Azurá Stevens

Azurá Breeona Stevens (born February 1, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Sky of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). Stevens played collegiately for the Connecticut Huskies.[1][2] She was drafted with the 6th overall pick in the 2018 WNBA draft by the Dallas Wings.

Azurá Stevens
No. 30 – Chicago Sky
PositionPower forward / Center
LeagueWNBA
Personal information
Born (1996-02-01) February 1, 1996
Pawtucket, Rhode Island
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight180 lb (82 kg)
Career information
High schoolCary (Cary, North Carolina)
College
WNBA draft2018 / Round: 1 / Pick: 6th overall
Selected by the Dallas Wings
Playing career2018–present
Career history
2018–2019Dallas Wings
2020–presentChicago Sky
Career highlights and awards
  • WNBA All-Rookie Team (2018)
  • First-team All-ACC (2016)
  • Second-team All-ACC (2015)
  • Second-tea All-AAC (2018)
  • AAC Sixth Player of the Year (2018)
  • AAC Newcomer of the Year (2018)

Career

College career

Stevens played for the Duke Blue Devils during the 2014–15 and 2015-16 season. At Duke, she was named to the All-ACC Second Team as a freshman and to the First Team as a sophomore. She sat out the following due to transfer rules before playing for the UConn Huskies in the 2017-18 season. At UConn, she was named to the All-AAC Second Team and received the AAC Sixth Player of Year and AAC Newcomer of Year awards.[3]

WNBA career

In April 2018, Stevens decided to forgo her senior year of college and declare for the 2018 WNBA draft.[4][5] She was a highly rated player expected to be taken in the first round of the draft, and noted for her ability to play "positionless" basketball.[6][7][8][9]

In her rookie season for the Wings, Stevens mostly came off the bench, averaging 20.6 minutes, 8.9 points, and 4.6 rebounds per game, and was named to the WNBA All-Rookie Team.[10] Although the Wings ended the season with a 15–19 losing record, they entered the playoffs as the eighth seed and lost in the first round to the Phoenix Mercury. Stevens missed most of the 2019 season with an injury, playing only 9 games where she averaged 16 minutes and 4.8 points per game.[11] She later had surgery on her injured foot.[11]

Ahead of the 2020 season, the Wings traded Stevens to the Chicago Sky in exchange for Katie Lou Samuelson and first-round pick in the 2021 WNBA draft.[12] In reporting ahead of the 2018 draft, multiple outlets had expected the Sky to draft Stevens with the third or fourth pick.[7][8][9] With the Sky, Stevens was expected to fill a gap in the forward position created by the departure of Astou Ndour.[11]

Career statistics
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

WNBA
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2018 Dallas 34920.6.430.318.7884.61.30.91.11.58.9
2019 Dallas 9116.0.358.111.8003.60.60.61.11.04.8
Career 431019.6.421.289.7804.41.20.81.11.48.0

Notes
  1. "23 Azurá Stevens". CBS Interactive (UConn Huskies). Archived from the original on May 26, 2018. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
  2. "UConn's Azura Stevens skipping final year to enter WNBA". ESPN. Associated Press. April 6, 2018. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
  3. "Azura Stevens". WNBA.com - Official Site of the WNBA. Retrieved 2020-07-27.
  4. Associated Press (2018-04-02). "UConn forward Stevens to enter WNBA draft". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2020-07-27.
  5. Anthony, Mike. "UConn's Azura Stevens Declares For WNBA Draft, Forgoing Senior Season". courant.com. Retrieved 2020-07-27.
  6. Ellentuck, Matt (2018-04-10). "Dallas Wings get future of the WNBA in Azura Stevens". SBNation.com. Retrieved 2020-07-27.
  7. Voepel, Michelle (2018-04-11). "How will UConn's Azurá Stevens impact the WNBA draft?". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2020-07-27.
  8. "WNBA mock draft: Projecting all three rounds". ESPN.com. 2018-04-10. Retrieved 2020-07-27.
  9. Ellentuck, Matt (2018-04-09). "WNBA mock draft: A'ja Wilson will go No. 1. After that, anything can happen". SBNation.com. Retrieved 2020-07-27.
  10. "Azura Stevens WNBA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2020-07-27.
  11. Kenney, Madeline (2020-07-04). "Sky look to Azura Stevens for 'big season' after injury-plagued 2019". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2020-07-27.
  12. "Sky trade Katie Lou Samuelson and a 1st-round pick to the Dallas Wings for Azura Stevens". chicagotribune.com. Associated Press. Retrieved 2020-07-27.
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