔵: @Lucky_Lefty0
🟣: @DijonaiVictoria

JWS x #BeUnlimited pic.twitter.com/BPKijuIT8v

— Just Women’s Sports (@justwsports) January 23, 2022

The league’s inaugural week one draft will kick off at 3 pm ET on Sunday, streaming on Facebook Live.

Teams will be formed from a 44-player list, which features, among other talents, WNBA stars like Lexie Brown, with Carrington, Sims, Russell and Mitchell selecting their squads for the first round of games.

The Athletes Unlimited basketball season tips off on Wednesday in Las Vegas, with the opener streaming live on Athletes Unlimited’s Facebook, YouTube and Twitter channels at 8:00 PM ET and the second game airing on CBS Sports Network at 11:00 PM ET.

The five-week competition runs through Feb. 26.

The Kansas City Current continues to hold court atop the NWSL standings, earning their fifth straight win after a brief two-game skid by defeating No. 7 Racing Louisville 4-2 on Saturday.

The Current pounced early, going up 3-0 ahead of the match's 20-minute mark before sealing the win with a second-half stoppage-time goal from star striker Temwa Chawinga.

KC is currently winning the race to stay ahead of 2024 Shield-winner and champions Orlando, who won their third straight match after a second-half dagger by Barbra Banda lifted the No. 2 Pride over No. 9 Bay FC 1-0 on Friday.

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Elsewhere, the San Diego Wave regained their grip on third place with Friday's 3-2 victory over the No. 12 Houston Dash, while the No. 5 Portland Thorns began to encroach on Washington's fourth-place standing with a 2-0 win over the Spirit on Sunday.

The top four teams weren't the only ones moving this weekend, as Gotham earned their first regular-season points since early May with Friday's 3-0 win over the last-place Utah Royals — despite two red card offenses limiting their late-game on-field roster to nine.

Along with boosting the Bats back above the playoff line into eighth place, the victory saw NY/NJ forward Esther pull ahead of Chawinga and Banda in the 2025 Golden Boot race, with her two-goal showing putting the Spanish national at nine goals on the season.

While no team is immune to the midseason blues, this weekend's widening eight-point gap between first and fourth place on the table is separating the contenders from the pretenders.

Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark returned with a bang on Saturday, coming off a quad strain to score 32 points and hand the reigning champion New York Liberty their first loss of the 2025 season.

Despite Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu’s game-leading 34 points, the Fever guard finished the 102-88 victory having contributed to 54 of her team's overall points as either a passer or a shooter, notching nine assists and eight rebounds while sinking 50% from behind the arc.

"Don't we always expect that kind of game from Caitlin?" Fever head coach Stephanie White asked after beating the Liberty.

Despite filling some key roster gaps over the offseason, the dreams of an Indiana title run appear to hinge on Clark being healthy and available, with the Fever sputtering to a 2-3 record during her five-game absence.

"Emotionally, it's a relief, it's a lift," White said. "This group, they stay together. They draw strength from one another; I draw strength from them. Every single day we take one step forward together, we're building trust."

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Angel Reese scores career-first triple-double

Clark's fellow 2024 draftee Angel Reese also hit a milestone this weekend, becoming the second-youngest player to ever record a triple-double, notching the first of her WNBA career in the Chicago Sky's 78-66 win over the Connecticut Sun on Sunday.

"I think some of the best players in the world, if their shot is not falling, they try to find other ways to get the team together and stay involved," Reese said afterwards. "I'm just super excited, and then to add it with a win just feels really good."

With 2025 WNBA All-Star voting officially underway, this stretch of the season gives individual standouts even more incentive to step into the spotlight and shine.

The third-place Atlanta Dream are storming up the WNBA standings, winning their last three games by an average margin of 23.6 points after routing the Washington Mystics 89-56 on Sunday.

Atlanta guard Rhyne Howard opened the weekend by tying the WNBA record for three-pointers made in a single game, recording nine baskets from behind the arc as the Dream took down the Chicago Sky 88-70 on Friday.

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Offseason pick-up Brittney Griner has also been busy, passing WNBA legend Lisa Leslie for No. 2 on the league's all-time career blocks list following this weekend's Atlanta victories.

While the Dream have made the playoffs in each of the last three seasons, a few key roster additions plus a new coaching hire have Atlanta entertaining a shot at a first-ever championship bid.

The momentum shift has largely been on offense, with the Dream hitting a franchise-record 18 three-pointers while guard Allisha Gray put up a career-high 32 points on Sunday.

Also quietly climbing the WNBA's ranks is the only other team currently on a three-game winning streak, the Golden State Valkyries.

Bolstered by a 76-70 Saturday win over the always-dangerous Seattle Storm, the 2025 expansion side secured a 5-5 season record to claim sixth place on the league table this weekend.

How to watch the Atlanta Dream on Tuesday

Nearly the entire league is in action on Tuesday, as 12 of the 13 teams will face off on WNBA courts.

The Dream will have their work cut out for them as they face the 2024 champion Liberty at 7 PM ET, taking on a New York side eager to bounce back from their first 2025 loss.

As for the Valkyries, Golden State will visit Paige Bueckers and the Dallas Wings at 8 PM ET.

Both games will air live on WNBA League Pass.

Simone Biles returned to the headlines this week, with the seven-time Olympic gold medalist taking to X to voice support for trans athletes in women's sports, emphasizing that she believes the conversation "starts with empathy and respect."

Earlier this month, Biles called out anti-trans athlete activist and former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines for ridiculing a Minnesota high school softball team, calling Gaines a "sore loser" and a "bully."

Gaines, who swam for the University of Kentucky, tied trans UPenn swimmer Lia Thomas for fifth place in the 200-yard freestyle at the 2022 NCAA Division I Swimming and Diving Championships. The event sparked her outspoken campaign against trans athletes in women's sports.

"You should be uplifting the trans community and perhaps finding a way to make sports inclusive OR creating a new avenue where trans [athletes] feel safe in sports," Biles originally tweeted at Gaines.

Biles later clarified her comments, posting "I've always believed competitive equity & inclusivity are both essential in sport."

"The current system doesn't adequately balance these important principles, which often leads to frustration and heated exchanges," she continued.

While Biles apologized for a comment made about Gaines's body, she also defended her objection to Gaines singling out individual trans youth athletes.

"I was not advocating for policies that compromise fairness in women's sports," said Biles. "My objection is to be singling out children for public scrutiny in ways that feel personal and harmful."

"Individual athletes — especially kids — should never be the focus of criticism of a flawed system they have no control over."