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Dana Evans (basketball)

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Dana Evans
Evans with the Chicago Sky in 2023
No. 1 – Beşiktaş
PositionPoint guard, shooting guard
LeagueTurkish Super League
Personal information
Born (1998-08-01) August 1, 1998 (age 26)
Gary, Indiana, U.S.
Listed height5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Listed weight145 lb (66 kg)
Career information
High schoolWest Side Leadership Academy
(Gary, Indiana)
CollegeLouisville (2017–2021)
WNBA draft2021: 2nd round, 13th overall pick
Selected by the Dallas Wings
Playing career2021–present
Career history
2021Dallas Wings
2021–presentChicago Sky
2021KSC Szekszárd
2022–presentBeşiktaş
Career highlights and awards
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

Dana Evans (born August 1, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Sky of the Women's National Basketball Association, and Beşiktaş of the Turkish Super League. A two-time ACC Basketball Player of the Year at the University of Louisville, she was drafted by the Dallas Wings with the 13th overall pick of the 2021 WNBA draft.[1]

Early life

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Evans grew up in Gary, Indiana, where although she did not play basketball until the fourth grade, she immediately excelled at it. She was praised for her skills on defense, and was said to have garnered an offer to play college basketball by Valparaiso head coach Keith Freeman in the sixth grade.[2] The first girl from Gary to make it to the McDonald's All-American Game, Evans averaged over 35 points per game in her senior season, also winning three Class 4A sectional titles for West Side Leadership Academy.[3]

College career

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One of the top recruits in college basketball, Evans committed to playing at Louisville, where she was named to the ACC All-Freshman team in 2018.[4] In her sophomore year she was named the ACC sixth player of the year after averaging over 10 points per game off the bench.[5]

Evans was named the ACC Player of the Year in 2020, the first player in ACC history to go from winning sixth player of the year to player of the year.[6] She was also named the conference player of the year in 2021, the fourth consecutive season a player from the Louisville program was named the conference's top player.[7]

Professional career

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WNBA

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Dallas Wings (2021)

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Evans was drafted by the Dallas Wings with the 13th overall pick of the 2021 WNBA draft.[1] On June 2, 2021, Evans was traded to the Chicago Sky in exchange for Shyla Heal, the option to swap first-round picks with the Sky in the 2022 WNBA draft, and a 2022 third-round draft pick.[8]

Chicago Sky (2021–present)

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With Chicago, Evans became the backup point guard for Courtney Vandersloot.[9] Evans was named to the 2021 WNBA All-Rookie Team and won the 2021 championship with the Sky, who defeated the Phoenix Mercury 3–1 in the 2021 WNBA Finals.[10][11]

In the 2022 WNBA season, Evans made her first career start in the season opener and recorded a new career-high 24 points. She returned to the bench for the remainder of the season and continued in her role as a backup point guard. However, her playing time diminished with the mid-season arrival of another point guard, Julie Allemand. The Sky failed to repeat their 2021 run, losing in the semifinals, 2–3, to the Connecticut Sun.[12]

With the departure of several key players before the 2023 WNBA season, including starting point guard Vandersloot, Evans's role and playing time increased with the Sky. Although she did not assume the starting role, facing competition from new arrivals Courtney Williams and Marina Mabrey, her playing time nearly doubled, and she posted career-high averages in all statistical categories. The Sky made the playoffs as the eighth seed, but were swept in the first round by the eventual champions, the Las Vegas Aces.[13]

Evans began the 2024 WNBA season as the starting point guard for the Sky. However, she lost her starting spot twelve games into the season and experienced inconsistent playing time throughout the rest of it.[14] Due to her reduced role, Evans initiated trade talks before the Olympic break in July but ultimately stayed with the Sky for the rest of the season.[15][16]

Overseas

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In winter 2021, Evans played for KSC Szekszárd in Hungary.

Since the 2022–2023 season, Evans has played for Beşiktaş of the Turkish Super League. She was the top scorer of the 2023–24 EuroCup Women and led her team to the finals, where they lost 145–149 on aggregate to the London Lions.

