Vanessa Nygaard

Last updated
Vanessa Nygaard
Personal information
Born (1975-03-13) March 13, 1975 (age 49)
Scottsdale, Arizona
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Listed weight175 lb (79 kg)
Career information
High school Carlsbad High School
(Carlsbad, California)
College Stanford (1994–1998)
WNBA draft 1998: 4th round, 39th overall pick
Selected by the New York Liberty
Playing career1999–2003
PositionForward
Coaching career2003–present
Career history
As player:
1999 Cleveland Rockers
20002001 Portland Fire
2002 Miami Sol
2003 Los Angeles Sparks
As coach:
2003–2004 Long Beach State (Assistant)
2004–2008 Pepperdine (Assistant)
2008 San Antonio Stars (Assistant)
2008–2012 Windward School (Associate HC)
2012–2021 Windward School
2021 Las Vegas Aces (Assistant)
2022–2023 Phoenix Mercury

Vanessa Nygaard (born March 13, 1975, in Scottsdale, Arizona) is a professional basketball coach and former player in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She is the former head coach for the Phoenix Mercury.

Contents

Stanford University

After graduating from high school in Carlsbad, California, Nygaard attended Stanford University from 1993 to 1998, and was a star player for their women's basketball team, known as The Cardinal. During her time there, the team accumulated a combined 113-14 won-loss record, including an impressive 69-2 within the Pacific-10 Conference, and reached three Final Fours. Nygaard graduated in 1998, majoring in American Studies.

Playing career

After graduating from Stanford, Nygaard began her six-year career in the WNBA. She was selected by the New York Liberty in the fourth round (39th overall pick) of the 1998 WNBA draft. She missed the 1998 and most of the 1999 seasons due to injury, but joined the starting lineup with the Portland Fire team in 2000 and 2001 and with the Miami Sol team in 2002. She also played for the Cleveland Rockers, the Charlotte Sting, and the Los Angeles Sparks. Prior to the 2004 WNBA season began, Nygaard signed a free agent contract with the Houston Comets, but was waived by the team during training camp. She signed another contract with the Comets prior to the 2005 season, but decided to announce her retirement instead. Her best season came with the Sol in 2002, when she averaged 7.9 points and 3.8 rebounds per game.

During the WNBA off-season, she played in professional basketball leagues in Europe, including Germany (2001), Spain (1999) and Italy (1998).

Coaching career

In 2003, Nygaard became an assistant coach for the women's basketball team at California State University, Long Beach. The following year, in June 2004, she was hired as an assistant coach with Pepperdine University.

In 2008, she was named as an assistant coach for the San Antonio Silver Stars and helped the team to appear in the WNBA finals, before losing to the Detroit Shock.

Nygaard took over as head coach of the girls' basketball team at Windward School in 2012-13. She has coached the team to three state titles, in 2013, 2017, and 2018.

In 2017, she joined USA Basketball as an assistant coach, helping lead the team during the 2017 FIBA America's Under-16 Championship and the 2018 FIBA Under-17 World Cup.

In 2021, she joined head coach Bill Laimbeer on the Las Vegas Aces staff as an assistant coach.

Nygaard was named as the head coach of the Phoenix Mercury on January 24, 2022. [1] The Mercury fired Nygaard on June 25, 2023, after starting the 2023 season 2–10. [2]

Head coaching record

Legend
Regular seasonGGames coachedWGames wonLGames lostW–L %Win–loss %
PlayoffsPGPlayoff gamesPWPlayoff winsPLPlayoff lossesPW–L %Playoff win–loss %
TeamYearGWLW–L%FinishPGPWPLPW–L%Result
PHO 2022 361521.4174th in West202.000Lost in First Round
PHO 2023 12210.1676th in West (at time of firing)---Fired after 12 Games
Career481731.354202.000

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References

  1. "MERCURY NAMES VANESSA NYGAARD HEAD COACH". Phoenix Mercury. Retrieved 2022-01-24.
  2. Merchant, Sabreena. "Phoenix Mercury fire coach Vanessa Nygaard after 2-10 start to season: What went wrong?". theathletic.com. The Athletic. Retrieved 26 June 2023.