Basketball: Bet on women, baby

The GIST: With Athletes Unlimited’s (AU) inaugural basketball season set to tip off tonight, here’s the gist on how this exciting upstart league is literally changing the game for women’s sports.

The setup: Basketball is AU’s fourth sport, following successful softball, volleyball and lacrosse seasons. Instead of a traditional franchise vs. franchise format, AU operates under a fantasy-inspired system, with four captains selecting new squads each week over a five-week season.

• Scoring is based on individual and team performance, with athletes at the top of the weekly leaderboard becoming one of the four captains, who then draft teams for the next week of competition. Major middle school kickball vibes.

• AU’s format offers its female athletes much-needed flexibility. While many WNBA players have to play overseas in the offseason, AU (and their sponsors) is empowering top athletes to play pro in North America.

Names to know: The first-ever 44-player basketball roster includes 16 WNBA athletes, notably the Chicago Sky’s Lexie Brown and the Washington Mystics’ Natasha Cloud.

• Plus, the press box is also home to basketball royalty. Three-time WNBA MVP Sheryl Swoopes — the first player to ever sign in the W — headlines the broadcast team. Bow down.

How to watch: Games will air on Fox Sports, CBS Sports Network and AU’s YouTube channel, and it all begins tonight at 8 p.m. ET with Team Mercedes Russell (of the Seattle Storm) vs. Team Odyssey Sims (of the Atlanta Dream). Ballin'.