Alanna Smith
Alanna Smith (born 10 September 1996) is an Australian professional basketball player for the Minnesota Lynx of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played college basketball for the Stanford Cardinal.
Smith with the Chicago Sky in 2023 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 8 – Minnesota Lynx | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Position | Power forward | ||||||||||||||||||||
| League | WNBA | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 10 September 1996 Hobart, Tasmania | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | Australian | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 180 lb (82 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||||||||
| High school | Wesley College (Melbourne, Victoria) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| College | Stanford (2015–2019) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| WNBA draft | 2019: 1st round, 8th overall pick | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Selected by the Phoenix Mercury | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 2019–present | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019–2021 | Phoenix Mercury | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019–2020 | Incheon S-Birds | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021–2022 | Adelaide Lightning | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022 | Indiana Fever | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | Chicago Sky | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024–present | Minnesota Lynx | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Medals
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Smith was a member of the Australian Women's basketball team (Opals) at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The Opals were eliminated after losing to the USA in the quarterfinals.[1]
College career edit
Smith played four seasons of college basketball at Stanford University in Stanford, California for the Cardinal.[2]
Statistics edit
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015–16 | Stanford | 34 | 0 | 11.8 | .432 | .333 | .659 | 2.4 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.7 | 1.2 | 5.3 |
| 2016–17 | Stanford | 38 | 3 | 19.3 | .465 | .317 | .689 | 5.4 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 1.6 | 1.1 | 9.1 |
| 2017–18 | Stanford | 35 | 35 | 28.4 | .474 | .302 | .531 | 7.0 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 1.7 | 2.5 | 13.5 |
| 2018–19 | Stanford | 36 | 36 | 29.2 | .515 | .397 | .730 | 8.6 | 1.9 | 1.0 | 2.1 | 2.4 | 19.4 |
| Career | 143 | 74 | 22.3 | .482 | .352 | .663 | 5.9 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 1.5 | 1.8 | 11.9 | |
Professional career edit
WNBA edit
Smith was selected as the eighth overall pick of the 2019 WNBA draft by the Phoenix Mercury.[3] After making the final roster with the Mercury, Smith would play under head coach Sandy Brondello and alongside the likes of Brittney Griner, DeWanna Bonner and Diana Taurasi.
WNBL edit
After a season abroad in South Korea, Smith returned home to Australia after signing with the Adelaide Lightning for the 2020–21 WNBL season.[4]
National team career edit
Youth level edit
Smith made her international debut for the Sapphires at the 2011 FIBA Oceania Under-16 Championship in Canberra.[5] Smith represented the Sapphires at the Under-17 World Championship in the Netherlands the following year, where they finished in fifth place. Smith then made her debut for the Gems at the 2014 FIBA Oceania Under-18 Championship in Fiji. Smith represented the Gems at the Under-19 World Championship in Russia the following year, where they finished in third place and took home the bronze medal. She also earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team, awarded to the five strongest players of the tournament.
Senior level edit
At age 20, Smith was selected to the Opals team that competed in the 2017 FIBA Women's Asia Cup in India. She made an immediate impact, averaging 10.8 points and 5.3 rebounds (2nd and 3rd-highest in the team, respectively) in 14.5 minutes per game,[6] helping Australia finish the tournament as runners-up and qualify for the World Cup the following year. Her best game was the quarter-final, in which she amassed 20 points and 9 rebounds in just 15 minutes of court time. In 2018, Smith represented the Opals in her first major international tournament – the 2018 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup, held in Tenerife, Spain. She averaged 14.4 minutes of court time for 6.3 points and 2.3 rebounds per game,[7] with her best game yielding 10 points and 5 rebounds (vs Argentina). She also scored 10 points in the final vs USA.
Smith, like all the other members of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics Opals women's basketball team, had a difficult tournament. The Opals lost their first two group stage matches. They looked flat against Belgium and then lost to China in heartbreaking circumstances. In their last group match the Opals needed to beat Puerto Rico by 25 or more in their final match to progress. This they did by 27 in a very exciting match. However, they lost to the United States in their quarterfinal 79 to 55.[8]
WNBA 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 |
Regular season edit
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Phoenix | 18 | 0 | 7.4 | .195 | .111 | .500 | 1.9 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 1.1 |
| 2020 | Phoenix | 19 | 0 | 15.6 | .422 | .233 | .690 | 3.6 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 6.1 |
| 2021 | Phoenix | 18 | 0 | 6.5 | .235 | .190 | .250 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 1.2 |
| 2022 | Indiana | 9 | 1 | 12.9 | .333 | .240 | .714 | 2.7 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 4.3 |
| 2023 | Chicago | 38 | 35 | 26.5 | .498 | .294 | .679 | 6.6 | 1.8 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.5 | 9.2 |
| Career | 5 years, 3 teams | 102 | 36 | 16.4 | .424 | .249 | .667 | 3.9 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 5.3 |
Postseason edit
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Phoenix | 2 | 0 | 8.0 | .250 | .500 | 1.000 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 2.5 |
| 2021 | Phoenix | 5 | 0 | 5.2 | .400 | .400 | 1.000 | 2.0 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 3.2 |
| 2023 | Chicago | 2 | 2 | 18.0 | .300 | .000 | 1.000 | 4.5 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 4.0 |
| Career | 3 years, 2 teams | 9 | 2 | 8.7 | .345 | .273 | 1.000 | 2.3 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.8 | 3.2 |
References edit
- ^ "Basketball SMITH Alanna - Tokyo 2020 Olympics". olympics.com. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
- ^ "Alanna Smith Stanford Athletics". gostanford.com.
- ^ "Alanna Smith selected by the Phoenix Mercury in WNBA Draft". Retrieved 31 July 2019.
- ^ "LIGHTNING SIGNS ALANNA SMITH". Retrieved 9 October 2020.
- ^ "Alanna SMITH". archive.fiba.com.
- ^ "Alanna Smith Player Profile | 2017 FIBA Women's Asia Cup Division A". FIBA. 2017. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
- ^ "Alanna SMITH (AUS) Player Profile | FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2018". FIBA. 2018. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
- ^ "Australian Olympic Team for Tokyo 2021". The Roar. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
External links edit
- Career statistics and player information from WNBA.com and Basketball-Reference.com
- Alanna Smith at FIBA
- Stanford Cardinal bio