Olayinka Sanni (born August 21, 1986) is a Nigerian-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. Born in
Chicago Heights, Illinois
Chicago Heights is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 27,480 at the 2020 census. In earlier years, Chicago Heights was nicknamed "The Crossroads of the Nation". Currently, it is nicknamed "The Heights".
Geograp ...
, she most recently played the
center / power forward position 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 and also for Charleville-Méz in France – LFB.
College career
In her senior year at
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...
, Sanni averaged career highs in points per game (16.2) and rebounds per game (7.1).
West Virginia statistics
Source
WNBA career
Sanni was drafted 18th overall in the
2008 WNBA Draft
The WNBA draft is the league's annual process for determining which Women's National Basketball Association teams receive the rights to negotiate with players entering the league. The 2008 draft was held on April 9.
A lottery was held on October ...
by the
Detroit Shock
The Detroit Shock were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. They were the 2003, 2006, and 2008 WNBA champions.
Debuting in 1998, the Shock were one of the league's first expansion franchises. ...
. Out of the 31 games she played in her rookie season, she started 9. She shot exactly 50% from the floor (41–82) while averaging just a little over 10 minutes per game.
She is playing for Calais in France during the 2008–09 WNBA off-season.
She is currently playing for
ESB Villeneuve-d'Ascq
ESB Villeneuve-d'Ascq is a French women's basketball club from Villeneuve-d'Ascq playing in the Ligue Féminine de Basketball since 2000.
Honours
* Ligue Féminine
** Winners (1): 2017
* French Cup
** Runner-up (3): 2003, 2008, 2014
* EuroCu ...
in France during the 2009–10 WNBA off-season.
WNBA career statistics
Regular season
, -
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2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
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Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
, 31 , , 9 , , 10.5 , , .500 , , .000 , , .649 , , 2.1 , , 0.2 , , 0.4 , , 0.2 , , 3.4
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2009
File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
, 31 , , 1 , , 9.6, , .480 , , .000 , , .694 , , 1.8 , , 0.5 , , 0.4 , , 0.2 , , 3.8
, -
, align="left" ,
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 ...
, align="left" ,
Phoenix
Phoenix most often refers to:
* Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore
* Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States
Phoenix may also refer to:
Mythology
Greek mythological figures
* Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
, 14 , , 0 , , 5.2 , , .667 , , .000 , , .333 , , 0.7 , , 0.0 , , 0.2 , , 0.1 , , 1.6
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, align="left" , Career
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, 76 , , 10 , , 9.2 , , .503 , , .000 , , .646 , , 1.7 , , 0.3 , , 0.3 , , 0.2 , , 3.3
Philanthropy
Olayinka Sanni oversees the Olayinka Sanni Foundation, a not-for-profit that caters to the development of boys and girls through leadership and basketball camps. In 2017, she hosted a basketball camp for teenage boys and girls in
Lagos
Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...
,
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanni, Olayinka
1986 births
Living people
African Games bronze medalists for Nigeria
African Games medalists in basketball
African Games silver medalists for Nigeria
American expatriate basketball people in France
American sportspeople of Nigerian descent
American women's basketball players
Basketball players from Illinois
Centers (basketball)
Competitors at the 2007 All-Africa Games
Detroit Shock players
Nigerian expatriate basketball people in France
Nigerian women's basketball players
People from Chicago Heights, Illinois
Phoenix Mercury players
Sportspeople from Cook County, Illinois
West Virginia Mountaineers women's basketball players
Homewood-Flossmoor High School alumni