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Diamond DeShields

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Diamond DeShields
DeShields in 2019
No. 0 – Chicago Sky
PositionShooting guard
LeagueWNBA
Personal information
Born (1995-03-05) March 5, 1995 (age 29)
West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Listed weight172 lb (78 kg)
Career information
High schoolNorcross (Norcross, Georgia)
College
WNBA draft2018: 1st round, 3rd overall pick
Selected by the Chicago Sky
Playing career2017–present
Career history
2017–2018Çukurova Basketbol
2018–2021Chicago Sky
2022Phoenix Mercury
2023Dallas Wings
2024–presentChicago Sky
Career highlights and awards
Stats at WNBA.com
Stats at Basketball Reference
Medals
Women's basketball
Representing  United States
FIBA Under-17 Women’s Basketball World Cup
Gold medal – first place 2012 U17 Amsterdam Team competition

Diamond Danae-Aziza DeShields (born March 5, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Sky of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was drafted by the Chicago Sky with the third overall pick in the 2018 WNBA draft, and won a championship with the Sky in 2021. She is the daughter of former MLB player Delino DeShields and the younger sister of MLB player Delino DeShields Jr.

College career

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DeShields graduated from Norcross High School in Norcross, Georgia. Playing for the school's basketball team, she was a part of three state champions and averaged 26 points per game in her senior year. DeShields enrolled at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she played guard for the North Carolina Tar Heels women's basketball team in her freshman year of college. She set an Atlantic Coast Conference record for points scored by a freshman with 648. After her freshman year, DeShields transferred University of Tennessee, where she played for the Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball team for two years after sitting out for the season after her transfer. In the 2016-17 season, DeShields led the Lady Vols with 17.4 points per game and was chosen to the All-Southeastern Conference's first team.[1][2]

Professional career

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European leagues

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Though DeShields graduated with her bachelor's degree after her second season at Tennessee, she retained a year of eligibility for college basketball. After initially announcing she would return for the 2017-18 season, she opted to leave Tennessee to play professionally in Turkey.[3] DeShields signed with Çukurova Basketbol of the Turkish Super League, where she averaged 17.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game.[4]

WNBA

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Chicago Sky (2018–2021)

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DeShields was drafted by the Chicago Sky with the third pick of the 2018 WNBA draft. In her first season in the WNBA, she averaged 14.4 points per game while starting in 33 of 34 games played. She was named to the All-Rookie Team.

In 2019, her sophomore season, DeShields was named a WNBA All-Star. During the All-Star Weekend, she won the Skills Challenge, beating out Jonquel Jones in the final round.[5][6] DeShields started all 34 games and averaged 16.2 points per game. On September 11, 2019, she played in her first career postseason game and scored 25 points, as the Chicago Sky defeated the Phoenix Mercury 105–76. It was the fifth-most points scored by a WNBA player in a postseason debut in league history.[7] DeShields scored 23 points in the Sky's loss to the Las Vegas Aces in the second round of the playoffs.

In December 2019, while playing overseas in Turkey, DeShields suffered a back injury. An MRI following the injury revealed that she had a tumor (a lumbar spinal schwannoma) in her spine, which posed a serious risk of permanent paralysis. After surgery to remove the tumor, DeShields suffered tremors and involuntary spasms and spent months rehabilitating without certainty about whether she would be able to return to play. She decided to keep her condition and surgery experiences private, until sharing them in an interview in May 2022.[8]

DeShields returned to play in the 2020 season, which was held in a bubble environment due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She did not start games, as she was recovering from a knee injury, and played in 13 games while averaging 6.8 points in 17.2 minutes per game.[9] DeShields suffered an apparent quadriceps injury in a game on August 21, and left the bubble a week later, missing the remainder of the season and the Sky's single postseason game.[10][9][11]

In the 2021 season, DeShields began as a starter and averaged 26.9 minutes and 11.3 points per game. Near the end of the season, she shifted to a role coming off the bench.[12] The Sky entered the playoffs as the sixth seed, and made their way to the 2021 WNBA Finals, winning the series in four games against the Phoenix Mercury. DeShields recorded 15.7 minutes and 5.5 points per game in the team's playoff run.

In the offseason, DeShields expressed admiration for the Sky along with a preference to play for a team where she would return to a starting role.[12]

Phoenix Mercury (2022)

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As a free agent entering the 2022 season, DeShields took meetings with several teams across the league.[12] On February 3, 2022, she was traded to the Phoenix Mercury in a three-team sign-and-trade deal involving the Sky and the Indiana Fever.[13] She started 19 of 30 regular season games and both postseason games for the Mercury in the 2022 season, averaging 13.1 points in the regular season and 19.5 points per game in the postseason.

