Did Dawn Staley play basketball? Revisiting South Carolina coach’s Hall of Fame career in WNBA

Dawn Staley is a powerhouse, trailblazer and icon. Her days as a player also back up her status as nothing short of legendary. 

Before winning three National Championships (2017, 2022, 2024) as a head coach at South Carolina, Staley’s time in the WNBA and as a college basketball player was pretty spectacular. 

Staley was a three-time Olympic gold medalist and a key cog in a team that made three consecutive Final Fours at the University of Virginia. She was a two-time National Player of the Year and was named the Most Outstanding Player of the 1991 NCAA Final Four. 

Staley made the jump to the WNBA in 1999, selected with the ninth overall pick by the Charlotte Sting.

MORE: Inside Dawn Staley’s relationship with South Carolina’s Lisa Boyer

Despite never winning a championship in the WNBA and averaging over 10 points per game just once in her 10-year playing career, Staley was a terrific two-way guard. She received MVP votes five times and was an All-Star six times. She was later inducted into both the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (2013) and the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame (2012). She was also named to the WNBA’s 10th and 15th Anniversary Teams.

After her playing days were over, Staley became the head coach at Temple University in 2000. In 2008, the University of South Carolina hired Staley, and the rest is history. 

In 2017, when the Gamecocks won their first title, three members of Staley’s team were then drafted in the first round of the WNBA draft that year. 

As a player, Staley never won a national championship, but she came close with Virginia. Now, as the head coach of the Gamecocks, she’s solidified herself as one of the greatest winners of all time. 

MORE: Dawn Staley’s outfits, record just a part of her role in growing women’s basketball

Dawn Staley college stats

131 games16.3 points per game5.9 rebounds per game5.6 assists per game3.6 steals per game0.4 blocks per game46.0 percent field goal shooting33.4 percent 3-point shooting81.1 percent free throw shooting

Dawn Staley WNBA stats

263 games8.5 points per game2.0 rebounds per game5.1 assists per game1.3 steals per game0.1 blocks per game39.9 percent field goal shooting37.6 percent 3-point shooting83.4 percent free throw shooting

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