Jessica Shepard

Last updated
Jessica Shepard
Jessica Shepard Lynx Jersey.jpg
No. 15–Minnesota Lynx
Position Forward
League WNBA
Personal information
Born (1996-09-11) September 11, 1996 (age 28)
Fremont, Nebraska, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight175 lb (79 kg)
Career information
High school
College
WNBA draft 2019: 2nd round, 16th overall pick
Drafted by Minnesota Lynx
Playing career2019–present
Career history
2019–2023 Minnesota Lynx
2021–2022Dinamo Sassari
2022–2024 Reyer Venezia
2024–2025 Athinaikos
2025–presentMinnesota Lynx
Career highlights
Stats at Basketball Reference   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Medals
Women's Basketball
Representing Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States
FIBA Under-18 Americas Championship
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2014 United States Team

Jessica Shepard (born September 11, 1996) is an American-Slovenian professional basketball player for the Minnesota Lynx of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Shepard began her college career at Nebraska, playing there for two seasons before transferring to Notre Dame to complete her career. She was drafted 16th overall by the Minnesota Lynx in the 2019 WNBA draft.

Contents

Family and early years

A Fremont, Nebraska native, Shepard is the daughter of Mark and Kim Shepard. [1] She has four sisters and one older brother. [1] Shepard won a state title while attending Lincoln Southeast High School in 2013, and finished her high school career at Fremont. [2]

WNBA

Minnesota Lynx (2019–present)

Shepard was selected 16th overall in the 2nd round of the 2019 WNBA Draft. Shepard appeared in 5 games of the 2019 season, and averaged 4.6 ppg. On June 8, 2019, in a game against the Los Angeles Sparks, it was determined Shepard had torn her ACL, effectively ending her rookie season. [3]

Shepard missed the 2020 season as she continued to recover from her ACL injury that she sustained in 2019. [4]

Shepard was suspended for and subsequently missed the entire 2024 season. This was due to contract commitments with her basketball club in Italy, Umana Reyer Venezia and violating the WNBA collective bargaining agreement, which requires players to prioritize the WNBA over other international leagues. [5]

On April 21, 2025, Shepard re-signed with the Lynx. [6] On August 22, in a 95–90 win over the Indiana Fever, she recorded a triple-double in just 21 minutes and 57 seconds of play—the fastest in WNBA history. She finished the game with 22 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists, shooting 10-of-11 from the field. She also became the first player to record a triple-double while shooting over 90% from the field, and joined elite company as only the third player in WNBA history — alongside Alyssa Thomas and Sabrina Ionescu — to record 20+ points, 10+ rebounds, 10+ assists, and 0 turnovers in a single game. [7]

National team career

On June 19, 2024, the Basketball Federation of Slovenia announced that Shepard had received Slovenian citizenship and became eligible to play for the Slovenia women's national basketball team. [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 Minnesota 6018.7.379.143.7505.73.50.30.22.54.8
2021 Minnesota 22010.5.364.083.7503.21.70.10.20.82.0
2022 Minnesota 362226.1.500.250.7347.43.00.40.31.78.1
2023 Minnesota 211726.9.516.000.7747.03.10.60.11.48.1
2024 Did not appear in league
2025 Minnesota 17319.4.5950.05746.82.50.50.11.57.1
Career5 years, 1 team1024221.4.501.178.7116.22.70.40.21.56.4

Nebraska and Notre Dame statistics

Source [9]

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
YearTeamGPPointsFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
2015–16Nebraska3157451.0%0.0%58.1%8.61.90.60.618.5
2016–17Nebraska2953840.8%31.5%55.7%9.81.90.50.218.6
2017–18Notre Dame3859456.5%0.0%67.9%8.12.40.80.715.6
2018–19Notre Dame3863459.4%0.0%71.0%10.33.31.40.516.7
Career136234051.6%29.5%62.4%9.22.40.90.517.2

Notes

  1. 1 2 "Jessica Shepard". University of Notre Dame. Retrieved April 24, 2019.
  2. ↑ writers, Stu Pospisil, Mike Patterson and Nick Rubek / World-Herald staff (3 June 2015). "Notes: Fremont's Jessica Shepard named All-American; more". Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved 2023-03-21.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ↑ "Lynx F Shepard out rest of season with torn ACL". ESPN. Associated Press. June 9, 2019. Retrieved June 11, 2019.
  4. ↑ Hansen, Mitchell (27 May 2020). "Minnesota Lynx Announce Final Roster Moves Ahead of 2020 WNBA Season". zonecoverage.com. Zone Coverage. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  5. ↑ "Lynx's Jessica Shepard to miss 2024 season". 31 January 2024.
  6. ↑ "Minnesota Lynx Re-Sign Jessica Shepard". lynx.wnba.com. Retrieved 2025-04-22.
  7. ↑ "Lynx's Jessica Shepard records fastest triple-double in WNBA history". CBSSports.com. 2025-08-23. Retrieved 2025-08-25.
  8. ↑ "Josh Nebo receives Slovenian passport, will join men's team". basketnews.com. Retrieved 2024-11-07.
  9. ↑ "NCAA Statistics". web1.ncaa.org. Retrieved 2021-05-25.
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