Jantel Lavender (born November 12, 1988) is an American professional

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

Seattle Storm The Seattle Storm are an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The Storm competes in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team was founded by Ginger Ackerl ...

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 Natio ...

(WNBA). She was drafted with the fifth overall pick in the 2011 WNBA draft by the

Los Angeles Sparks The Los Angeles Sparks (LA Sparks) are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Sparks compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team was foun ...

College

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

, Lavender was named

Big Ten Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Year The Big Ten Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Year is a basketball award given to the Big Ten Conference's most outstanding player. The award was first given following the Big Ten's first full season of women's basketball in 1982–83 (al ...

in each of her four seasons (2008–2011). The Big Ten presents two separate POY awards, one voted on by league coaches and the other by media members. Lavender received the coaches' version in 2008, the media version in 2011, and both awards in 2009 and 2010. At the time, this made her only the third

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

women's player to be a four-time conference player of the year.

USA Basketball

Lavender was a member of the USA Women's U18 team which won the gold medal at the FIBA Americas Championship in

Colorado Springs, Colorado Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...

. The event was held in July 2006, when the USA team defeated Canada to win the championship. Lavender averaged 4.8 points per game. Lavender was a member of the USA Women's U19 team which won the gold medal at the FIBA U19 World Championship in

Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approxim ...

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

. The event was held in July and August 2007, when the USA team defeated Sweden to win the championship. Lavender scored 16 points in the preliminary round game against Lithuania, then scored 28 points in a win over Spain. She scored 25 points in the win over the Czech Republic. Over the course of the tournament, she averaged 16.0 points per game, second only to

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 ...

with 16.3 per game. Lavender led the team in rebounding, averaging 8.1 per game. Lavender was named a member of the team representing the US at the 2009 World University Games held in

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

. The team won all seven games to earn the gold medal. She recorded a double-double, with 16 points and 12 rebounds against France. In the gold medal game against previously undefeated Russia, Lavender had 14 points.

WNBA career

Lavender was selected in the first round of the 2011 WNBA Draft (5th overall) by the

.http://www.wnba.com draft2011/draft_board.html 2011 WNBA Draft board Throughout her first four seasons, she was a reserve on the Sparks' roster and had been a key contributor off the bench with her scoring and rebounding. In 2015, Lavender re-signed with the Sparks once her rookie contract expired. Lavender had a breakout season in 2015. With

Candace Parker Candace Nicole Parker (born April 19, 1986) is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Sky of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was selected as the first overall pick in the 2008 WNBA draft by the Los An ...

sitting out the first half of the season to rest, Lavender became the Sparks' starting center. She would start in all 34 games and average a career-high 14.5 points per game along with 8.3 rebounds per game. That same year she was voted as a WNBA all-star for the first time in her career. In the 2016 season, Lavender returned to the back-up center role on the team's roster, with Parker returning to the starting center position. Off the bench, Lavender was still effective for the Sparks, she had averaged 9.6 points per game and scored a career-high 25 points in an overtime regular season win against the

Connecticut Sun The Connecticut Sun are an American professional basketball team based in Uncasville, Connecticut that competes in the Eastern Conference (WNBA), Eastern Conference of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was established ...

. Her season performance would earn her the

WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year Award The Women's National Basketball Association's Sixth Player of the Year Award is an annual Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) award given since the 2007 WNBA season The 2007 WNBA Season was the Women's National Basketball Association's ...

. The Sparks finished 26–8, advancing all the way to the WNBA Finals and defeated the

Minnesota Lynx The Minnesota Lynx are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team won the WNBA title in 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017. Founded pr ...

