Jantel Lavender

Jantel Lavender (born November 12, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the Indiana Fever of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was drafted with the fifth overall pick in the 2011 WNBA draft by the Los Angeles Sparks.

Jantel Lavender
No. 7 – Indiana Fever
PositionPower forward
LeagueWNBA
Personal information
Born (1988-11-12) November 12, 1988
Cleveland, Ohio
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight185 lb (84 kg)
Career information
High schoolCleveland Central Catholic
(Cleveland, Ohio)
CollegeOhio State (2007–2011)
WNBA draft2011 / Round: 1 / Pick: 5th overall
Selected by the Los Angeles Sparks
Playing career2011–present
Career history
2011–2018Los Angeles Sparks
2011Beşiktaş
2012CCC Polkowice
2012–2013Beretta Famila Schio
2013–2015Wisła Kraków
2015–2017Fenerbahçe Istanbul
2017–2018Yakin Dogu
2018–2019Famila Schio
2019Chicago Sky
2021–presentIndiana Fever
Career highlights and awards
Stats at WNBA.com
Medals
Women’s Basketball
Representing  United States
U18 and U19
2006 U18 Colorado SpringsTeam Competition
2007 U19 BratislavaTeam Competition
World University Games
2009 Belgrade Team Competition

USA Basketball

Lavender was a member of the USA Women's U18 team which won the gold medal at the FIBA Americas Championship in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The event was held in July 2006, when the USA team defeated Canada to win the championship. Lavender averaged 4.8 points per game.[1] Lavender was a member of the USA Women's U19 team which won the gold medal at the FIBA U19 World Championship in Bratislava, Slovakia. The event was held in July and August 2007, when the USA team defeated Sweden to win the championship. Lavender scored 16 points in the preliminary round game against Lithuania, then scored 28 points in a win over Spain. She scored 25 points in the win over the Czech Republic. Over the course of the tournament, she averaged 16.0 points per game, second only to Maya Moore with 16.3 per game. Lavender led the team in rebounding, averaging 8.1 per game.[2] Lavender was named a member of the team representing the US at the 2009 World University Games held in Belgrade, Serbia. The team won all seven games to earn the gold medal. She recorded a double-double, with 16 points and 12 rebounds against France. In the gold medal game against previously undefeated Russia, Lavender had 14 points.[3]

WNBA career

Lavender was selected in the first round of the 2011 WNBA Draft (5th overall) by the Los Angeles Sparks.[4] Throughout her first four seasons, she was a reserve on the Sparks' roster and had been a key contributor off the bench with her scoring and rebounding.

In 2015, Lavender re-signed with the Sparks once her rookie contract expired.[5] Lavender had a breakout season in 2015. With Candace Parker sitting out the first half of the season to rest, Lavender became the Sparks' starting center. She would start in all 34 games and average a career-high 14.5 points per game along with 8.3 rebounds per game. That same year she was voted as a WNBA all-star for the first time in her career.

In the 2016 season, Lavender returned to the back-up center role on the team's roster, with Parker returning to the starting center position. Off the bench, Lavender was still effective for the Sparks, she had averaged 9.6 points per game and scored a career-high 25 points in an overtime regular season win against the Connecticut Sun.[6] Her season performance would earn her the WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year Award.[7] The Sparks finished 26–8, advancing all the way to the WNBA Finals and defeated the Minnesota Lynx 3 games to 2, as they won their first championship since 2002 as well as Lavender winning her first championship.

In 2017, Lavender signed a contract extension with the Sparks.[8] During the 2017 season, Lavender averaged 7.3 ppg off the bench. The Sparks would once again finished as the number 2 seed in the league with the same record they posted last season, receiving a double-bye to the semi-finals. The Sparks would eliminate the Phoenix Mercury in a 3-game sweep, advancing to the Finals for the second season in a row, setting up a rematch with the Lynx. However, the Sparks would lose in five games, failing to win back-to-back championships.

In the 2018 season, Lavender played 30 games with 7 starts to help fill in the starting power forward role during Nneka Ogwumike's absence. The Sparks finished with a 19–15 record, clinching the number 6 seed. In the first round elimination game, the Sparks defeated the Minnesota Lynx 75–68, ending their streak of three consecutive Finals appearances. However, the Sparks would lose to the Washington Mystics in the second round elimination game, 96–64.

