Alysha Clark

Alysha Angelica Clark (born July 7, 1987) is an American-Israeli professional basketball player for the Washington Mystics of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was drafted in the second round of the 2010 WNBA draft by the San Antonio Silver Stars. In 2018, Clark won a championship with the Seattle Storm as they swept the Mystics in the 2018 WNBA Finals, and in 2020 won her second championship as the Storm swept the Las Vegas Aces. She was also League MVP in 2018 when her team CCC Polkowice (Basketball) of Poland in the Basket Liga Kobiet Basketball won that League's Championship. In 2019, she won a Ligue Féminine de Basketball championship with her French team, Lyon Asvel. She is known for her swarming defense and clutch shooting.

Alysha Clark
Clark at Madison Square Garden in 2015
No. 22 – Washington Mystics
PositionSmall forward
LeagueWNBA
Personal information
Born (1987-07-07) July 7, 1987
Denver, Colorado
NationalityAmerican / Israeli
Listed height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Listed weight167 lb (76 kg)
Career information
High schoolMount Juliet
(Mount Juliet, Tennessee)
College
WNBA draft2010 / Round: 2 / Pick: 17th overall
Selected by the San Antonio Silver Stars
Playing career2010–present
Career history
2012–2020Seattle Storm
2010–2011HaPoel Rishon LeZion
2011–2013A.S. Ramat HaSharon
2014–2016Maccabi Bnot Ashdod
2016–2017Adana ASKİ SK
2017–2018CCC Polkowice
2018–presentASVEL Basket
2021-presentWashington Mystics
Career highlights and awards
Stats at WNBA.com

Early life

Clark was born in Denver, Colorado to Jan and Duane Clark, who were both musicians. She is the younger sister of American Idol contestant Corey Clark. She is Jewish according to Jewish law and one of her mother's parents is Jewish.[1] However, she was baptized as a child and identifies as a Christian.[2]

Clark in 2018

The family later moved to her hometown of Mount Juliet, Tennessee, where she attended Mt. Juliet High School.[3] At Mt. Juliet she was named Midstate Player of the Year by the Tennessean and Class AAA Miss Basketball as a senior. She averaged 24 points and 11.6 rebounds, shooting 67 percent from the floor and 78 percent from the free throw line as a senior.

College career

Before Clark attended Middle Tennessee State University, she played two years at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. At Belmont she helped the Lady Bruins to their first ever NCAA tournament appearance in 2007. After two years she transferred to Middle Tennessee. Clark sat out the 2007–08 season, as required by NCAA rules for transfer students. In 2008-09 she averaged a national best and school-record 27.5 points per game. The following year she averaged 28.3 points per game to lead the nation among Division I schools.[4] At Middle Tennessee she earned Sun Belt Player of the Year in 2009 and 2010.[5]

Professional career

Clark was drafted with the 17th overall pick in the second round of the 2010 WNBA Draft by the San Antonio Silver Stars,[6] but didn't make a roster that year or in 2011. In 2012, she signed with the Seattle Storm.[7]

She became a regular starter for the Storm at small forward in 2014, and has established herself as one of the best defenders in the WNBA, making the All-Defensive Team in 2019. On the offensive side of the ball, Clark has developed into one of the better shooters in the league; her 39.8% from beyond the arc is 12th all-time in WNBA history and second among active players. In 2019, she led the league with a 48.1% clip on three-pointers, and improved that to 52.2% in the condensed 22-game season in 2020.

In 2018, Clark started every game of the Storm's WNBA Championship run. In Seattle's Western Conference Finals series against the Phoenix Mercury, Clark was the Storm's main choice to guard Diana Taurasi, and in the decisive Game 5, she also logged a double-double with 13 points and a team-high 13 rebounds.[8] In the Storm's championship-clinching win in the WNBA Finals against the Washington Mystics, Clark led the team in playing time, and added 15 points.[9]

Clark has won both the Polish Basket Liga Kobiet Basketball championship and MVP award with CCC Polkowice in 2018. In 2019, while playing with Lyon Asvel, she won the Ligue Féminine de Basketball championship.

Career statistics

WNBA

Source[10]

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 high ° League leader
† Denotes seasons in which Clark won a WNBA championship

Regular season
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2012 Seattle 23010.3.547.450.7062.00.30.20.10.83.4
2013 Seattle 33015.3.453.390.7602.50.40.40.21.14.0
2014 Seattle 34°2216.5.448.246.6962.10.60.50.30.74.2
2015 Seattle 333123.1.544.353.7753.71.20.70.21.16.9
2016 Seattle 333227.6.484.387.8473.71.90.70.11.39.0
2017 Seattle 333328.3.525.328.7454.21.60.70.11.08.2
2018† Seattle 313026.2.480.392.8463.51.91.00.11.27.4
2019 Seattle 313028.4.481.481.8184.72.51.10.51.59.6
2020† Seattle 22°22°28.8.558.522.8004.22.71.50.50.910.0
Career 9 years, 1 team 27320022.9.500.398.7873.41.40.70.21.16.9

Postseason
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2013 Seattle 2018.5.455.3331.0005.00.50.00.70.57.0
2016 Seattle 1128.0.333.0001.0002.03.00.00.01.08.0
2017 Seattle 1126.0.667–1.0005.00.01.01.01.06.0
2018† Seattle 8835.0.500.458.8755.92.60.50.30.68.5
2019 Seattle 2228.5.143.200.8573.51.02.00.52.54.5
2020† Seattle 6630.5.453.3481.0006.53.20.70.70.710.3
Career 6 years, 1 team 201830.6.451.373.9265.52.30.70.40.98.4

College

Source[11]

Legend
  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
2005-06 Belmont 30 599 54.3 22.7 74.5 10.9 1.3 1.7 0.5 20.0
2006-07 Belmont 30 510 58.0 36.4 74.4 12.7 1.9 2.2 0.5 17.0
2007–08 Middle Tennessee redshirt/transfer
2008-09 Middle Tennessee 34 935 60.7 41.4 79.0 9.8 2.1 2.1 0.6 27.5
2009-10 Middle Tennessee 29 821 61.4 32.1 77.7 11.6 3.4 2.4 0.7 28.3
Career 123 2865 59.0 33.3 76.6 11.2 2.2 2.1 0.6 23.3

See also

References
  1. "Basketball / Profile / Welcome to the club - Haaretz - Israel News". Haaretz.com. January 6, 2012. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
  2. "Calm In The Storm". Default. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
  3. "MJHS Alumni Clark drafted in the WNBA". Archived from the original on May 19, 2010. Retrieved April 20, 2010.
  4. "NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Records Through 2013-14" (PDF). NCAA.org. p. 15. Retrieved October 3, 2015.
  5. "Alysha Clark's amazing journey". nashvillecitypaper.com. Archived from the original on September 29, 2011. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  6. "Clark Shooting for Silver Stardom". Archived from the original on September 29, 2011. Retrieved April 20, 2010.
  7. "Clark evolves into star for Seattle Storm". ESPN.com. September 9, 2018. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  8. "SEA vs PHO". WNBA Stats. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  9. "SEA vs WAS". WNBA Stats. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  10. "Alysha Clark Career Statistics". wnba.com. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  11. "Women's Basketball Player stats". NCAA. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
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