Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Born | Toronto, Ontario, Canada | November 22, 1992|||||||||||||||||||||||
Listed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Listed weight | 198 lb (90 kg) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Career information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
High school | St. Mary's Catholic (Hamilton, Ontario) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
College | Notre Dame (2010–2014) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
WNBA draft | 2014: 1st round, 9th overall pick | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Selected by the Indiana Fever | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing career | 2015–2023 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Position | Power forward | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Coaching career | 2024–present | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Career history | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
As player: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
2015–2020 | Indiana Fever | |||||||||||||||||||||||
2015–2016 | Dike Napoli | |||||||||||||||||||||||
2016–2017 | Bucheon KEB Hana Bank | |||||||||||||||||||||||
2017–2018 | Asan Woori Bank Wibee | |||||||||||||||||||||||
2018–2019 | Jiangsu Phoenix | |||||||||||||||||||||||
2019–2020 | Tango Bourges Basket | |||||||||||||||||||||||
2020–2021 | Famila Schio | |||||||||||||||||||||||
2021–2023 | Minnesota Lynx | |||||||||||||||||||||||
As coach: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
2024–present | Michigan (asst.) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Career highlights and awards | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Stats at WNBA.com | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Stats at Basketball Reference | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medals
|
Natalie Chioma Achonwa (born November 22, 1992) is a Canadian former professional basketball player and four-time Olympian with Canada's national team, and current assistant coach for player development at Michigan. [3] She most recently played for the Minnesota Lynx of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played college basketball at Notre Dame. [4] Achonwa was born in Toronto, Ontario, [5] started playing basketball in Guelph, Ontario, and is 6 feet 3 inches (191 cm) tall. [6]
Achonwa attended Centennial Collegiate Vocational Institute in Guelph, Ontario, for grade 9 before moving to Hamilton, Ontario, to play with Canada Basketball's NEDA program at St. Mary's Catholic Secondary School. [5]
Achonwa was recruited as the first ever international player on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish women's basketball team. [4] In 2011, Achonwa was named to the Big East All-Freshman Team along with being selected Big East Freshman of the Week in her freshman season. [5] In 2012, she was named to the NCAA Raleigh Regional All-Tournament Team. [5] In her junior season, she was named as an Honorable Mention for the Associated Press All-America Team. Since her freshman season, she and her team have had four Final Four appearances and three National Championship appearances. [5]
In what ended up being her final home game, the six-foot-three forward suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament with about five minutes left in Notre Dame's 19-point victory over Baylor on March 31, 2014. This win helped push the Irish into the NCAA Final Four.
In 2015, Achonwa was selected as the Notre Dame Representative in the 2015 Atlantic Coast Conference Women's Legends Class.
GP | Games 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 [7] | SCHOOL | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2010–11 | Notre Dame | 39 | 0 | 18.3 | 0.566 | 0.500 | 0.571 | 5.3 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 6.9 |
2011–12 | Notre Dame | 36 | 1 | 17.2 | 0.520 | 0.300 | 0.720 | 4.4 | 1.4 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 7.6 |
2012–13 | Notre Dame | 37 | 37 | 27.1 | 0.520 | 0.000 | 0.800 | 9.5 | 2.3 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 13.8 |
2013–14 | Notre Dame | 33 | 33 | 25.4 | 0.611 | 0.000 | 0.709 | 7.7 | 2.8 | 1.0 | 1.2 | 14.9 |
Total | Notre Dame | 145 | 71 | 21.9 | 0.562 | 0.357 | 0.723 | 6.7 | 1.9 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 10.7 |
Achonwa was drafted ninth overall by the Indiana Fever in the 2014 WNBA draft. She sat out the entire 2014 WNBA season due to a left knee injury she suffered during her senior year at Notre Dame in the NCAA playoffs. [8] In the fall of 2014, while continuing her rehab, Achonwa took a job as the interim Director of Operations for the Notre Dame women's basketball program. [9] She was filling in for the incumbent Katie Schwab, who was hospitalized with a life-threatening illness.
