NaLyssa Smith
 Smith with the Indiana Fever in 2024 | |||||||||||||||
| No. 1 – Zhejiang Golden Bulls | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Power forward | ||||||||||||||
| League | WCBA | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | August 8, 2000 San Antonio, Texas, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 185 lb (84 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school | East Central (San Antonio, Texas) | ||||||||||||||
| College | Baylor (2018–2022) | ||||||||||||||
| WNBA draft | 2022: 1st round, 2nd overall pick | ||||||||||||||
| Selected by the Indiana Fever | |||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
| 2022–present | Indiana Fever | ||||||||||||||
| 2023 | Athletes Unlimited League | ||||||||||||||
| 2023–2024 | Galatasaray | ||||||||||||||
| 2024–2025 | Zhejiang Golden Bulls | ||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Stats at WNBA.com | |||||||||||||||
| Stats at Basketball Reference | |||||||||||||||
Medals
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NaLyssa Smith (born August 8, 2000) is an American professional basketball player for the Indiana Fever of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and for the Zhejiang Golden Bulls of the Women's Chinese Basketball Association (WCBA). She played college basketball for Baylor, winning the NCAA Division I Championship in 2019 and the Wade Trophy in 2021.[1] She was drafted second overall by the Fever in the 2022 WNBA draft.
Early life
[edit]Smith grew up in San Antonio and played at East Central High School, averaging 23.4 points, 13.7 rebounds, and 3.4 blocks per game as a senior. A five-star recruit and the no. 3 recruit by ESPN, Smith committed to playing college basketball at Baylor over schools such as South Carolina, Ohio State, and Louisville.[2][3]
College career
[edit]Freshman year
[edit]As a freshman, Smith came off the bench for the Lady Bears and provided steady minutes. Baylor coach, Kim Mulkey, praised Smith and said that she won many games for the Bears during their national championship season because opposing teams were too focused on the team's star players, Lauren Cox and Kalani Brown.[4] In the national championship game, she came off the bench to replace an injured Cox and put up eight points and four rebounds to help Baylor win the title over Notre Dame.[5]
Sophomore year
[edit]Smith was promoted into the starting lineup in her sophomore year and improved on her production, averaging 14.3 points and 8 rebounds en route to earning first-team All-Big 12 honors. She also led the Lady Bears in double-doubles with a total of 11.[6]
Junior year
[edit]
Smith continued to improve, averaging a near double-double and winning Big 12 Player of the Year.[7]
In the NCAA tournament, Smith scored 24 points in the Lady Bears' Sweet Sixteen match against Michigan and tied a tournament record for most field goals made without a miss with 11.[8]
Smith's stellar season garnered her a number of awards, such as the Wade Trophy, the Katrina McClain Award, and All-American honors from the Associated Press, Women's Basketball Coaches Association, and the United States Basketball Writers Association.[9]
Professional career
[edit]WNBA
[edit]Indiana Fever (2022–present)
[edit]On April 11, 2022, Smith was drafted second overall by the Indiana Fever in the 2022 WNBA draft,[10] and would go on to be selected to the WNBA All-Rookie Team alongside then teammate, Queen Egbo.
Overseas
[edit]Galatasaray
[edit]On August 30, 2023, she signed with Galatasaray of the Turkish Women's Basketball Super League (TKBL).[11]
Zhejiang
[edit]Smith signed with the Zhejiang Golden Bulls of the Women's Chinese Basketball Association for the 2024–2025 season.[12]
National team career
[edit]Smith was a member of the United States women's national under-18 basketball team at the 2018 FIBA Americas U18 Championship, helping them win the gold medal in Mexico City.
