Jessica Nicole Breland (born February 23, 1988) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) from 2011 to 2021.
 Breland with the Chicago Sky in 2015 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 23, 1988 New York City, New York |
| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Listed weight | 166 lb (75 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Bertie (Windsor, North Carolina) |
| College | North Carolina (2006–2011) |
| WNBA draft | 2011: 2nd round, 13th overall pick |
| Selected by the Minnesota Lynx | |
| Playing career | 2011–2021 |
| Position | Forward |
| Number | 51 |
| Career history | |
| 2011 | New York Liberty |
| 2011 | Connecticut Sun |
| 2013 | Indiana Fever |
| 2014–2017 | Chicago Sky |
| 2018–2019 | Atlanta Dream |
| 2020 | Phoenix Mercury |
| 2021 | Indiana Fever |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Stats at WNBA.com | |
| Stats at Basketball Reference | |
Early life
editBorn in New York City,[1] Breland grew up in Kelford, North Carolina,[1] and attended Bertie High School in Windsor where she was a three-sport athlete participating in volleyball and track & field and basketball. In her senior year she averaged 22 points per game and 12 rebounds for the Falcons basketball team. She was an All-American selection by McDonald's, the WBCA, and Parade Magazine, 2nd team All-American selection by EA Sports, 3rd-Team Street and Smith's All-America pick, Gatorade Player of the Year in North Carolina as a senior, and a USA U18 Women's National Team Trials Invitee.[2]
College career
edit
In 2009, when playing for the North Carolina Tar Heels, Breland was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma, a cancer of the lymph system. She underwent chemotherapy and had to sit out the 2009–10 season, but recovered.[1] In 2011, Breland was awarded the Honda Inspiration Award which is given to a collegiate athlete "who has overcome hardship and was able to return to play at the collegiate level".[3][4][5]
North Carolina statistics
editSource[6]
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | GP | Points | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| 2006-07 | North Carolina | 37 | 241 | 54.4% | 42.9% | 67.8% | 4.5 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 1.3 | 6.5 |
| 2007-08 | North Carolina | 36 | 380 | 53.1% | 15.4% | 70.2% | 7.1 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 2.1 | 10.6 |
| 2008-09 | North Carolina | 35 | 493 | 51.3% | 46.7% | 76.7% | 8.5 | 1.7 | 1.5 | 3.1 | 14.1 |
| 2009-10 | North Carolina | redshirt | |||||||||
| 2010-11 | North Carolina | 34 | 421 | 44.2% | 24.0% | 65.7% | 7.1 | 1.6 | 1.1 | 1.9 | 12.4 |
| Career | 142 | 1535 | 50.0% | 30.0% | 70.8% | 6.8 | 1.3 | 1.2 | 2.1 | 10.8 | |
Professional career
editBreland was selected in the second round of the 2011 WNBA draft (13th overall) by the Minnesota Lynx.[7] She was then traded to New York. She signed a free agent contract with the Chicago Sky in 2014.
On February 2, 2018, Breland signed a contract with the Atlanta Dream.[8]
On February 19, 2020, Breland was traded to the Phoenix Mercury in a three-team deal.
WNBA career statistics
edit| 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 |
Regular season
edit| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | New York | 9 | 0 | 7.7 | 38.1 | 0.0 | 100.0 | 1.6 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 2.0 |
| Connecticut | 4 | 0 | 1.5 | 50.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.5 | |
| 2013 | Indiana | 30 | 2 | 14.6 | 43.9 | 0.0 | 74.1 | 4.0 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 5.3 |
| 2014 | Chicago | 32 | 32 | 26.5 | 46.1 | 0.0 | 75.9 | 6.8 | 1.9 | 0.9 | 1.8 | 2.2 | 9.7 |
| 2015 | Chicago | 33 | 30 | 21.4 | 47.1 | 0.0 | 77.4 | 5.9 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 6.7 |
| 2016 | Chicago | 34 | 16 | 17.2 | 49.4 | 0.0 | 79.5 | 4.4 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 6.0 |
| 2017 | Chicago | 34 | 33 | 24.5 | 47.6 | 38.1 | 78.7 | 6.3 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 9.5 |
| 2018 | Atlanta | 34 | 34 | 26.4 | 42.8 | 0.0 | 75.0 | 7.9 | 2.0 | 1.1 | 1.9 | 1.7 | 8.3 |
| 2019 | Atlanta | 33 | 33 | 23.2 | 37.8 | 23.7 | 87.9 | 7.3 | 1.7 | 1.3 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 7.5 |
| 2021 | Indiana | 26 | 18 | 20.9 | 37.2 | 31.3 | 68.4 | 6.3 | 2.0 | 0.6 | 1.5 | 1.8 | 5.8 |
| Career | 10 years, 5 teams | 269 | 198 | 21.2 | 43.9 | 28.2 | 77.7 | 5.9 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 7.1 |
Playoffs
edit| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Chicago | 7 | 0 | 13.0 | 38.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 4.0 | 1.0 | 0.1 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 2.3 |
| 2015 | Chicago | 3 | 3 | 28.3 | 52.0 | 0.0 | 100.0 | 7.7 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 2.3 | 1.0 | 10.0 |
| 2016 | Chicago | 5 | 5 | 25.4 | 51.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 8.4 | 0.6 | 1.2 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 9.2 |
| 2018 | Atlanta | 5 | 5 | 31.0 | 37.0 | 0.0 | 83.3 | 10.8 | 2.8 | 0.8 | 2.8 | 1.6 | 9.0 |
| Career | 4 years, 2 teams | 20 | 13 | 22.9 | 44.1 | 0.0 | 90.0 | 7.4 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 1.6 | 0.9 | 6.9 |
References
edit- ^ a b c Heyman, Brian (May 21, 2011). "Rookie in W.N.B.A. Who Is Veteran in Life's Lessons Faces Battle to Make Liberty". New York Times. Retrieved August 6, 2014.
- ^ Bullock, Chris (August 25, 2015). "Jessica Breland and her resilient rise to success". Swish Appeal. Retrieved June 12, 2021.
- ^ Staff, S. I. "North Carolina's Breland wins Inspiration Award". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
- ^ "Awards Overview". CWSA. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
- ^ "Past Inspiration Award Winners". CWSA. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
- ^ "NCAA Statistics". web1.ncaa.org. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
- ^ http://www.wnba.com draft2011/draft_board.html 2011 WNBA Draft board
- ^ Kennedy, Rene’ (February 1, 2018). "Atlanta making moves early in free agency". SwishAppeal.com. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
External links
edit
Media related to Jessica Breland at Wikimedia Commons
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