Stephanie Watts

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Stephanie Watts
Personal information
Born (1997-04-12) April 12, 1997 (age 26)
Listed height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Career information
High schoolWeddington
(Matthews, North Carolina)
CollegeNorth Carolina (2015–19), (2020–21)
USC (2019–20)
WNBA draft2021: 1st round, 10th overall pick
Selected by the Los Angeles Sparks
PositionGuard
Number5
Career history
2021Chicago Sky
2021–presentSydney Uni Flames
2023-presentTokomanawa Queens

Stephanie Courtney Watts (born April 12, 1997) is an American professional basketball player. She played briefly for the Chicago Sky of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).[1] She was drafted by the Los Angeles Sparks in the first round of the 2021 WNBA draft and was traded to Chicago during the 2021 season.[2][3][4]

High School career[edit]

Watts is from Wesley Chapel, North Carolina and attended Weddington High School. She was named a McDonald's All-American and was North Carolina's Gatorade Player of the Year.[5] She was a five-star recruit going into college and was ranked the No. 21 player overall in her recruiting class.[6][7]

College career[edit]

She started her college career at the University of North Carolina before transferring to the University of Southern California as a graduate. She returned to UNC as a sixth-year transfer to finish a graduate degree.[8][9]

Watts was a three-year starter during her first stint at UNC, when she was named ACC Freshman of the Year. She was also named to the All-ACC second team that year. She also set a UNC freshman record for three pointers made. She crossed the 1,000 career points mark as a junior.[10]

North Carolina and Southern California statistics[edit]

Source[11]

Ratios
YEAR Team GP FG% 3P% FT% RBG APG BPG SPG PPG
2015-16 North Carolina 32 36.0% 29.2% 71.3% 7.22 2.50 1.38 1.41 14.72
2016-17 North Carolina 26 39.2% 32.5% 65.1% 7.89 2.19 1.19 2.04 16.85
2018-19 North Carolina 27 41.5% 37.3% 66.0% 5.48 3.11 1.00 1.89 15.22
2019-20 Southern California 4 39.4% 31.6% 90.0% 6.00 1.50 1.75 1.00 10.25
2020-21 North Carolina 23 38.5% 30.5% 85.9% 5.39 3.09 0.83 1.74 11.96
Career 112 38.7% 32.4% 72.8% 6.54 2.66 1.14 1.72 14.61
Totals
YEAR Team GP FG FGA 3P 3PA FT FTA REB A BK ST PTS
2015-16 North Carolina 32 159 442 76 260 77 108 231 80 44 45 471
2016-17 North Carolina 26 158 403 81 249 41 63 205 57 31 53 438
2018-19 North Carolina 27 147 354 82 220 35 53 148 84 27 51 411
2019-20 Southern California 4 13 33 6 19 9 10 24 6 7 4 41
2020-21 North Carolina 23 92 239 36 118 55 64 124 71 19 40 275
Career 112 569 1471 281 866 217 298 732 298 128 193 1636

Professional career[edit]

Watts became the highest UNC player selected in the WNBA Draft since La'Tangela Atkinson in 2006. She is the 21st player from the program to be selected and the fourth Top Ten pick.[12]

WNBA career statistics[edit]

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 best ° League leader

Regular season[edit]

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2021 Chicago 6 0 14.0 .211 .100 .750 3.7 0.5 0.3 1.3 2.5
Career 1 year, 1 team 6 0 14.0 .211 .100 .750 3.7 0.5 0.3 1.3 2.5

References[edit]

  1. ^ VERNON, JEREMY. "WNBA: Watts waived less than a month after being traded". The Enquirer Journal. Retrieved 2021-06-28.
  2. ^ "Sky acquire Stephanie Watts; rights to Leonie Fiebich from the Los Angeles Sparks". Chicago Sky.
  3. ^ "Five under-the-radar WNBA players to keep an eye on during 2021 season". CBSSports.com.
  4. ^ "UNC guard Stephanie Watts drafted 10th overall to LA Sparks". April 16, 2021.
  5. ^ "Stephanie Watts earns Gatorade Player of the Year honors". March 12, 2015.
  6. ^ Luck, Quierra. "Former Tar Heel Standout Stephanie Watts Returns to Chapel Hill". Sports Illustrated North Carolina Tarheels News, Analysis and More.
  7. ^ "Stephanie Watts' High School Timeline". MaxPreps.com.
  8. ^ "Tar Heels welcome back Stephanie Watts after transfer to USC". USA TODAY.
  9. ^ "UNC Women's Basketball Welcomes Stephanie Watts Back To Chapel Hill". Tar Heel Times.
  10. ^ "Stephanie Watts Returns to UNC Women's Basketball for Final Year of Eligibility". June 29, 2020.
  11. ^ "NCAA Statistics". web1.ncaa.org. Retrieved 2021-06-28.
  12. ^ "UNC's Stephanie Watts Drafted No. 10 by Los Angeles Sparks". InsideCarolina.com.

External links[edit]