Off the court

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Evans is a Jordan Brand athlete, and designed her own player exclusive of the Jordan Tatum 2 which Jayson Tatum wore in the second game of the 2024 NBA Eastern Conference Finals.[17]

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
† Denotes seasons in which Evans won a WNBA championship

WNBA

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Regular season

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Stats current through end of 2024 regular season

WNBA regular season statistics[18]
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2021 Dallas 6 0 4.0 .342 .400 1.000 0.4 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.7 0.8
Chicago† 23 0 8.6 .356 .405 .885 0.5 1.2 0.2 0.0 0.6 3.9
2022 Chicago 33 1 11.5 .377 .328 .880 0.8 1.2 0.3 0.1 0.8 4.3
2023 Chicago 39 1 21.5 .360 .294 .854 1.2 3.0 0.7 0.1 1.6 9.0
2024 Chicago 39 12 19.1 .377 .376 .960 1.1 2.4 0.7 0.1 1.4 7.2
Career 4 years, 2 teams 140 14 15.6 .367 .391 .889 0.9 2.0 0.5 0.1 1.1 6.2

Playoffs

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Playoff statistics
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2021† Chicago 9 0 7.1 .313 .417 .000 0.6 0.2 0.2 0.0 0.7 1.7
2022 Chicago 4 0 5.8 .600 .600 1.000 0.8 0.5 0.5 0.0 0.3 4.3
2023 Chicago 2 0 22.5 .417 .400 1.000 0.5 3.5 1.5 0.0 1.0 14.5
Career 3 years, 1 team 15 0 8.8 .420 .400 1.000 0.6 0.7 0.5 0.0 0.6 4.1

College

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NCAA statistics
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2017–18 Louisville 39 1 21.0 .364 .224 .797 2.0 3.4 0.1 1.1 1.8 5.1
2018–19 Louisville 36 5 25.9 .418 .385 .842 2.4 4.0 0.0 1.5 1.8 10.4
2019–20 Louisville 30 29 33.7 .416 .431 .890 2.8 4.2 0.0 0.8 2.5 18.0
2020–21 Louisville 30 30 32.9 .430 .353 .873 2.7 3.9 0.1 1.3 2.1 20.1°
Career 135 65 27.8 .414 .377 .858 2.4 3.9 0.0 1.2 2.0 12.7

References

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  1. ^ a b "U of L guard Dana Evans selected No. 13 overall by the Dallas Wings in the WNBA Draft". Louisville Courier Journal. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  2. ^ "Dana Evans' journey to WNBA marked by competitiveness, Steel City determination". The Times of Northwest Indiana. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  3. ^ "Louisville's Dana Evans, down to her final NCAA tournament games, still has more to prove". ESPN. 26 March 2021. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  4. ^ "West Side's Dana Evans eases transition, makes ACC All-Freshman Team for Louisville". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  5. ^ "Durr Named ACC Player of the Year, Evans Named Sixth Player of the Year". University of Louisville Athletics. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  6. ^ "Louisville's Evans Named ACC Player of the Year, Boston College's Bernabei-McNamee Earns Coach of the Year". Atlantic Coast Conference. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  7. ^ "Dana Evans Named ACC Player of the Year, Three Others Cards Receive All-ACC Honors". Louisville Report. Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  8. ^ "Sky trade rookie Shyla Heal and draft assets to Dallas Wings for Dana Evans". Chicago Sun-Times. 2021-06-02. Retrieved 2024-10-03.
  9. ^ "Dana Evans is backup point guard Sky have always needed". Chicago Sun-Times. 2021-09-04. Retrieved 2024-10-03.
  10. ^ Fowler, Richard. "Her Sky Is Rising: Dana Evans, The Championship And Her Quest To Change The Game". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-10-03.
  11. ^ "Dana Evans' Journey to Becoming a 2021 WNBA Champion". SLAM. 2021-12-23. Retrieved 2024-10-03.
  12. ^ Kay, James (2022-12-12). "Why Dana Evans is ready for the next step of her career". The Next. Retrieved 2024-10-03.
  13. ^ "What will the Sky's backcourt look like in 2024?". Chicago Sun-Times. 2023-08-23. Retrieved 2024-10-03.
  14. ^ Hirsh, Alissa (2024-09-21). "Dana Evans' season with Chicago Sky was fraught with instability". The Next. Retrieved 2024-10-03.
  15. ^ "Is Dana Evans' time with the Sky coming to an end?". Chicago Sun-Times. 2024-07-17. Retrieved 2024-10-03.
  16. ^ "Dana Evans clarifies that she did initiate trade talks with Sky ahead of Olympic break". Chicago Sun-Times. 2024-08-30. Retrieved 2024-10-03.
  17. ^ Townsend, Cole (21 June 2024). "WNBA Star Dana Evans Talks Sneaker Culture, Tatum PE, Jordan Brand, and Player Exclusive Giveaway". Retrieved 21 June 2024.
  18. ^ "Dana Evans WNBA Stats". Basketball Reference.
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