Crystal Simone Dangerfield (born May 11, 1998) is an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player for the

Dallas Wings The Dallas Wings are an American basketball team based in Arlington, Texas. The Wings play in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team is owned by a group which is led by chairman Bill Cameron. Greg ...

of the

Women's National Basketball Association The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is an American professional basketball league. It is composed of twelve teams, all based in the United States. The league was founded on April 22, 1996, as the women's counterpart to the Nati ...

(WNBA). After a high school career that made her the nation's top-ranked point guard, she played college basketball for the

UConn Huskies The UConn Huskies (or Connecticut Huskies) are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Connecticut, located in Storrs. The school is a member of the NCAA's Division I and the Big East Conference. The university's f ...

. Dangerfield was drafted in the second round of the 2020 WNBA draft by Minnesota, where she was named

WNBA Rookie of the Year The Women's National Basketball Association's Rookie of the Year Award is an annual Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) award given since the 1998 WNBA season, to the top rookie of the regular season. The winner is selected by a panel ...

after leading the team in scoring.

High school

Dangerfield attended

Blackman High School Blackman High School is a high school located in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, United States which is operated by the Rutherford County Schools. The school was established in 2000 to complement the existing Blackman Elementary School. History Black ...

, where she belonged to the collegiate academy, and was an honor roll student for four years. She was Blackman's starting point guard for four years, when the school won state titles in 2015 and 2016. She played

USA Basketball USA Basketball (USAB) is a non-profit organization and the governing body for basketball in the United States. The organization represents the United States in FIBA and the men's and women's national basketball teams in the United States Olymp ...

, winning a gold medal in 2013 and 2015. Dangerfield was named Miss Basketball Tennessee in her junior and senior years. She was three times the Tennessee

Gatorade Player of the Year The Gatorade Player of the Year awards are given annually to up and coming high school student-athletes in the United States. They are given for boys' baseball, boys' and girls' basketball, boys' and girls' cross country, boys' football, boys' ...

. She was a finalist for the Naismith Prep Player of the Year Award and Gatorade national awards. She was ''

The Tennessean ''The Tennessean'' (known until 1972 as ''The Nashville Tennessean'') is a daily newspaper in Nashville, Tennessee. Its circulation area covers 39 counties in Middle Tennessee and eight counties in southern Kentucky. It is owned by Gannett, ...

'' girls basketball player of the year in three consecutive years. In 2016, she was a

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hambur ...

and

Jordan Brand Classic The Jordan Brand Classic is a high school All-Star basketball game played annually in April. The game's rosters feature the best and most highly recruited high school boys in the senior class including alumns like Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, Bl ...

All-American, and Morgan Wootten National Player of the Year. Among the women's class of 2016, ESPNW ranked Dangerfield as the best point guard and third overall of 100 women players (behind Lauren Cox and ahead of Sabrina Ionescu).

College

Dangerfield was recruited by the

, and she studied business and majored in communication. When Dangerfield arrived, the Huskies had won a record 11 total and 4 straight

NCAA championship The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and ...

s, but during the period she played for them they were to lose three and have one canceled due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...

. Dangerfield had offseason hip surgeries in 2016 and 2019. In 2018, she said her

quads The quadriceps femoris muscle (, also called the quadriceps extensor, quadriceps or quads) is a large muscle group that includes the four prevailing muscles on the front of the thigh. It is the sole extensor muscle of the knee, forming a large ...

had gotten too big and she was bothered by shin splints during 2017, her sophomore year. After surgery in 2019, she experienced back

spasm A spasm is a sudden involuntary contraction of a muscle, a group of muscles, or a hollow organ such as the bladder. A spasmodic muscle contraction may be caused by many medical conditions, including dystonia. Most commonly, it is a muscle c ...

s and at one point her team had only eight healthy players. The Associated Press said in her senior year at UConn that she was "expected to be the team's leader." In March 2020, Dangerfield rose to 5th place all-time among Huskies women's basketball players in career assists. She is second in the UConn records books behind

Sue Bird Suzanne Brigit Bird (born October 16, 1980) is an American former professional basketball player who played her entire career with the Seattle Storm of the Women's National Basketball Association ( WNBA) Bird was drafted by the Storm first over ...

with 225 single-season assists. Following the 2019–20 season, Dangerfield was named an Honorable Mention All-American by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. new ...

. She was selected for the

American Athletic Conference The American Athletic Conference (The American or AAC) is an American collegiate athletic conference, featuring 11 member universities and five affiliate member universities that compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) ...