Achonwa did not sign her rookie contract with the Fever until February 2015, once she recovered from her injury. [10] She returned to the court in time for the 2015 WNBA season. She was a backup center on the Fever roster in her rookie season, averaging eight ppg and 3.5 rpg in 28 games with 17 starts. The Fever finished third place in the East with a 20–14 record. By the end of the season, Achonwa was named to the WNBA All-Rookie Team. Led by their two all-stars Tamika Catchings and Marissa Coleman, the Fever advanced to the Finals facing off against the Minnesota Lynx but lost the series 3–2.
In the 2016 WNBA season, Achonwa had a reduced role on the Fever's roster playing 24 games while coming off the bench with limited minutes. The Fever made it to the playoffs again but was eliminated in the first-round elimination game by the Phoenix Mercury.
During the 2017 season, Achonwa played a full 34 games for the first time in her career while starting in 17 of those games, averaging 7.1 ppg and 3.7 rpg. However, the Fever finished as the second-worst team in the league with a 9–25 record.
In the 2018 season, Achonwa became a full-time starter for the Fever and played all 34 games, averaging career-highs in scoring and rebound with her new role, but the Fever would continue their losing ways, finishing 6–28 as the worst team in the league.
In 2019, Achonwa re-signed with the Fever as a restricted free agent. [11] She played 30 games and would start in 18 of the games played during the season. The Fever had an improved season but fell short of making the playoffs with a 13–21 record.
In 2020, the season was delayed and shortened to 22 games in a bubble at IMG Academy due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Achonwa played 18 games and started in 11, but the Fever would again miss out on the playoffs with a 6–16 record, finishing as the second-worst team in the league.
On January 28, 2021, Achonwa signed a multi-year deal with the Minnesota Lynx in free agency. [12]
In the 2015–16 off-season, Achonwa played in Italy for Dike Napoli. [13] As of November 2016, Achonwa signed with Bucheon KEB Hana Bank, a South Korean club, for the 2016–17 off-season. [14] In 2017, Achonwa signed with Asan Woori Bank Wibee of the South Korean league for the 2017–18 WNBA off-season. In 2018, Achonwa signed with Jiangsu Phoenix of the Chinese league for the 2018–19 WNBA off-season. In 2019, Achonwa signed with Tango Bourges Basket of the French league for the 2019–20 WNBA off-season. In 2020, Achonwa signed with Famila Schio of the Italian league for the 2020–21 WNBA off-season.
At age 16, Achonwa became the youngest player to ever play on the Canadian national team in 2009. She competed in the 2012 Summer Olympics as well as the 2010 FIBA World Championship for Women.
Achonwa was invited to join the national team, to play in the 2013 FIBA Americas Championship for Women, held in Xalapa, Mexico from September 21–28, 2013. She averaged 7.5 points per game and helped the Canadian National team to a second place, silver medal finish. Canada faced Cuba in a preliminary round and won 53–40, but in the championship game, Cuba prevailed 79–71. [15] [16]
She missed the 2014 FIBA World Championship for Women due to injury.
Achonwa was invited to play for Canada at the 2016 Summer Olympics, making it her second Olympic appearance. [17]
She played for Canada at the 2018 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup.
Achonwa was invited to play for Canada at the 2020 Summer Olympics.
She made her fourth and final Olympic appearance at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, the most by a Canadian basketball player. In total she played in 79 career games for Canada's national squad, the second-most in team history, joining the team when she was 16. [3]
Achonwa was a member of the Canada women's national basketball team, which participated in basketball at the 2015 Pan American Games held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada July 10 to 26, 2015. Canada opened the preliminary rounds with an easy 101–38 win over Venezuela. The following day they beat Argentina 73–58. The final preliminary game was against Cuba; both teams were 2–0, so the winner would win the group. The game went down to the wire, with Canada eking out a 71–68 win. [18] Canada would face Brazil in the semifinal.