A few days before the 2019 season, Lavender was traded to the Chicago Sky in exchange for a 2020 second round draft pick.[9]

Overseas career

In the 2010-11 off-season, Lavender played in Turkey for Beşiktaş JK. In the 2011-12 off-season, Lavender played in Poland for CCC Polkowice. In the 2012-13 off-season, Lavender played in Italy for PF Schio. From 2013–15, Lavender played two off-seasons in Poland once again for WBC Wisła Kraków. In the 2015-16 off-season, Lavender played for Fenerbahçe Istanbul in Turkey.[10] As of August 2016, Lavender had re-signed with Fenerbahçe Istanbul for the 2016-17 off-season.[11] In September 2017, Lavender signed with Yakin Dogu for the 2017-18 off-season.[12] In the 2018-19 off-season, Lavender signed with Famila Schio of the Italian league.[13][14]

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
† Denotes seasons in which Lavender won a WNBA championship

Regular season
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2011 Los Angeles 33314.8.500.000.7333.10.50.10.30.86.6
2012 Los Angeles 34114.4.506.000.8443.90.50.20.51.15.6
2013 Los Angeles 34316.8.507.000.8654.50.50.50.61.07.2
2014 Los Angeles 342728.3.527.200.7946.31.50.50.71.911.9
2015 Los Angeles 343433.8.525.333.8828.31.80.41.22.114.5
2016† Los Angeles 34019.4.538.000.6833.61.30.20.51.19.6
2017 Los Angeles 32017.3.488.313.8463.00.90.20.11.27.3
2018 Los Angeles 30717.0.428.188.9003.70.70.40.21.05.2
2019 Chicago Sky 301326.9.490.222.8206.91.10.40.61.410.0
Career 9 years, 2 teams 2889720.8.507.243.8204.81.00.40.61.38.7

Playoffs
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2012 Los Angeles 4010.0.750.000.5002.30.50.00.00.71.8
2013 Los Angeles 3011.6.714.000.5002.30.00.00.00.03.7
2014 Los Angeles 2220.4.429.000.0004.51.50.50.00.56.0
2015 Los Angeles 3334.5.5771.000.6006.71.00.60.31.611.3
2016† Los Angeles 9015.6.607.000.0002.31.00.00.10.27.6
2017 Los Angeles 8014.1.436.1251.0002.90.50.30.00.54.8
2018 Los Angeles 2016.0.500.500.0003.00.50.01.01.05.5
Career 7 years, 1 team 29516.3.548.182.6673.10.70.20.10.55.9

College
Year Team GP Points FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2007–08 Ohio State 31 547 51.3 20.0 66.1 9.9 1.2 0.4 1.0 17.6
2008–09 Ohio State 35 728 54.1 - 75.5 10.7 1.8 0.4 1.2 20.8
2009–10 Ohio State 36 769 51.4 40.0 77.6 10.3 1.6 0.5 1.5 21.4
2010–11 Ohio State 34 774 54.8 - 80.2 10.9 2.4 0.4 1.8 22.8
Career Ohio State 136 2818 53.0 23.1 75.6 10.5 1.8 0.4 1.4 20.7

Source[15]

References
  1. "Sixth Women's Fiba Americas U18 Championship For Women -- 2006". USA Basketball. November 29, 2010. Archived from the original on September 7, 2015. Retrieved October 20, 2015.
  2. "Seventh FIBA Women's U19 World Championship -- 2007". USA Basketball. February 20, 2014. Archived from the original on September 7, 2015. Retrieved October 20, 2015.
  3. "TWENTY-FIFTH WORLD UNIVERSITY GAMES -- 2009". USA Basketball. Archived from the original on October 17, 2013. Retrieved October 17, 2013.
  4. http://www.wnba.com draft2011/draft_board.html 2011 WNBA Draft board
  5. LA Sparks re-sign center Jantel Lavender
  6. "Women's basketball | Ex-Ohio State star Jantel Lavender is WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year". The Repository. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
  7. "Sparks' Jantel Lavender Named 2016 WNBA Sixth Woman Of The Year - WNBA.com - Official Site of the WNBA". WNBA.com - Official Site of the WNBA. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
  8. "Jantel Lavender Extends Contract with Los Angeles Sparks - Los Angeles Sparks". Los Angeles Sparks. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
  9. Jantel Lavender trade grades: Sky boost frontcourt with veteran acquisition; Sparks get salary cap relief
  10. Derinev.com. "KADIN BASKETBOL TAKIMIMIZDA YENİ TRANSFERLER | Fenerbahçe Spor Kulübü Resmi Sitesi". Fenerbahçe Spor Kulübü Resmi İnternet Sitesi (in Turkish). Retrieved September 11, 2017.
  11. "2016-2017 WNBA Overseas Signings - Women's Basketball 24.7". Women's Basketball 24.7. August 22, 2016. Archived from the original on September 30, 2017. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
  12. Jantel Lavender, Near East University
  13. Famila Schio Italy
  14. JANTEL LAVENDER Basketball Profile
  15. "Women's Basketball Player stats". NCAA. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
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