Diamond DeShields

Diamond Danae-Aziza DeShields (born March 5, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Sky of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was drafted by the Sky with the third overall pick in the 2018 WNBA draft. She is the daughter of former MLB player Delino DeShields and the younger sister of MLB player Delino DeShields Jr.

Diamond DeShields
DeShields in 2019
No. 1 – Chicago Sky
PositionShooting guard
LeagueWNBA
Personal information
Born (1995-03-05) March 5, 1995
West Palm Beach, Florida
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Listed weight163 lb (74 kg)
Career information
High schoolNorcross (Norcross, Georgia)
College
WNBA draft2018 / Round: 1 / Pick: 3rd overall
Selected by the Chicago Sky
Playing career2017–present
Career history
2017–2018Çukurova Basketbol
2018–presentChicago Sky
Career highlights and awards
Stats at WNBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals
Women's basketball
Representing  United States
FIBA Under-17 Women’s Basketball World Cup
2012 U17 Amsterdam Team competition

College career

DeShields graduated from Norcross High School in Norcross, Georgia. Playing for the school's basketball team, she was a part of three state champions and averaged 26 points per game in her senior year. DeShields enrolled at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she played guard for the North Carolina Tar Heels women's basketball team in her freshman year of college. She set an Atlantic Coast Conference record for points scored by a freshman with 648. After her freshman year, DeShields transferred University of Tennessee, where she played for the Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball team for two years after sitting out for the season after her transfer. In the 2016-17 season, DeShields led the Lady Vols with 17.4 points per game and was chosen to the All-Southeastern Conference's first team.[1][2]

Professional career

European leagues

Though she graduated with her bachelor's degree after her second season at Tennessee, she retained a year of eligibility for college basketball. After initially announcing she would return for the 2017-18 season, she opted to leave Tennessee to play professionally in Turkey.[3] DeShields signed with Çukurova Basketbol of the Turkish Super League, where she averaged 17.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game.[4]

Chicago Sky (2018–present)

DeShields was drafted by the Chicago Sky with the 3rd pick of the 2018 WNBA draft. In her first season in the WNBA, she averaged 14.4 points per game while starting in 33 of 34 games played. She was named to the All-Rookie Team.

In 2019, her sophomore season, DeShields was named a WNBA All-Star. During the All-Star Weekend, she won the Skills Challenge, beating out Jonquel Jones in the final round.[5][6] She started all 34 games and averaged 16.2 points per game. On September 11, 2019, she played in her first career postseason game and scored 25 points, as the Chicago Sky defeated the Phoenix Mercury 105–76. It was the fifth-most points scored by a WNBA player in a postseason debut in league history.[7] She scored 23 points in the Sky's loss to the Las Vegas Aces in the second round of the playoffs.

DeShields struggled with injuries during the 2020 season, which was held in a bubble environment due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She did not start games as she was recovering from a knee injury, and played in 13 games while averaging 6.8 points in 17.2 minutes per game.[8] She suffered an apparent apparent quadriceps injury in a game on August 21, and subsequently left the bubble a week later, missing the remainder of the season and the Sky's postseason game.[9][8][10]

Career statistics
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 high ° League leader
† Denotes seasons in which DeShields won a WNBA championship

Regular season
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2018 Chicago 343328.4.425.328.8364.92.21.10.32.114.4
2019 Chicago 343430.2.399.316.8365.52.41.30.42.216.2
2020 Chicago 13017.2.434.167.7781.81.50.90.12.36.8
2021† Chicago 322226.9.393.300.8203.52.31.20.41.911.3
Career 4 years, 1 team 1138927.2.408.310.8294.32.21.20.32.113.2

Playoffs
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2019 Chicago 2233.0.436.333.8335.02.00.51.00.524.0
2021† Chicago 10015.7.340.250.8002.71.11.10.11.65.5
Career 2 years, 1 team 12218.6.380.292.8133.11.31.00.31.48.6

Personal life

DeShields' father, Delino DeShields, and brother, Delino DeShields Jr., have played in Major League Baseball. Her mother, Tisha, was named an All-American heptathlete while attending Tennessee.[11] DeShields has a paternal half-brother and two paternal half-sisters.

References
  1. "Norcross' Diamond DeShields discusses transfer from North Carolina to Tennessee | Archive". gwinnettdailypost.com. November 4, 2014. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
  2. "Former Norcross star Diamond DeShields leaving Tennessee to be a pro". ajc.com. Retrieved July 11, 2018.
  3. "Diamond DeShields to play in Turkey". Knoxnews.com. July 17, 2017. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
  4. Lee, Albert (April 12, 2018). "Chicago Sky drafts Diamond DeShields third in 2018 WNBA Draft". Swish Appeal. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
  5. espnW (July 26, 2019). "Diamond DeShields wins the #WNBAAllStar Skills Challenge pic.twitter.com/AdV1KeCQRp". @espnW. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
  6. Voepel, Mechelle (July 26, 2019). "A little trouble with the pass, but @wnbachicagosky's Diamond DeShields wins WNBA skills challenge vs. @ConnecticutSun's Jonquel Jones, gets $10,000 for charity. "I try to do what I do best, and that's entertain," she said. Now can Sky teammate Allie Quigley win 3-point contest?". @MechelleV. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
  7. Negley, Cassandra (September 11, 2019). "WNBA playoffs: Diamond DeShields, Sky light up ailing Mercury, 105-76, in first round". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  8. Voepel, Mechelle (August 21, 2020). "Chicago's DeShields suffers apparent quad injury". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  9. Voepel, Mechelle (August 29, 2020). "Sky's Stevens, DeShields leave WNBA bubble". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  10. Kenney, Madeline (August 29, 2020). "Sky players Diamond DeShields, Azura Stevens leave WNBA bubble before loss to Storm". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  11. Berkman, Seth (April 12, 2018). "Diamond DeShields's Path to the W.N.B.A. Took Her From Tennessee to Turkey". The New York Times. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
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