3 games to 2, as they won their first championship since 2002 as well as Lavender winning her first championship. In 2017, Lavender signed a contract extension with the Sparks. During the 2017 season, Lavender averaged 7.3 ppg off the bench. The Sparks would once again finished as the number 2 seed in the league with the same record they posted last season, receiving a double-bye to the semi-finals. The Sparks would eliminate the

Phoenix Mercury The Phoenix Mercury are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona, playing in the Western Conference (WNBA), Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded before the league ...

in a 3-game sweep, advancing to the Finals for the second season in a row, setting up a rematch with the Lynx. However, the Sparks would lose in five games, failing to win back-to-back championships. In the 2018 season, Lavender played 30 games with 7 starts to help fill in the starting power forward role during

Nneka Ogwumike Nnemkadi Chinwe Victoria "Nneka" Ogwumike (; born July 2, 1990) is a Nigerian-American basketball player for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), after being drafted No. 1 overall in the 2012 WNBA Draft. S ...

's absence. The Sparks finished with a 19–15 record, clinching the number 6 seed. In the first round elimination game, the Sparks defeated the Minnesota Lynx 75–68, ending their streak of three consecutive Finals appearances. However, the Sparks would lose to the

Washington Mystics The Washington Mystics are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Mystics compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Eastern Conference. The team was founded pri ...

in the second round elimination game, 96–64. A few days before the 2019 season, Lavender was traded to the

Chicago Sky The Chicago Sky are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Sky compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Eastern Conference. The franchise was founded prior to the 20 ...

in exchange for a 2020 second round draft pick. Lavender immediately became a starter for the Sky. On August, 14, 2019, Lavender underwent foot surgery to repair a fracture in her left foot, causing her to miss the rest of the season with a recovery period of 8–9 weeks. Without Lavender, the Sky finished the season 20–14 as the number 5 seed, they would make it as far as the second round where they lost 93–92 to the

Las Vegas Aces The Las Vegas Aces are an American professional basketball team based in the Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Aces compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conferenc ...

in the elimination game. On June 30, 2020, it was announced that Lavender would miss the whole 2020 season after once again having to undergo surgery on her left foot. On August 28, 2020, Lavender was traded to the

Indiana Fever The Indiana Fever are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded before the 2000 season began. The team is owned ...

along with a second and third-round draft pick in exchange for Stephanie Mavunga. In February 2021, Lavender re-signed with the Indiana Fever to a multi-year deal.

Overseas career

In the 2010-11 off-season, Lavender played in

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

for

Beşiktaş JK Beşiktaş () is a List of districts in Turkey, district and List of municipalities in Turkey, municipality of Istanbul, Turkey, located on the European shore of the Bosphorus strait. It is bordered on the north by Sarıyer and Şişli, on the ...

. In the 2011-12 off-season, Lavender played in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

for CCC Polkowice. In the 2012-13 off-season, Lavender played in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

for

PF Schio Pallacanestro Femminile Schio, also known as Beretta Famila Schio for sponsorship reasons, is an Italian women's basketball team based in Schio that competes in Serie A. Founded in 1973, Schio enjoyed its first successes between 1996 and 2002, wi ...

winning an Italian championship. From 2013 to 2015, Lavender played two off-seasons in Poland once again for

WBC Wisła Kraków WBC may stand for: Business *Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, a former large India broadcaster now folded into CBS *Westpac (New Delhi Exchange code: WBC), a multinational Financial services company *Wholesale Broadband Connect, BT Wholesale's ...

, winning a couple Polish Cups and National championships as well as MVP honors for both the seasons and the Cup series in both those years. In the 2015-16 off-season, Lavender played for Fenerbahçe Istanbul in Turkey and won both the Turkish Cup and Turkish National championship. As of August 2016, Lavender had re-signed with Fenerbahçe Istanbul for the 2016-17 off-season. In September 2017, Lavender signed with Yakin Dogu for the 2017-18 off-season and won another Turkish Cup. In the 2018-19 off-season, Lavender signed with Famila Schio of the Italian league. In January 2020, Lavender signed with Çukurova Basketbol of the Turkish league for the 2019-20 off-season, the Turkish/Euroleague season eventually got cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

Career statistics

WNBA

Regular season

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2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

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Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, 33 , , 3 , , 14.8 , , .500 , , .000, , .733 , , 3.1 , , 0.5 , , 0.1 , , 0.3 , , 0.8 , , 6.6 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