Canada went on to beat Brazil 91–63 to earn a spot in the gold-medal game against the USA. [19]
The gold-medal game matched the host team Canada against the US in a sold-out arena dominated by fans in red and white and waving the Canadian flag. The Canadian team, arm in arm, sang "Oh Canada" as the respective national anthems were played.
After trading baskets early, the US edged to a double-digit lead in the second quarter. However, the Canadians, spurred on by the home crowd cheering, fought back and tied up the game at halftime. It was Canada's time to shine in the third quarter as they outscored the US 26–15. The lead would reach as high as 18 points. The USA fought back, but not all the way and Canada won the game and the gold medal 81–73. It was Canada's first gold medal in basketball in the Pan Am games. Achonwa contributed 13 points and two rebounds. [20] [21] [22] [23]
On September 10, 2024, Achonwa was named an assistant coach for player development at Michigan. [24] [3]
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 |
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2015 | Indiana | 28 | 17 | 17.3 | .550 | .000 | .746 | 3.5 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1.3 | 8.0 |
2016 | Indiana | 24 | 0 | 8.1 | .545 | .000 | .700 | 2.0 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 3.6 |
2017 | Indiana | 34 | 17 | 18.3 | .557 | .000 | .763 | 3.7 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.9 | 7.1 |
2018 | Indiana | 34 | 34 | 26.0 | .527 | .000 | .800 | 6.9 | 1.4 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 1.1 | 10.3 |
2019 | Indiana | 30 | 18 | 21.1 | .488 | .250 | .909 | 5.2 | 1.6 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 8.7 |
2020 | Indiana | 18 | 11 | 20.2 | .496 | .000 | .813 | 5.5 | 1.7 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 1.8 | 7.8 |
2021 | Minnesota | 21 | 1 | 12.0 | .496 | .000 | .813 | 2.1 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 3.7 |
2022 | Minnesota | 22 | 0 | 15.1 | .516 | .000 | .815 | 4.1 | 1.7 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 1.0 | 5.3 |
Career | 8 years, 2 teams | 211 | 98 | 17.9 | .519 | .120 | .808 | 4.2 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 7.1 |
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2015 | Indiana | 6 | 1 | 7.0 | .267 | .000 | .500 | 1.5 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 1.1 | 1.8 |
2016 | Indiana | 1 | 0 | 8.7 | .667 | .000 | .000 | 4.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 4.0 |
2021 | Minnesota | 1 | 0 | 11.0 | .667 | .000 | .000 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 4.0 |
Career | 3 years, 2 teams | 8 | 1 | 7.8 | .381 | .000 | .500 | 1.9 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 1.0 | 2.4 |
Achonwa's father immigrated from Nigeria to Canada when he was twelve. [25]
Seimone Delicia Augustus is an American basketball coach and former professional player. She is currently an assistant coach for the Louisiana State University women's basketball team. She was drafted first overall by the Minnesota Lynx in the 2006 WNBA draft and played for the Lynx for most of her Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) career except for her final season in with the Los Angeles Sparks. An eight-time All-Star and the 2011 finals MVP, Augustus led the Lynx to four WNBA championships. She also won three gold medals in the Olympics on the U.S. national team.
Ann Elise Strother is an American basketball coach, and former professional player, most recently for the Indiana Fever. Strother played at the collegiate level for the Connecticut Huskies, helping the team to two national titles.
Sylvia Shaqueria Fowles is an American former professional basketball player. Fowles played for the Chicago Sky and Minnesota Lynx during her WNBA career. She won the WNBA MVP Award in 2017 and the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year award four times. She led the Lynx to win the WNBA Championship in 2015 and 2017, and she was named the MVP of the WNBA Finals both times. In 2020, Fowles overtook Rebekkah Brunson to become the WNBA's career leader in rebounds.
