Alanna Smith

Last updated

Alanna Smith
Alanna Smith (52913206646) (cropped).jpg
Smith with the Chicago Sky in 2023
No. 8Minnesota Lynx
Position Power forward
League WNBA
Personal information
Born (1996-09-10) 10 September 1996 (age 27)
Hobart, Tasmania
NationalityAustralian
Listed height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight180 lb (82 kg)
Career information
High school Wesley College
(Melbourne, Victoria)
College Stanford (2015–2019)
WNBA draft 2019: 1st round, 8th overall pick
Selected by the Phoenix Mercury
Playing career2019–present
Career history
20192021 Phoenix Mercury
2019–2020 Incheon S-Birds
2021–2022 Adelaide Lightning
2022 Indiana Fever
2023 Chicago Sky
2024–present Minnesota Lynx
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Women's basketball
Representing Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia
FIBA World Cup
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2018 Spain
FIBA Asia Cup
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2017 India

Alanna Smith (born 10 September 1996) is an Australian professional basketball player for the Minnesota Lynx of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played college basketball for the Stanford Cardinal.

Contents

Smith was a member of the Australian Women's basketball team (Opals) at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The Opals were eliminated after losing to the USA in the quarterfinals. [1]

College career

Smith played four seasons of college basketball at Stanford University in Stanford, California for the Cardinal. [2]

Statistics

YearTeamGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGTOPPG
2015–16 Stanford 34011.8.432.333.6592.40.40.10.71.25.3
2016–17 Stanford 38319.3.465.317.6895.40.90.61.61.19.1
2017–18 Stanford 353528.4.474.302.5317.01.21.21.72.513.5
2018–19 Stanford 363629.2.515.397.7308.61.91.02.12.419.4
Career1437422.3.482.352.6635.91.10.71.51.811.9

Professional career

WNBA

Smith was selected as the eighth overall pick of the 2019 WNBA draft by the Phoenix Mercury. [3] After making the final roster with the Mercury, Smith would play under head coach Sandy Brondello and alongside the likes of Brittney Griner, DeWanna Bonner and Diana Taurasi.

WNBL

After a season abroad in South Korea, Smith returned home to Australia after signing with the Adelaide Lightning for the 2020–21 WNBL season. [4]

National team career

Youth level

Smith made her international debut for the Sapphires at the 2011 FIBA Oceania Under-16 Championship in Canberra. [5] Smith represented the Sapphires at the Under-17 World Championship in the Netherlands the following year, where they finished in fifth place. Smith then made her debut for the Gems at the 2014 FIBA Oceania Under-18 Championship in Fiji. Smith represented the Gems at the Under-19 World Championship in Russia the following year, where they finished in third place and took home the bronze medal. She also earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team, awarded to the five strongest players of the tournament.

Senior level

At age 20, Smith was selected to the Opals team that competed in the 2017 FIBA Women's Asia Cup in India. She made an immediate impact, averaging 10.8 points and 5.3 rebounds (2nd and 3rd-highest in the team, respectively) in 14.5 minutes per game, [6] helping Australia finish the tournament as runners-up and qualify for the World Cup the following year. Her best game was the quarter-final, in which she amassed 20 points and 9 rebounds in just 15 minutes of court time. In 2018, Smith represented the Opals in her first major international tournament – the 2018 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup, held in Tenerife, Spain. She averaged 14.4 minutes of court time for 6.3 points and 2.3 rebounds per game, [7] with her best game yielding 10 points and 5 rebounds (vs Argentina). She also scored 10 points in the final vs USA.

Smith, like all the other members of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics Opals women's basketball team, had a difficult tournament. The Opals lost their first two group stage matches. They looked flat against Belgium and then lost to China in heartbreaking circumstances. In their last group match the Opals needed to beat Puerto Rico by 25 or more in their final match to progress. This they did by 27 in a very exciting match. However, they lost to the United States in their quarterfinal 79 to 55. [8]

WNBA career statistics

Legend
  GPGames 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

YearTeamGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGTOPPG
2019 Phoenix 1807.4.195.111.5001.90.20.30.30.41.1
2020 Phoenix 19015.6.422.233.6903.61.20.30.81.06.1
2021 Phoenix 1806.5.235.190.2501.30.60.40.30.31.2
2022 Indiana 9112.9.333.240.7142.70.60.90.70.94.3
2023 Chicago 383526.5.498.294.6796.61.81.31.31.59.2
Career5 years, 3 teams1023616.4.424.249.6673.91.10.70.80.95.3

Postseason

YearTeamGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGTOPPG
2020 Phoenix 208.0.250.5001.0001.00.00.50.51.02.5
2021 Phoenix 505.2.400.4001.0002.00.20.20.20.43.2
2023 Chicago 2218.0.300.0001.0004.50.50.01.01.54.0
Career3 years, 2 teams928.7.345.2731.0002.30.20.20.40.83.2

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References

  1. "Basketball SMITH Alanna - Tokyo 2020 Olympics". olympics.com. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  2. "Alanna Smith Stanford Athletics". gostanford.com.
  3. "Alanna Smith selected by the Phoenix Mercury in WNBA Draft" . Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  4. "LIGHTNING SIGNS ALANNA SMITH" . Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  5. "Alanna SMITH". archive.fiba.com.
  6. "Alanna Smith Player Profile | 2017 FIBA Women's Asia Cup Division A". FIBA. 2017. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  7. "Alanna SMITH (AUS) Player Profile | FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2018". FIBA. 2018. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  8. "Australian Olympic Team for Tokyo 2021". The Roar. Retrieved 14 October 2021.