Jantel Lavender

Last updated

Jantel Lavender
Jantel Lavender Fenerbahce Women's Basketball vs Yakin Dogu Universitesi (women's basketball) TWBL 20180521.jpg
Personal information
Born (1988-11-12) November 12, 1988 (age 35)
Cleveland, Ohio
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight185 lb (84 kg)
Career information
High school Cleveland Central Catholic
(Cleveland, Ohio)
College Ohio State (2007–2011)
WNBA draft 2011: 1st round, 5th overall pick
Selected by the Los Angeles Sparks
Playing career2011–present
Position Power forward
Career history
20112018 Los Angeles Sparks
2011 Beşiktaş
2012 CCC Polkowice
2012–2013 Beretta Famila Schio
2013–2015 Wisła Kraków
2015–2017 Fenerbahçe Istanbul
2017–2018 Yakin Dogu
2018–2019 Famila Schio
20192020 Chicago Sky
2020Çukurova Basketbol
20202021 Indiana Fever
2022 Athletes Unlimited League
2022 Seattle Storm
Career highlights and awards
Stats at WNBA.com
Medals
Women's Basketball
Representing Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States
U18 and U19
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2006 U18 Colorado Springs Team Competition
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2007 U19 Bratislava Team Competition
World University Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2009 Belgrade Team Competition

Jantel Lavender (born November 12, 1988) is an American professional basketball player who most recently played for the Seattle Storm of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was drafted with the fifth overall pick in the 2011 WNBA draft by the Los Angeles Sparks.

Contents

College

At Ohio State University, Lavender was named Big Ten Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Year in each of her four seasons (2008–2011). The Big Ten presents two separate POY awards, one voted on by league coaches and the other by media members. Lavender received the coaches' version in 2008, the media version in 2011, and both awards in 2009 and 2010. [1] At the time, this made her only the third NCAA Division I women's player to be a four-time conference player of the year. [2] [lower-alpha 1]

USA Basketball

Lavender was a member of the USA Women's U18 team which won the gold medal at the FIBA Americas Championship in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The event was held in July 2006, when the USA team defeated Canada to win the championship. Lavender averaged 4.8 points per game. [4] Lavender was a member of the USA Women's U19 team which won the gold medal at the FIBA U19 World Championship in Bratislava, Slovakia. The event was held in July and August 2007, when the USA team defeated Sweden to win the championship. Lavender scored 16 points in the preliminary round game against Lithuania, then scored 28 points in a win over Spain. She scored 25 points in the win over the Czech Republic. Over the course of the tournament, she averaged 16.0 points per game, second only to Maya Moore with 16.3 per game. Lavender led the team in rebounding, averaging 8.1 per game. [5] Lavender was named a member of the team representing the US at the 2009 World University Games held in Belgrade, Serbia. The team won all seven games to earn the gold medal. She recorded a double-double, with 16 points and 12 rebounds against France. In the gold medal game against previously undefeated Russia, Lavender had 14 points. [6]

WNBA career

Lavender was selected in the first round of the 2011 WNBA draft (5th overall) by the Los Angeles Sparks. [7] Throughout her first four seasons, she was a reserve on the Sparks' roster and had been a key contributor off the bench with her scoring and rebounding.

In 2015, Lavender re-signed with the Sparks once her rookie contract expired. [8] Lavender had a breakout season in 2015. With Candace Parker sitting out the first half of the season to rest, Lavender became the Sparks' starting center. She would start in all 34 games and average a career-high 14.5 points per game along with 8.3 rebounds per game. That same year she was voted as a WNBA all-star for the first time in her career.

In the 2016 season, Lavender returned to the back-up center role on the team's roster, with Parker returning to the starting center position. Off the bench, Lavender was still effective for the Sparks, she had averaged 9.6 points per game and scored a career-high 25 points in an overtime regular season win against the Connecticut Sun. [9] Her season performance would earn her the WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year Award. [10] The Sparks finished 26–8, advancing all the way to the WNBA Finals and defeated the Minnesota Lynx 3 games to 2, as they won their first championship since 2002 as well as Lavender winning her first championship.

In 2017, Lavender signed a contract extension with the Sparks. [11] During the 2017 season, Lavender averaged 7.3 ppg off the bench. The Sparks would once again finished as the number 2 seed in the league with the same record they posted last season, receiving a double-bye to the semi-finals. The Sparks would eliminate the Phoenix Mercury in a 3-game sweep, advancing to the Finals for the second season in a row, setting up a rematch with the Lynx. However, the Sparks would lose in five games, failing to win back-to-back championships.

In the 2018 season, Lavender played 30 games with 7 starts to help fill in the starting power forward role during Nneka Ogwumike's absence. The Sparks finished with a 19–15 record, clinching the number 6 seed. In the first round elimination game, the Sparks defeated the Minnesota Lynx 75–68, ending their streak of three consecutive Finals appearances. However, the Sparks would lose to the Washington Mystics in the second round elimination game, 96–64.

