Monica Ashante Wright (born July 15, 1988) 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 ...

coach and former player. She played college basketball for

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

and was selected second overall by 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 ...

in the

2010 WNBA draft The 2010 WNBA Draft is the league's annual process for determining which teams receive the rights to negotiate with players entering the league. The draft was held on April 8, 2010. The first round was shown on ESPN2 ( HD), while the second and ...

. Outside of the WNBA, she played professionally in Poland, Turkey, Australia, South Korea and Iceland. She is currently the assistant general manager for 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 the WNBA.

Early life and high school career

Wright was born to Garry and Lynette Wright in

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 ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. She has an older brother named Gerard. Her family later moved to

Woodbridge, Virginia Woodbridge is a census-designated place (CDP) in Prince William County, Virginia, United States, located south of Washington, D.C.. Bounded by the Occoquan and Potomac rivers, Woodbridge had 44,668 residents at the 2020 census. Woodbridge o ...

where she attended Forest Park High School. At Forest Park, she averaged 22.6 points, 9.0 rebounds, 6.8 assists and 4.0 steals per game. She was also the Gatorade Virginia Player of the Year and was ranked No. 2 guard and No. 11 player overall in the nation. Wright was named a WBCA All-American. She participated in the 2006 WBCA High School All-America Game, where she scored eleven points, and earned MVP honors for the White team.

College career

Wright attended the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

. In her freshman year as a Cavalier, she was named the ACC Rookie of the Year. As a sophomore, she was named to the ACC All-Defensive Team and also notched her 1,000th point. She missed being named to the All-ACC first team by two points that season. As a junior, Wright was named to the All-ACC defensive team and was also rewarded with a spot on the All-ACC first team as the league's top scorer. As a senior, Wright was named ACC Player of the Year, ACC Defensive Player of the Year, and National Defensive Player of the Year. She was also the 2010 WBCA NCAA Division I Defensive Player of the Year.

College statistics

Professional career

WNBA

Wright was selected by the

with the second overall pick in the

. She went on to be named to the WNBA's all-rookie team. In 2011 and 2012, Wright played off the bench, backing up at both guard and forward. She expanded her role in 2013, becoming the primary backup at shooting guard and point guard, averaging 9.0 points per game. She won WNBA titles with the Lynx in

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 ...

and

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 ...

. On July 20, 2015, Wright was traded to 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 exchange for

Renee Montgomery Renee Danielle Montgomery (born December 2, 1986) is an American former professional basketball player, sports broadcaster and activist who is currently vice president, part-owner, and investor of the Atlanta Dream, and one of three owners of th ...

and a 2016 second-round draft pick. She missed the rest of the

2015 WNBA season The 2015 WNBA season was the 19th season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The regular season started on June 5 and playoffs concluded on October 14. The Minnesota Lynx beat the Indiana Fever 69–52 in game five of the Fina ...

due to a right knee injury. After recovering from the injury, she debuted for the Storm in

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 ...

Overseas

For the 2010–11 season, Wright played in Poland for

Lotos Gdynia Arka Gdynia is a Polish professional women's basketball club. It was founded in 1946 in the city of Gdańsk as Spójnia Gdańsk. In 1992 the club moved from Gdańsk to Gdynia and changed the name to Bałtyk Gdynia. Then it changed its name severa ...

. For the 2011–12 season, she played in Turkey for

Botaş SK Botaş SK is a sports club based in Ankara. The major branch of the club is the women's basketball, currently performing at the Turkish Women's Basketball Super League. The club also competes in athletics. Botaş is the first Turkish club to ...

. For the 2012–13 season, she played in Australia for the

Dandenong Rangers The Dandenong Rangers were an Australian professional women's basketball team competing in the Women's National Basketball League ( WNBL). The club is based in Dandenong, Melbourne, Victoria. The team was founded as the Dandenong Rangers, howeve ...

of the WNBL. In 2013–14, Wright played in Korea for Shinsegae One FX, but left the team in December 2013, reportedly without permission. For the 2014–15 season, she re-joined the Dandenong Rangers, but was released prior to the start of the season after complications with a troublesome knee arose. She started the 2015–16 season with Bnot Herzliya of Israel before signing with

Keflavík Keflavík (pronounced , meaning ''Driftwood Bay'') is a town in the Reykjanes region in southwest Iceland. It is included in the municipality of Reykjanesbær whose population as of 2016 is 15,129. In 1995, Keflavik merged with nearby Njarðv ...

of the Icelandic Úrvalsdeild kvenna in January 2016. On 22 March 2016, she scored a season high 29 points in a loss against

Grindavík Grindavík () is a fishing town on the Southern Peninsula (Iceland), Southern Peninsula of Iceland not far from the tuya Þorbjörn (mountain), Þorbjörn. It is one of the few cities with a harbour on this coast. Most of the inhabitants work in ...