She was selected to represent the United States women's national under-19 basketball team at the 2019 FIBA Under-19 Women's Basketball World Cup, but withdrew due to injury concerns.[13]
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 |
| * | Denotes season(s) in which Smith won an NCAA Championship |
WNBA
[edit]Regular season
[edit]Stats current through end of 2024 regular season
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Indiana | 32 | 32 | 30.7 | .419 | .381 | .618 | 7.9 | 1.4 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 2.4 | 13.5 |
| 2023 | Indiana | 31 | 28 | 28.5 | .477 | .284 | .677 | 9.2 | 1.4 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 2.7 | 15.5 |
| 2024 | Indiana | 40° | 37 | 24.8 | .480 | .292 | .567 | 7.1 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 10.6 |
| Career | 3 years, 1 team | 103 | 97 | 27.8 | .458 | .330 | .620 | 8.0 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 2.1 | 13.0 |
Playoffs
[edit]| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Indiana | 2 | 1 | 6.5 | .000 | — | — | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 0.0 |
| Career | 1 year, 1 team | 2 | 1 | 6.5 | .000 | — | — | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 0.0 |
College
[edit]| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018–19* | Baylor | 38 | 1 | 15.3 | .543 | .111 | .681 | 5.1 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.9 | 8.4 |
| 2019–20 | Baylor | 28 | 27 | 24.1 | .586 | .000 | .746 | 8.0 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 1.7 | 14.3 |
| 2020–21 | Baylor | 31 | 31 | 30.5 | .561 | .214 | .792 | 8.9 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 0.8 | 2.8 | 18.0 |
| 2021–22 | Baylor | 35 | 35 | 32.9 | .550 | .237 | .795 | 11.5 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 1.1 | 2.5 | 22.1 |
| Career | 132 | 94 | 25.4 | .558 | .200 | .768 | 8.3 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 1.9 | 15.5 | |
Personal life
[edit]Smith is the daughter of Rodney and Nikki Smith. Her father played basketball at UTSA, and her brother, Rodney Jr., played soccer at the University of Saint Mary.[15]
References
[edit]- ^ "The Wade Trophy". Women's Basketball Coaches Association. February 17, 2016. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
- ^ "NaLyssa Smith is ranked No. 3 in Class of 2018 but still feels #slepton". USA Today. April 28, 2017. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
- ^ "East Central's NaLyssa Smith Commits to Baylor". The San Antonio Observer. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
- ^ Hinojosa, David (March 20, 2021). "East Central alum NaLyssa Smith blossoms as Baylor's go-to player". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
- ^ "Off the bench, Baylor's Nalyssa Smith plays big in national championship game". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
- ^ "San Antonio native and East Central graduate, NaLyssa Smith, embraces larger role within the Baylor women's basketball team". KSAT. March 9, 2020. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
- ^ "Baylor's NaLyssa Smith wins Big 12 women's player of year; DiJonai Carrington top sixth player". ESPN. March 10, 2021. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
- ^ "No. 2 Baylor survives No. 6 Michigan's upset bid in overtime to advance to Elite Eight". Yahoo! Sports. March 27, 2021. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
- ^ "Wade Trophy winner NaLyssa Smith of Baylor headlines 2021 WBCA NCAA Division I Coaches' All-America team". Women's Basketball Coaches Association. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
- ^ VanTryon, Matthew; Horner, Scott (April 11, 2022). "NaLyssa Smith: What to know about Indiana Fever's 'slept on' No. 2 overall pick". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved April 11, 2022.
- ^ "Nalyssa Smith, Galatasaray Çağdaş Faktoring'de!" (in Turkish). Galatasaray. August 30, 2023. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
- ^ "Zhejiang lands NaLyssa Smith". www.asia-basket.com. Retrieved November 12, 2024.
- ^ "Egbo, Smith to Represent Baylor on USA Basketball U19 World Cup Team". Baylor University Athletics. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
- ^ "NaLyssa Smith WNBA Stats". Basketball Reference.
- ^ "Versatile recruit NaLyssa Smith has been wowing fans for years". ESPN. August 25, 2016. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
External links
[edit]
- Career statistics and player information from WNBA.com and Basketball Reference
- Baylor Lady Bears profile
- USA Basketball profile
- 2000 births
- Living people
- American women's basketball players
- Basketball players from San Antonio
- LGBTQ basketball players
- LGBTQ people from Texas
- American lesbian sportswomen
- Power forwards
- Baylor Bears women's basketball players
- All-American college women's basketball players
- Indiana Fever draft picks
- Indiana Fever players
- Galatasaray S.K. (women's basketball) players
- 21st-century American sportswomen