Maya April Moore is an American social justice advocate and former professional basketball player. Naming her their inaugural Performer of the Year in 2017, Sports Illustrated called Moore the "greatest winner in the history of women's basketball". Moore was selected for the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2024.
Angel Lajuane McCoughtry is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Minnesota Lynx of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and a two-time Olympic gold medalist. McCoughtry completed her college career at the University of Louisville in 2009. She was selected first overall by the Atlanta Dream in the 2009 WNBA draft and was considered its franchise player during her tenure with the team. McCoughtry has also played overseas in Turkey, Slovakia, Lebanon, Hungary and Russia.
Erlana La'Nay Larkins is an American professional basketball player who is currently a free agent.
Skylar Kierra Diggins-Smith is an American professional basketball player for the Seattle Storm of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Diggins was drafted third overall by the Tulsa Shock in the 2013 WNBA draft. In high school, she was the National Gatorade Player of the Year and the Gatorade Female Athlete of the Year. She played college basketball for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and led the team to three consecutive Final Fours and two consecutive NCAA championship appearances. She finished her Notre Dame career ranked first in points and steals, second in assists, and as a two-time winner of the Nancy Lieberman Award as the top point guard in the nation.
Miranda Joy Ayim is a Canadian basketball player for Basket Landes in France. Ayim is a captain of the Canada women's national team and competed for Canada in three Olympics between 2012 and 2021.
Damiris Dantas do Amaral is a Brazilian basketball player for the Indiana Fever of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and Botaş SK of the Turkish Super League.
Devereaux Peters is an American basketball forward with WBC Dynamo Novosibirsk of the Russian women's league.
Kayla Renae McBride is an American professional basketball player for the Minnesota Lynx of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was drafted third overall by the San Antonio Stars in the 2014 WNBA draft. McBride played shooting guard for Notre Dame, where she led the Fighting Irish to four consecutive Final Fours and three NCAA championship appearances.
Natasha Howard is an American professional basketball player for the Dallas Wings of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and Çukurova Basketbol of the Turkish Super League. Howard was the 2019 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year. She was drafted in 2014 by the Indiana Fever. Born in Toledo, Ohio, she played college basketball for Florida State University, where she finished sixth in the NCAA for field goal percentage.
Kia Nurse is a Canadian basketball player for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She is also a basketball analyst featured on TSN.
Jewell Loyd is an American professional basketball player for the Seattle Storm of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was drafted first overall in the 2015 WNBA draft by the Seattle Storm. She played college basketball at Notre Dame.
Rachel Banham is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Sky of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Banham played guard for the Minnesota Golden Gophers women's basketball team, where she set a number of team records. Banham was drafted by the Connecticut Sun with the 4th pick of the 2016 WNBA draft. Banham was traded to the Minnesota Lynx in 2020, and later re-signed with the Sun in 2024.
Alanna Smith 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.
Kelsey Mitchell is an American professional basketball player for the Indiana Fever of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).
Bridget Carleton is a Canadian professional basketball player for the Minnesota Lynx of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and for SERCO UNI Győr in the EuroLeague. She played college basketball for the Iowa State Cyclones and competed internationally with the Canada national team.
Jacquelyn Young is an American professional basketball player for the Las Vegas Aces of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was drafted first overall by the Las Vegas Aces in the 2019 WNBA draft. A graduate of Princeton Community High School, she played college basketball for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, reaching two NCAA finals and winning one in 2018. She won a gold medal in Women's 3x3 basketball at the 2020 Summer Olympics and a national WNBA championship in 2022. In 2024, she won the gold medal in 5x5 basketball at the 2024 Summer Olympics.
Marina Mabrey is an American professional basketball player for the Connecticut Sun of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Mabrey was drafted in the second round by the Los Angeles Sparks in the 2019 WNBA draft. She previously played with the United States women's national under-19 basketball team and the University of Notre Dame.