2017 All-Freshman Team, 2018 All-Tournament Team, 2018 Third Team, 2019 All-Tournament Team, 2019 First Team, 2020 All-Tournament Team, and 2020 First Team; and the 2019 NCAA Regional All-Tournament Team.

WNBA

Minnesota Lynx (2020–2021)

Dangerfield was drafted with the 16th overall pick in the 2nd round of the 2020 WNBA draft by the Minnesota Lynx. Lynx coaches had explained to her that her rookie's role would be as a sub to provide relief for a few minutes per game. By midseason, due to multiple WNBA injuries and

Odyssey Sims Odyssey Celeste Sims (born July 13, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for the Connecticut Sun of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). An AP and WBCA All-American, Sims was born in Irving, Texas and graduated from ...

return from maternity leave, Dangerfield was the starting

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position. Point guards are expected to run the team's offense by ...

, averaging 14.3 points per game, shooting 47.1% from the field, and was considered a candidate for WNBA Rookie of the Year, the lowest draft pick ever officially considered for the honor. For August, she gained WNBA's formal recognition with a Rookie of the Month award for her record of 18.1 points per game, 3.5 assists per game and 2.0 rebounds per game. She repeated as Rookie of the Month in September with 17.4 points per game, 5.0 assists per game and 2.0 rebounds per game. In her rookie season, Dangerfield was named to the 2020 AP All-Rookie team. She won the

Rookie of the Year, ESPN Rookie of the Year, and

. She was the Lynx leading scorer for the year with 16.2 points per game. On 3 May 2022, Dangerfield was waived by the Lynx.

Indiana Fever

On 6 May 2022, Dangerfield signed a hardship exception contract with the Indiana Fever.

New York Liberty

On May 21, 2022, Dangerfield signed a hardship exception contract with the Liberty. On June 7, 2022, the Liberty ended Dangerfield's contract, but signed a second hardship exception contract two days later., but then she was released on June 26. On July 3, 2022, the Liberty signed Dangerfield to a rest of season contract. On January 16, 2023, Dangerfield was traded to the

as part of a three-team deal.

WNBA career statistics

Regular season

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2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

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Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over t ...

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Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

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New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

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Playoffs

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College statistics

College

Personal life

Dangerfield is the youngest daughter of Christopher and Davonna Dangerfield of

Murfreesboro, Tennessee Murfreesboro is a city in and county seat of Rutherford County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 152,769 according to the 2020 census, up from 108,755 residents certified in 2010. Murfreesboro is located in the Nashville metropol ...

. She has an older brother, Komar, and one sister, Brooke. Both parents served in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

. She has played basketball since she was 5. Her favorite players are

Kobe Bryant Kobe Bean Bryant ( ; August 23, 1978 – January 26, 2020) was an American professional basketball player. A shooting guard, he spent his entire 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Widely r ...

and

Maya Moore Maya April Moore (born June 11, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for the Minnesota Lynx, who is currently on sabbatical. Naming her their inaugural Performer of the Year in 2017, ''Sports Illustrated'' called Moore the greates ...

. Dangerfield has participated in numerous charities such as

Let's Move! Let's Move! is a public health campaign in the United States led by First Lady Michelle Obama. The campaign aimed to reduce childhood obesity and encourage a healthy lifestyle in children. The initiative had the initially stated goal of "s ...

, Foundation for Life “Bikes for Kids,”

Athletes for Hope Athletes for Hope is a nonprofit organization that works to educate professional athletes about philanthropy, connect them with charitable causes, recognize these efforts and inspire others to get involved in the community. AFH emphasizes that its f ...

, and

food bank A food bank is a non-profit, charitable organization that distributes food to those who have difficulty purchasing enough to avoid hunger, usually through intermediaries like food pantries and soup kitchens. Some food banks distribute food direc ...

s. In college, she helped Bags of Love provide toiletries to homeless people in

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

References

External links

WNBA profile
* Career statistics fro
NCAA.org
and Basketball-Reference.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Dangerfield, Crystal 1998 births Living people American women's basketball players Basketball players from Tennessee Indiana Fever players LGBT basketball players LGBT people from Tennessee Lesbian sportswomen McDonald's High School All-Americans Minnesota Lynx draft picks Minnesota Lynx players New York Liberty players People from Murfreesboro, Tennessee Point guards UConn Huskies women's basketball players