A few days before the 2019 season, Lavender was traded to the Chicago Sky in exchange for a 2020 second round draft pick. [12] Lavender immediately became a starter for the Sky. On August, 14, 2019, Lavender underwent foot surgery to repair a fracture in her left foot, causing her to miss the rest of the season with a recovery period of 8–9 weeks. [13] Without Lavender, the Sky finished the season 20–14 as the number 5 seed, they would make it as far as the second round where they lost 93–92 to the Las Vegas Aces in the elimination game.

On June 30, 2020, it was announced that Lavender would miss the whole 2020 season after once again having to undergo surgery on her left foot. [14] On August 28, 2020, Lavender was traded to the Indiana Fever along with a second and third-round draft pick in exchange for Stephanie Mavunga. [15]

In February 2021, Lavender re-signed with the Indiana Fever to a multi-year deal. [16] [17]

Overseas career

In the 2010-11 off-season, Lavender played in Turkey for Beşiktaş JK. In the 2011-12 off-season, Lavender played in Poland for CCC Polkowice. In the 2012-13 off-season, Lavender played in Italy for PF Schio winning an Italian championship. From 2013 to 2015, Lavender played two off-seasons in Poland once again for WBC Wisła Kraków, winning a couple Polish Cups and National championships as well as MVP honors for both the seasons and the Cup series in both those years. In the 2015-16 off-season, Lavender played for Fenerbahçe Istanbul in Turkey and won both the Turkish Cup and Turkish National championship. [18] As of August 2016, Lavender had re-signed with Fenerbahçe Istanbul for the 2016-17 off-season. [19] In September 2017, Lavender signed with Yakin Dogu for the 2017-18 off-season and won another Turkish Cup. [20] In the 2018-19 off-season, Lavender signed with Famila Schio of the Italian league. [21] [22] In January 2020, Lavender signed with Çukurova Basketbol of the Turkish league for the 2019-20 off-season, the Turkish/Euroleague season eventually got cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [23]

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
Denotes seasons in which Lavender won a WNBA championship

WNBA

Regular season

YearTeamGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGTOPPG
2011 Los Angeles 33314.8.500.000.7333.10.50.10.30.86.6
2012 Los Angeles 34114.4.506.000.8443.90.50.20.51.15.6
2013 Los Angeles 34316.8.507.000.8654.50.50.50.61.07.2
2014 Los Angeles 342728.3.527.200.7946.31.50.50.71.911.9
2015 Los Angeles 343433.8.525.333.8828.31.80.41.22.114.5
2016 Los Angeles 34019.4.538.000.6833.61.30.20.51.19.6
2017 Los Angeles 32017.3.488.313.8463.00.90.20.11.27.3
2018 Los Angeles 30717.0.428.188.9003.70.70.40.21.05.2
2019 Chicago 232226.9.490.222.9056.91.10.30.51.310.0
2021 Indiana 271420.0.404.200.9003.91.50.00.11.46.4
2022 Seattle 27412.2.409.208.6673.30.90.10.10.93.8
Career11 years, 4 teams34211520.1.495.229.8194.61.00.30.51.38.1

Playoffs

YearTeamGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGTOPPG
2012 Los Angeles 4010.0.750.000.5002.30.50.00.00.71.8
2013 Los Angeles 3011.6.714.000.5002.30.00.00.00.03.7
2014 Los Angeles 2220.4.429.000.0004.51.50.50.00.56.0
2015 Los Angeles 3334.5.5771.000.6006.71.00.60.31.611.3
2016 Los Angeles 9015.6.607.000.0002.31.00.00.10.27.6
2017 Los Angeles 8014.1.436.1251.0002.90.50.30.00.54.8
2018 Los Angeles 2016.0.500.500.0003.00.50.01.01.05.5
Career7 years, 1 team29516.3.548.182.6673.10.70.20.10.55.9

Ohio State statistics

Source [24]

Legend
  GPGames played  GS Games started MPG Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage 3P%  3-point field goal percentage FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game APG  Assists per game SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game PPG Points per game Bold Career high
Year Team GP Points FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2007–08 Ohio State 31 547 51.3 20.0 66.1 9.9 1.2 0.4 1.0 17.6
2008–09 Ohio State 35 728 54.1 - 75.5 10.7 1.8 0.4 1.2 20.8
2009–10 Ohio State 36769 51.4 40.077.6 10.3 1.6 0.51.5 21.4
2010–11 Ohio State 34 77454.8- 80.210.92.40.4 1.822.8
Career Ohio State 136 2818 53.0 23.1 75.6 10.5 1.8 0.4 1.4 20.7

Footnotes

  1. Lavender has since been joined by Macee Williams of IUPUI in the Horizon League (2019–2022). [3]

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References

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