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Aaliyah Edwards

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Aaliyah Edwards
Edwards with the Washington Mystics in 2024
No. 24 – Washington Mystics
PositionForward
LeagueWNBA
Personal information
Born (2002-07-09) July 9, 2002 (age 22)
Kingston, Ontario, Canada
Listed height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight174 lb (79 kg)
Career information
High schoolCrestwood Prep
(Toronto, Ontario)
CollegeUConn (2020–2024)
WNBA draft2024: 1st round, 6th overall pick
Selected by the Washington Mystics
Playing career2024–present
Career history
2024–presentWashington Mystics
Career highlights and awards
  • Second-team All-American – USBWA (2024)
  • Third-team All-American – AP, USBWA (2023)
  • WBCA Coaches' All-American (2024)
  • 2× First-team All-Big East (2023, 2024)
  • Big East Most Improved Player of the Year (2023)
  • Big East Sixth Woman of the Year (2021)
  • Big East All-Freshman Team (2021)
  • Big East tournament MOP (2023)
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Medals
Women's basketball
Representing  Canada
FIBA Women's AmeriCup
Silver medal – second place 2019 Puerto Rico
Bronze medal – third place 2023 León
FIBA Americas Under-16 Championship
Silver medal – second place 2017 Argentina

Aaliyah Edwards (born July 9, 2002) is a Canadian professional basketball player for the Washington Mystics of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played college basketball at UConn. Edwards played high school basketball at Crestwood Preparatory College, in Toronto, Ontario, where she led her school to three championships and played for Canadian national U16, U17 and senior FIBA Cup teams. Recruited by UConn's Geno Auriemma and the Huskies, Edwards excelled in her junior and senior seasons, both years appearing on NCAA women's All-America teams.

College career

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Edwards graduated after playing with the UConn Huskies women's basketball team for four seasons.[1] As a junior, she averaged double-double of 18.3 points and 11 rebounds per game, an improvement from her sophomore season, when she averaged 7.9 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. The sturdy junior forward became the first UConn player with 20 points and 20 rebounds since Maya Moore in 2010.[2] Edwards was selected first-team All-Big East and second-team All-America as a senior, a season in which UConn narrowly lost against Iowa in the Final Four after playing to a record-breaking 14.4 million ESPN basketball viewers.

Professional career

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WNBA

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On April 15, 2024, Edawrds was selected in the first round of the 2024 WNBA draft as the sixth pick by the Washington Mystics.[3] On April 18, she signed her rookie scale contract with the team.[4]

Unrivaled

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On October 29, 2024, it was announced that Edwards would appear and play in the inaugural 2025 season of Unrivaled, the women's 3x3 basketball league founded by Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart.[5]

National team career

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Edwards has won silver at the 2017 FIBA Under-16 Women's Americas Championship as part of the junior team, and then silver with the senior team at the 2019 FIBA Women's AmeriCup.

In July 2021, Edwards was named to Canada's 2020 Olympic team.[6][7]

Career statistics

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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

WNBA

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Regular season

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Stats current through end of 2024 season

WNBA regular season statistics[8]
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2024 Washington 34 17 21.8 .490 .000 .507 5.6 1.4 0.7 0.8 1.5 7.6
Career 1 year, 1 team 34 17 21.8 .490 .000 .507 5.6 1.4 0.7 0.8 1.5 7.6

College

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NCAA statistics[9]
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2020–21 UConn 29 6 21.8 .689 — .636 5.7 0.9 1.0 1.0 2.0 10.7
2021–22 UConn 36 26 24.9 .521 .400 .740 5.1 1.4 1.1 0.5 2.1 7.9
2022–23 UConn 37 37 32.5 .589 1.000 .773 9.0 2.4 1.2 1.1 3.0 16.6
2023–24 UConn 37 37 30.3 .593 .000 .747 9.2 2.1 1.7 1.0 2.5 17.6
Career 139 106 27.7 .593 .333 .736 7.3 1.8 1.3 0.9 2.4 13.4

Personal life

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Edwards was born in Kingston, Ontario, to Jacqueline and Stanford Edwards. She wears purple and yellow braids to pay homage to the Los Angeles Lakers and Kobe Bryant.[citation needed] She is of Jamaican descent.[10]

Awards and honors

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  • Big East All-Tournament team (2023)[11]
  • AP Third Team All-American (2023)[12]

References

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  1. ^ Ewing, Lori (February 17, 2021). "Canada's Aaliyah Edwards shining in freshman season unlike any other at UConn". Canadian Press. Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
  2. ^ Gonzalez, Isabel. "Aaliyah Edwards becomes first UConn player with 20 points, 20 rebounds in a game since Maya Moore". CBS Sports. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
  3. ^ "Mystics Select Aaliyah Edwards with Sixth Pick in 2024 WNBA Draft". WNBA. April 16, 2024. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
  4. ^ "Aaliyah Edwards - Transactions". Across the Timeline. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
  5. ^ @Unrivaledwbb (October 29, 2024). "AALIYAH EDWARDS IS UNRIVALED👑 28/30✅" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  6. ^ "Canada's Tokyo 2020 women's basketball team announced". Basketball Canada. June 30, 2021. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
  7. ^ Awad, Brandi (June 29, 2021). "Team Canada's women's basketball squad ready to shoot for Olympic podium". Canadian Olympic Committee. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
  8. ^ "Aaliyah Edwards WNBA Stats". Basketball Reference.
  9. ^ "Aaliyah Edwards College Stats". Sports Reference. Retrieved September 1, 2024.
  10. ^ "Player With Jamaican Descent Drafted To WNBA". www.radiojamaicanewsonline.com. April 16, 2024. Retrieved July 29, 2024.
  11. ^ Adamec, Carl. "UConn notebook: Sweet repeat for Lopez Sénéchal". Journal Inquirer. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  12. ^ "Aaliyah Edwards". WNBA DRAFT. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
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