. In 6 games for Keflavík, she averaged 16.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. On July 14, 2016, Wright signed with the

Perth Lynx The Perth Lynx are an Australian professional basketball team based in Perth, Western Australia. The Lynx compete in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) and play their home games at Bendat Basketball Centre. For sponsorship reasons, t ...

for the

2016–17 WNBL season The 2016–17 WNBL season is the 37th season of competition since its establishment in 1981. The regular season begins on October 7, 2016 when the Sydney Uni Flames host the Perth Lynx and is scheduled to conclude on February 19, 2017. Townsville ...

. She played in the Lynx's first four games of the season, but due to complications with a long-term knee injury, she was released by the team on October 19, 2016.PERTH LYNX RELEASE MONICA WRIGHT
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WNBA career statistics

Regular season

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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 to ...

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, 29 , , 0 , , 13.6 , , .379 , , .259 , , .740 , , 1.6 , , 1.1 , , 0.8 , , 0.2 , , 1.0 , , 5.1 , - , align="left" ,

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, 33 , , 3 , , 22.5 , , .428 , , .256 , , .791 , , 2.9 , , 2.3 , , 1.0 , , 0.2 , , 1.8 , , 9.0 , - , 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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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 ...

, 16 , , 0 , , 6.1 , , .308 , , .100 , , .600 , , 0.5 , , 0.7 , , 0.4 , , 0.1 , , 0.9 , , 1.3 , - , align="left" , Career , align="left" , 7 years, 2 teams , 177 , , 43 , , 18.5 , , .402 , , .303 , , .771 , , 2.2 , , 1.6 , , 0.9 , , 0.2 , , 1.6 , , 7.3

Playoffs

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, 9 , , 0 , , 19.3 , , .386 , , .286 , , .700 , , 2.3 , , 1.1 , , 1.6 , , 0.2 , , 1.2 , , 5.6 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;",

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, 7 , , 0 , , 21.1 , , .472 , , .222 , , .667 , , 2.6 , , 1.1 , , 0.9 , , 0.1 , , 1.6 , , 9.1 , - , align="left" ,

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, 5 , , 0 , , 15.4 , , .391 , , .400 , , 1.000 , , 1.2 , , 1.2 , , 0.6 , , 0.2 , , 1.0 , , 4.6 , - , align="left" , Career , align="left" , 4 years, 1 team , 29 , , 0 , , 16.7 , , .414 , , .280 , , .682 , , 1.9 , , 1.0 , , 1.0 , , 0.2 , , 1.1 , , 5.4

National team career

Wright was selected as a member of the USA Women's U19 team which won the gold medal at the FIBA U19 World Championship in

Bratislava, Slovakia Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the 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 — approximately 140% of ...

. The event was held in July and August 2007, when the USA team defeated Sweden to win the championship. Wright averaged 9.8 points per game and led the team in steals.

Coaching career

After injuries ended her playing career, Wright turned to coaching. She was an assistant coach at

Liberty University Liberty University (LU) is a private Baptist university in Lynchburg, Virginia. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia (Southern Baptist Convention). Founded in 1971 by Jerry Falwell Sr. and Elmer L. Towns, Liberty i ...

during the 2018–2019 season. In May 2019, she was hired as an assistant coach for the Virginia Cavaliers women's basketball team. In January 2023, Wright was hired as an assistant general manager to the

Personal life

Wright was once engaged to

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

superstar

Kevin Durant Kevin Wayne Durant ( ; born September 29, 1988), also known by his initials KD, is an American professional basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played one season of college basketball for t ...

References

External links

WNBA profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Monica 1988 births Living people African-American basketball players African-American Christians All-American college women's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Australia American expatriate basketball people in Iceland American expatriate basketball people in Israel American expatriate basketball people in South Korea American expatriate basketball people in Turkey American women's basketball coaches American women's basketball players Basketball coaches from Texas Basketball coaches from Virginia Basketball players from San Antonio Basketball players from Virginia Botaş SK players Monica Wright Liberty Lady Flames basketball coaches McDonald's High School All-Americans Minnesota Lynx draft picks Minnesota Lynx players Parade High School All-Americans (girls' basketball) People from Woodbridge, Virginia Perth Lynx players Point guards Seattle Storm players Sportspeople from San Antonio Sportspeople from the Washington metropolitan area Monica Wright Virginia Cavaliers women's basketball coaches Virginia Cavaliers women's basketball players