Deanna Nolan

Deanna Nolan
Personal information
Born	August 25, 1979 (age 45); Flint, Michigan, U.S.
Nationality	American / Russian
Listed height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Listed weight	155 lb (70 kg)
Career information
High school	Flint Northern (Flint, Michigan)
College	Georgia (1997–2001)
WNBA draft	2001: 1st round, 6th overall pick
	Selected by the Detroit Shock
Playing career	2001–present
Position	Shooting guard / point guard
Career history
2001–2009	Detroit Shock
2007–2010;; 2012–2013	UMMC Ekaterinburg
Career highlights and awards
	3× WNBA champion (2003, 2006, 2008); WNBA Finals MVP (2006); 5× WNBA All-Star (2003–2007); All-WNBA First Team (2005, 2007); All-WNBA Second Team (2003); WNBA 20th Anniversary Team (2016);
	Stats at WNBA.com
	Stats at Basketball Reference

Deanna Nicole "Tweety" Nolan^[1] (Template:Lang-ru; born August 25, 1979) is an American-Russian professional basketball player for UMMC Ekaterinburg of the Russian Premier League as well as the Russia women's national basketball team.^[2] Her primary position is shooting guard, but occasionally plays the point guard position. Her original name was Deana, but was legally changed to Deanna in 2000. She went to Flint Northern High School where she graduated and took that school state to state champs.

Early life

Nolan is the daughter of the late Phillip Murphy and Virginia Nolan. She has an older brother Omar, a younger brother Christopher, and an older sister Lekia. She lost her father two days before her first birthday.

High school years

Nolan attended Flint Northern High School where she led her team to back to back Michigan state championships in 1994 and 1995, and was crowned as Michigan's 1995 Miss Basketball.

Trivia

Her favorite basketball players are Allen Iverson, LeBron James, and Russell Westbrook.^{[citation needed]}

College years

Nolan graduated in December 2001 with a degree in child and family development from the University of Georgia. Overall, she helped the Lady Bulldogs achieve an 86–12 record overall during her collegiate career.^{[citation needed]}

As a senior, Nolan earned 2001 All-SEC Tournament Team honors.

WNBA career

In the 2001 WNBA draft, Nolan was selected by her home state team, Detroit Shock in the first round (sixth overall). She has been nicknamed "Tweety", and is well known by fans for her amazing vertical leap.

Nolan also helped the Detroit Shock win their first championship in 2003. In 2006, she won another championship with Detroit and was named MVP of the 2006 WNBA Finals.

In 2008, she helped the Shock win their third WNBA Championship. In 2007, 2008 and 2009, she was named the Detroit Shock Player of the Year in voting by members of the Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association.

International career

In the 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10 and 2012–13 WNBA off seasons, she played for the UMMC Ekaterinburg club in Russia.^[3]

She obtained a Russian passport in order to not count against the team's allowed number of foreign players. She stated during 2008 that she hoped to play for the Russian Olympic team, but was passed over in favor of Becky Hammon.^{[citation needed]}

Notes

^ III, James L. Edwards; more. "How the 2006 Detroit Shock overcame Sacramento and a Mariah Carey concert to win the first Game 5 in WNBA Finals history". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 13, 2024.
^ "Return to WNBA unlikely for Flint's Deanna Nolan after success in Russia". MLive.com. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
^ "WNBA.com: Offseason 2008-09: Overseas Roster". www.wnba.com. Retrieved June 4, 2021.

External links

[1] III, James L. Edwards; more. "How the 2006 Detroit Shock overcame Sacramento and a Mariah Carey concert to win the first Game 5 in WNBA Finals history". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 13, 2024.

[2] "Return to WNBA unlikely for Flint's Deanna Nolan after success in Russia". MLive.com. Retrieved September 12, 2017.

[3] "WNBA.com: Offseason 2008-09: Overseas Roster". www.wnba.com. Retrieved June 4, 2021.

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