Dallas Wings (2023)

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On February 11, 2023 DeShields was traded to the Dallas Wings in a four-team trade involving the New York Liberty, Phoenix Mercury, Dallas Wings and Chicago Sky. She missed the 2023 season and postseason with a knee injury.[14]

Chicago Sky (2024–present)

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On February 5, 2024, DeShields signed a one-year deal to return to the Chicago Sky, three seasons after her original departure.[15]

Career statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game  RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game  BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game
 TO  Turnovers per game  FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 Bold  Career best ° League leader
† Denotes seasons in which DeShields won a WNBA championship

WNBA

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Regular season

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Stats current through end of 2024 regular season

WNBA regular season statistics[16]
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2018 Chicago 34 33 28.4 .425 .328 .836 4.9 2.2 1.1 0.3 2.1 14.4
2019 Chicago 34 34 30.2 .399 .316 .836 5.5 2.4 1.3 0.4 2.2 16.2
2020 Chicago 13 0 17.2 .434 .167 .778 1.8 1.5 0.9 0.1 2.3 6.8
2021† Chicago 32 22 26.9 .393 .300 .820 3.5 2.3 1.2 0.4 1.9 11.3
2022 Phoenix 30 19 25.3 .388 .236 .765 3.8 2.2 1.0 0.5 2.3 13.1
2023 Did not play (due to injury)
2024 Chicago 32 10 13.8 .348 .173 .611 1.4 1.3 0.6 0.3 0.9 4.5
Career 6 years, 2 teams 175 118 24.5 .398 .283 .802 3.7 2.1 1.0 0.3 1.9 11.6
All-Star 1 0 15.9 .545 .333 — 5.0 4.0 1.0 0.0 1.0 13.0

Playoffs

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WNBA playoff statistics
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2019 Chicago 2 2 33.0 .436 .333 .833 5.0 2.0 0.5 1.0 0.5 24.0°
2021† Chicago 10 0 15.7 .340 .250 .800 2.7 1.1 1.1 0.1 1.6 5.5
2022 Phoenix 2 2 27.0 .432 .333 .714 4.5 2.0 1.0 0.0 3.5 19.5
Career 3 years, 2 teams 14 4 19.8 .395 .300 .795 3.3 1.4 1.0 0.2 1.7 10.1

College

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NCAA statistics[17]
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2013–14 North Carolina 36 31 27.9 .426 .279 .776 5.4 2.6 1.7 0.3 3.4 18.0
2014–15 Tennessee Did not play due to NCAA transfer rules
2015–16 Tennessee 36 20 26.8 .391 .248 .765 5.2 2.3 1.6 0.8 3.2 14.3
2016–17 Tennessee 29 28 33.5 .423 .333 .791 6.4 3.8 1.4 1.0 3.6 17.4
Career 101 79 29.1 .413 .279 .779 5.6 2.8 1.6 0.7 3.4 16.5

Personal life

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DeShields' father, Delino DeShields, and brother, Delino DeShields Jr., have played in Major League Baseball. Her mother, Tisha, was named an All-American heptathlete while attending Tennessee.[18] DeShields has a paternal half-brother and two paternal half-sisters.

References

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  1. ^ "Norcross' Diamond DeShields discusses transfer from North Carolina to Tennessee | Archive". gwinnettdailypost.com. November 4, 2014. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
  2. ^ "Former Norcross star Diamond DeShields leaving Tennessee to be a pro". ajc.com. Retrieved July 11, 2018.
  3. ^ "Diamond DeShields to play in Turkey". Knoxnews.com. July 17, 2017. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
  4. ^ Lee, Albert (April 12, 2018). "Chicago Sky drafts Diamond DeShields third in 2018 WNBA Draft". Swish Appeal. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
  5. ^ espnW (July 26, 2019). "Diamond DeShields wins the #WNBAAllStar Skills Challenge pic.twitter.com/AdV1KeCQRp". @espnW. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
  6. ^ Voepel, Mechelle (July 26, 2019). "A little trouble with the pass, but @wnbachicagosky's Diamond DeShields wins WNBA skills challenge vs. @ConnecticutSun's Jonquel Jones, gets $10,000 for charity. "I try to do what I do best, and that's entertain," she said. Now can Sky teammate Allie Quigley win 3-point contest?". @MechelleV. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
  7. ^ Negley, Cassandra (September 11, 2019). "WNBA playoffs: Diamond DeShields, Sky light up ailing Mercury, 105-76, in first round". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  8. ^ Rowe, Holly (May 7, 2022). "'Her whole body was seizing': Diamond DeShields and the comeback no one knew about". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
  9. ^ a b Voepel, Mechelle (August 21, 2020). "Chicago's DeShields suffers apparent quad injury". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on August 23, 2020. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  10. ^ Voepel, Mechelle (August 29, 2020). "Sky's Stevens, DeShields leave WNBA bubble". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on September 4, 2020. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  11. ^ Kenney, Madeline (August 29, 2020). "Sky players Diamond DeShields, Azura Stevens leave WNBA bubble before loss to Storm". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  12. ^ a b c Costabile, Annie (January 20, 2022). "Diamond DeShields' future with Sky in question". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
  13. ^ Merchant, Sabreena (February 3, 2022). "Three-team trade sends Diamond DeShields to Phoenix". Swish Appeal. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
  14. ^ "WNBA injuries: Shakira Austin out for first two playoff games". Just Women's Sports. September 14, 2023. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
  15. ^ "Guard Diamond DeShields returning to Sky on one-year deal". Chicago Sun-Times. February 5, 2024. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
  16. ^ "Diamond DeShields WNBA Stats". Basketball Reference.
  17. ^ "Diamond Deshields College Stats". Sports-Reference. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
  18. ^ Berkman, Seth (April 12, 2018). "Diamond DeShields's Path to the W.N.B.A. Took Her From Tennessee to Turkey". The New York Times. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
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