Tanisha Wright
Tanisha Lovely Wright (born November 29, 1983) is an American basketball coach, currently an assistant for the Las Vegas Aces of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Wright played 14 WNBA seasons for the Seattle Storm, New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx and played college basketball for the Penn State Nittany Lions. She ranks fourth in school history in points scored with 1,995 points in 134 career games for Penn State. She was drafted in the 2005 WNBA Draft by the Seattle Storm.
 Wright in 2018 | |
| Las Vegas Aces | |
|---|---|
| Position | Assistant coach |
| League | WNBA |
| Personal information | |
| Born | November 29, 1983 Brooklyn, New York |
| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| Listed weight | 165 lb (75 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | West Mifflin (West Mifflin, Pennsylvania) |
| College | Penn State (2001–2005) |
| WNBA draft | 2005 / Round: 1 / Pick: 12th overall |
| Selected by the Seattle Storm | |
| Playing career | 2005–2019 |
| Position | Shooting guard |
| Number | 30 |
| Career history | |
| 2005–2014 | Seattle Storm |
| 2015–2016 | New York Liberty |
| 2018 | Minnesota Lynx |
| 2019 | New York Liberty |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Stats at WNBA.com | |
| Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
High school career
Born in Brooklyn, New York, she attended the suburban Pittsburgh West Mifflin Area High School, where she played basketball and soccer. She led the team to the W.P.I.A.L (Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League) basketball district finals in her junior year. The team lost a close game 81–78 to Blackhawk High School in Triple Overtime. Tanisha fouled out in the beginning of the final overtime. She led the game with 51 points. She went on to lead her team to the next seasons finals once again against Blackhawk, where she led the team in a 63–53 victory. She went on to take her team to the state finals, where they lost a close game to Allentown Central Catholic high school 56–45. The team's record was 31–1, their only loss coming in the state finals.
College career
| Seasons | College |
| 2001–2005 | Penn State University |
Penn State statistics
Source[1]
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001-02 | Penn State | 35 | 355 | 45.4 | 10.5 | 78.2 | 4.0 | 2.8 | 1.8 | 0.6 | 10.1 |
| 2002-03 | Penn State | 35 | 560 | 50.7 | 25.0 | 76.2 | 5.4 | 4.0 | 2.6 | 0.5 | 16.0 |
| 2003-04 | Penn State | 34 | 502 | 48.3 | 25.0 | 83.2 | 4.7 | 4.1 | 1.7 | 0.3 | 14.8 |
| 2004-05 | Penn State | 30 | 578 | 41.4 | 20.0 | 80.3 | 4.5 | 3.6 | 1.9 | 0.4 | 19.3 |
| Career | Penn State | 134 | 1995 | 46.3 | 20.0 | 79.5 | 4.6 | 3.6 | 2.0 | 0.5 | 14.9 |
WNBA career
| Seasons | Team |
| 2005–2014 | Seattle Storm |
| 2015–2016 | New York Liberty |
| 2018-Present | Minnesota Lynx |
Wright helped the Seattle Storm win their second championship in 2010.[2]
On February 2, 2015, Wright signed as a free agent with the New York Liberty[3]
In 2017, it was announced that Wright would be sitting out part of the 2017 WNBA season to rest.[4]
On March 13, 2018, Wright signed a free agent contract with the Minnesota Lynx.[5]
Wright was traded back to the New York Liberty on April 11, 2019, in exchange for a second-round draft pick in the 2020 WNBA draft.
Wright retired in 2020 and became an assistant coach for the Las Vegas Aces.[6]
Overseas career
| Seasons | Team | Country |
| 2007–2008 | Hapoel Tel Aviv B.C. |  Israel |
| 2008–2009 | Tarbes GB |  France |
| 2009–2010 | Lotos VBW Clima Gdynia |  Poland |
| 2010–2011 | Elitzur Ramla | Israel |
| 2013–2015 2016–present |
Abdullah Gul University Kayseri |  Turkey |
References
- "Women's Basketball Player stats". NCAA. Retrieved 26 Sep 2015.
- Voepel, Mechelle (16 September 2010). "Second title even sweeter for Storm". ESPN. Retrieved 17 September 2010.
- Liberty Sign Wright, Swords and Allen Archived 2015-02-03 at the Wayback Machine
- "WNBA: Wright to rest, will miss upcoming season". Swish Appeal. Retrieved 2017-08-30.
- Andrews, Julian (March 14, 2018). "Tanisha Wright To Bring Defensive Grit To Lynx". lynx.wnba.com. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
- Destin, Andrew (May 13, 2020). "Former Penn State women's basketball star hired as WNBA assistant". Daily Collegian. Retrieved May 14, 2020.