Kiana Williams (born April 9, 1999) 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 who last played for 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 ...

in the WNBA. She was drafted by the Storm with the 18th pick in the

2021 WNBA draft The 2021 WNBA draft was the WNBA's draft for the 2021 WNBA season. A draft lottery was held on December 4, 2020, and the New York Liberty were awarded the first overall pick once again in the draft. The draft was held on April 15, and televised o ...

after playing college basketball at

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...

College career

Senior season

In her senior season, Williams was named an All-American by the

United States Basketball Writers Association The United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) was founded in 1956 by National Collegiate Athletic Association director Walter Byers to serve the interests of journalists who cover college basketball. Scholarships The USBWA annually awa ...

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. newspa ...

, and

Women's Basketball Coaches Association The Women's Basketball Coaches Association is an association of coaches of women's basketball teams at all levels. The organization was formed in 1981, with the goal of addressing the needs of women's basketball coaches. The mission of the WBCA ...

. In the

2021 Pac-12 Conference women's basketball tournament The 2021 Pac-12 Conference women's basketball tournament, presented by New York Life, was a postseason tournament held March 3–7, 2021, at Michelob Ultra Arena on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. Stanford won its 14th Pac-12 title, r ...

, she put up 26 points in the championship match and was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. With the

2021 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament The 2021 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament was a single-elimination tournament of 64 teams to determine the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college basketball national champion for the 2020–21 NCAA Divis ...

being held in her hometown

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

, Williams helped lead the Cardinal to their first national championship since 1992 and was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player in the Alamo Region. After winning the national championship, Williams and her Stanford teammates donated the ping-pong table the university bought for them in the tournament bubble to the Eastside Boys and Girls Club, where the San Antonio native Williams had spent time growing up. Williams declared for the WNBA draft at the end of the season, finishing her collegiate career at the program's career 3-point leader and did not miss a game, starting 128 consecutive games over her career.

Professional career

Seattle Storm (2021)

Williams was drafted by 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 ...

in the second round of the

with the 18th overall pick. Considered a longshot to make the Storm roster with one of the deepest backcourts in the WNBA, Williams made the final roster for the opening game of the 2021 season. She was released from the

roster on June 28, 2021. On October 25, 2021 she signed to play overseas with the

Adelaide Lightning The Adelaide Lightning is an Australian professional women's basketball team competing in the Women's National Basketball League ( WNBL). The club is based in the city of Adelaide, South Australia. The club was formed in 1993 and they play i ...

Phoenix Mercury

On March 1, 2022, Williams signed a training camp contract with 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 ...

prior to the

2022 WNBA season The 2022 WNBA season was the 26th season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The Chicago Sky were the defending champions. The WNBA's second Commissioner's Cup took place during the regular season, with the Las Vegas Aces win ...

. She was ultimately released at the end of training camp and did not make the roster.

Seattle Storm (2022)

Williams signed a hardship contract with the Storm on May 27, 2022, and played 3 games with the Storm before being released from her hardship.

Connecticut Sun

On July 27, 2022, Williams signed a 7-Day Contract with the Connecticut Sun.

National team career

Williams played for the

United States women's national basketball team The USA Basketball Women's National Team, commonly known as the United States women's national basketball team, is governed by USA Basketball and competes in FIBA Americas. The team is by far the most successful in international women's basketbal ...

at the

2019 Pan American Games The 2019 Pan American Games ( es, Juegos Panamericanos de 2019, links=no), officially the XVIII Pan American Games and commonly known as the Lima 2019 Pan-Am Games or Lima 2019 ( qu, Limaq 2019), were a multi-sport event governed by the Panam Spo ...

, where they earned a silver medal after placing second.

Career statistics

WNBA

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Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

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2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

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Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

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College

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, 36 , , 36 , , 34.5 , , .422 , , .367 , , .793 , , 2.8 , , 4.7 , , 1.2 , , 0.1 , , 2.4 , , 14.3 , - , style="text-align:left;" , 2019–20 , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 33 , , 33 , , 34.2 , , .416 , , .347 , , .840 , , 3.2 , , 3.8 , , 1.1 , , 0.0 , , 2.1 , , 15.0 , - , style="text-align:left;" ,

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Personal life

Williams is the daughter of LaChelle and Michael Williams and has three older brothers. During Stanford's tournament run in 2021, Williams' father, a former barbecue joint owner, delivered homemade meals to the team's hotel.

References

External links

* *
Stanford Cardinal profile

USA Basketball profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Kiana 1999 births Living people All-American college women's basketball players American women's basketball players Basketball players at the 2019 Pan American Games Basketball players from San Antonio Connecticut Sun players Medalists at the 2019 Pan American Games Pan American Games medalists in basketball Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States Point guards Seattle Storm draft picks Seattle Storm players Shooting guards Stanford Cardinal women's basketball players United States women's national basketball team players