Mercedes Russell

American basketball player

Mercedes Russell
Russell in 2019
No. 21 – Seattle Storm
PositionCenter
LeagueWNBA
Personal information
Born (1995-07-27) July 27, 1995 (age 28)
Springfield, Oregon, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight195 lb (88 kg)
Career information
High schoolSpringfield (Springfield, Oregon)
CollegeTennessee (2013–2018)
WNBA draft2018: 2nd round, 22nd overall pick
Selected by the New York Liberty
Playing career2018–present
Career history
2018New York Liberty
2018–presentSeattle Storm
2019–2020Southside Flyers
2020–2021Galatasaray
2023–2024Southside Flyers
Career highlights and awards
Medals

Mercedes Brianna Russell (born July 27, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for the Seattle Storm of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was drafted 22nd overall by the New York Liberty in the 2018 WNBA draft. Russell played center for the Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball team in college.[1] In high school, she was named 2013 Gatorade Girls' Basketball Player of the Year.

Russell was MVP of the 2013 McDonalds All-American game

College

Russell played college basketball at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee for the Lady Volunteers.[2]

Statistics

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2013–14 Tennessee 35 5 18.5 .596 .000 .514 5.0 0.5 0.4 1.1 1.2 6.3
2014–15 Tennessee Injured
2015–16 Tennessee 36 31 29.3 .548 .000 .545 8.3 0.8 0.4 1.8 1.6 9.9
2016–17 Tennessee 32 32 34.6 .562 .000 .671 9.7 1.2 0.7 1.4 2.0 16.1
2017–18 Tennessee 33 33 32.7 .583 .000 .682 9.2 0.8 1.1 1.3 1.4 15.3
Career 136 101 28.6 .570 .000 .622 8.0 0.8 0.6 1.4 1.6 11.7

Career

WNBA

At the 2018 WNBA draft, Russell was drafted in the second round by the New York Liberty. After making her WNBA debut with the Liberty, Russell was waived and soon after picked up by the Seattle Storm.[3] In joining the Storm's line-up featuring players such as Sue Bird, Breanna Stewart and Natasha Howard, Russell would take home a WNBA Championship in her first professional season.

WNBL

In 2019, Russell was signed by the newly rebranded Southside Flyers in Australia's Women's National Basketball League (WNBL).[4] There she would play alongside the likes of Leilani Mitchell and Jenna O'Hea.

With the Flyers in the 2023–24 WNBL season, Russell helped the team win the championship while earning grand final MVP honours.[5]

Career statistics

Legend
  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

WNBA

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2018 New York 2 0 16.0 .333 – .750 1.5 1.0 1.0 0.5 0.5 2.5
Seattle 22 0 4.6 .484 – .500 1.4 0.1 0.0 0.1 0.3 1.6
2019 Seattle 34 30 25.6 .520 – .646 6.1 1.0 1.1 0.5 1.0 7.5
2020† Seattle 22 2 13.8 .410 – .560 3.2 0.6 0.4 0.4 0.7 3.5
2021 Seattle 30 28 24.7 .617 – .766 6.1 1.6 0.9 0.4 1.3 7.3
2022 Seattle 5 0 10.8 .500 – .667 1.8 0.2 0.0 0.0 1.4 2.0
2023 Seattle 37 13 19.1 .516 .000 .605 4.0 1.3 0.4 0.5 1.5 5.0
Career 6 years, 2 teams 152 73 18.5 .525 .000 .651 4.3 1.0 0.6 0.4 1.0 5.2

Postseason

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2018 Seattle 1 0 4.0 .– – – 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
2019 Seattle 2 2 32.0 .769 – 1.000 8.5 2.0 0.0 1.0 1.0 11.5
2020† Seattle 6 0 17.5 .619 – 1.000 3.8 1.0 0.2 0.2 0.8 5.2
2021 Seattle 1 1 45.0 .556 – – 12.0 4.0 0.0 2.0 0.0 10.0
Career 4 years, 1 team 10 3 21.8 .651 – 1.000 5.3 1.4 0.1 0.5 0.7 6.4

References

  1. ^ Greif, Andrew (April 14, 2018). "Marie Gulich leads 4 players with Oregon ties selected in 2018 WNBA draft". The Oregonian. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  2. ^ "Mercedes Russell - Women's Basketball - University of Tennessee Athletics". utsports.com.
  3. ^ "Seattle Storm Signs Mercedes Russell". storm.wnba.com.
  4. ^ "Southside Flyers on Facebook". Facebook. Archived from the original on April 30, 2022.[user-generated source]
  5. ^ "WNBL24 SOUTHSIDE FLYERS CYGNETT WNBL CHAMPIONS". wnbl.basketball. March 17, 2024. Retrieved March 17, 2024.

External links

  • Career statistics and player information from WNBA.com Edit this at Wikidata and Basketball-Reference.com Edit this at Wikidata
  • Tennessee Lady Vols bio
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Gatorade High School Basketball Player of the Year Award
Boys
Girls
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Seattle Storm 2018 WNBA champions
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Seattle Storm 2020 WNBA champions
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McDonald's All-American Game – Girls' MVPs