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, 34 , , 1 , , 14.4 , , .506 , , .000 , , .844, , 3.9 , , 0.5 , , 0.2 , , 0.5 , , 1.1 , , 5.6 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

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, 34 , , 3 , , 16.8 , , .507 , , .000 , , .865 , , 4.5 , , 0.5 , , 0.5 , , 0.6 , , 1.0 , , 7.2 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

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, 34 , , 27 , , 28.3, , .527, , .200, , .794, , 6.3 , , 1.5 , , 0.5 , , 0.7 , , 1.9 , , 11.9 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

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, 34 , , 34 , , 33.8, , .525 , , .333 , , .882, , 8.3 , , 1.8 , , 0.4 , , 1.2 , , 2.1 , , 14.5 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;",

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

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, 34 , , 0 , , 19.4 , , .538 , , .000 , , .683 , , 3.6 , , 1.3 , , 0.2 , , 0.5 , , 1.1 , , 9.6 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

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, 32 , , 0 , , 17.3 , , .488 , , .313 , , .846 , , 3.0 , , 0.9 , , 0.2 , , 0.1 , , 1.2 , , 7.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

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, 30 , , 7 , , 17.0 , , .428 , , .188 , , .900 , , 3.7 , , 0.7 , , 0.4 , , 0.2 , , 1.0 , , 5.2 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

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Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, 23 , , 22 , , 26.9 , , .490 , , .222 , , .905 , , 6.9 , , 1.1 , , 0.3 , , 0.5 , , 1.3 , , 10.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

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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 ...

, 27 , , 14 , , 20.0 , , .404 , , .200 , , .900 , , 3.9 , , 1.5 , , 0.0 , , 0.1 , , 1.4 , , 6.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", Career , style="text-align:left;", 10 years, 3 teams , 315 , , 111 , , 20.8 , , .499 , , .234 , , .824 , , 4.7 , , 1.0 , , 0.3 , , 0.5 , , 1.3 , , 8.5

Playoffs

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, 4 , , 0 , , 10.0 , , .750 , , .000 , , .500 , , 2.3 , , 0.5 , , 0.0, , 0.0, , 0.7 , , 1.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

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, 3, , 0, , 11.6, , .714, , .000 , , .500, , 2.3, , 0.0, , 0.0, , 0.0 , , 0.0, , 3.7 , - , style="text-align:left;",

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, 2, , 2, , 20.4, , .429 , , .000 , , .000, , 4.5, , 1.5, , 0.5, , 0.0, , 0.5, , 6.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

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, 3, , 3, , 34.5, , .577, , 1.000 , , .600, , 6.7, , 1.0, , 0.6, , 0.3, , 1.6, , 11.3 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;",

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, 9, , 0, , 15.6, , .607, , .000, , .000, , 2.3, , 1.0, , 0.0, , 0.1, , 0.2, , 7.6 , - , style="text-align:left;",

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, 8, , 0, , 14.1, , .436, , .125, , 1.000, , 2.9, , 0.5, , 0.3, , 0.0, , 0.5, , 4.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

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, 2, , 0, , 16.0, , .500, , .500, , .000, , 3.0, , 0.5, , 0.0, , 1.0, , 1.0, , 5.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", Career , style="text-align:left;", 7 years, 1 team , 29, , 5, , 16.3, , .548, , .182, , .667, , 3.1, , 0.7, , 0.2, , 0.1, , 0.5, , 5.9

Ohio State statistics

Source

Footnotes

References

External links

Ohio State Buckeyes bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lavender, Jantel 1988 births Living people All-American college women's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Poland American expatriate basketball people in Turkey American women's basketball players Basketball players from Cleveland Beşiktaş women's basketball players Centers (basketball) Fenerbahçe women's basketball players Indiana Fever players Los Angeles Sparks draft picks Los Angeles Sparks players Medalists at the 2009 Summer Universiade Ohio State Buckeyes women's basketball players Parade High School All-Americans (girls' basketball) Power forwards (basketball) Seattle Storm players Universiade gold medalists for the United States Universiade medalists in basketball Women's National Basketball Association All-Stars