Vanessa Nygaard (born March 13, 1975 in

Scottsdale, Arizona , settlement_type = City , named_for = Winfield Scott , image_skyline = , image_seal = Seal of Scottsdale (Arizona).svg , image_blank_emblem = City of Scottsdale Script Logo.svg , nick ...

) is a professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

coach and former player in 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 currently serves as the head coach for the Phoenix Mercury. She is also the girls basketball head coach at

Windward School Windward School is an independent school in the Mar Vista neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. It was founded by writer/teacher Shirley Windward in 1971. The school currently enr ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

Stanford University

After graduating from

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

in Carlsbad, California, Nygaard attended Stanford University from 1993 to 1998, and was a star player for their women's basketball team, known as ''The Cardinal''. During her time there, the team accumulated a combined 113-14 won-loss record, including an impressive 69-2 within the Pacific-10 Conference, and reached three Final Fours. Nygaard graduated in 1998, majoring in American Studies.

Playing career

After graduating from Stanford, Nygaard began her six-year career in the WNBA. She was selected by the New York Liberty in the fourth round (39th overall pick) of the 1998 WNBA Draft. She missed the 1998 and most of the 1999 seasons due to injury, but joined the starting lineup with the

Portland Fire The Portland Fire were a professional basketball team in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) based in Portland, Oregon that joined the league in 2000 as the counterpart to the National Basketball Association, NBA’s Portland Trail B ...

team in 2000 and 2001 and with the

Miami Sol The Miami Sol were a professional women's basketball team that was based in Miami and entered the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) in 2000. They played their games at American Airlines Arena as the sister team to the Miami Heat of the ...

team in 2002. She also played for the

Cleveland Rockers The Cleveland Rockers were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Cleveland, that played from 1997 until 2003. The Rockers were one of the original eight franchises of the WNBA, which started in 1997. The owner was Gordon Gu ...

, the

Charlotte Sting The Charlotte Sting were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Charlotte, North Carolina, one of the league's eight original teams. The team folded on January 3, 2007. The Sting was originally the sister organization of ...

, and 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 ...

. Prior to the

2004 WNBA season The 2004 WNBA Season was the Women's National Basketball Association's eighth season. The league had one fewer team than in 2003 as the Cleveland Rockers folded after the 2003 season. The season ended with the Seattle Storm winning their first WN ...

began, Nygaard signed a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

contract with the Houston Comets, but was waived by the team during training camp. She signed another contract with the Comets prior to the 2005 season, but decided to announce her retirement instead. Her best season came with the Sol in 2002, when she averaged 7.9 points and 3.8

rebounds 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

per game. During the WNBA off-season, she played in professional basketball leagues in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

, including

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

(2001),

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

(1999) and

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 ...

(1998).

Coaching career

In 2003, Nygaard became an assistant coach for the women's basketball team at California State University, Long Beach. The following year, in June 2004, she was hired as an assistant coach with

Pepperdine University Pepperdine University () is a private research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California. Pepperdine's main campus consists of 830 acres (340 ha) overlooking the Pacific Ocean and th ...

. In 2008, she was named as an assistant coach for the San Antonio Silver Stars and helped the team to appear in the

WNBA finals The WNBA Finals are the championship series of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and the conclusion of the league's postseason each fall. The series was named the WNBA Championship until 2002. Starting 2016 Verizon is the officia ...

, before losing to the Detroit Shock. In January 2009, she was named as an assistant coach for the Washington Mystics where she spent just one season. Nygaard took over as head coach of the girls' basketball team at Windward School in 2012-13. She has coached the team to three state titles, in 2013, 2017, and 2018. In 2017, she joined USA Basketball as an assistant coach, helping lead the team during the 2017

FIBA The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. Originally known as the (hence FIBA), in 1989 it dropped the word ''amateur'' from its nam ...

America's Under-16 Championship and the 2018 FIBA Under-17 World Cup. In 2021, she joined head coach Bill Laimbeer on the

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

staff as an assistant coach. Nygaard was named as the head coach of the Phoenix Mercury on January 24, 2022. , - , align="left" ,

PHO Phở or pho (, , ; ) is a Vietnamese soup dish consisting of broth, rice noodles (), herbs, and meat (usually beef (), sometimes chicken ()). Phở is a popular food in Vietnam where it is served in households, street stalls and restaurants ...

, 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 coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

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References

External links

Pepperdine University coaches profile and interview
* ttp://www.wnba.com/mystics/news/asst_coaches_090106.html January 6, 2009 Washington Mystics press release of Nygaard's joining the coaching staff {{DEFAULTSORT:Nygaard, Vanessa 1975 births Living people American women's basketball players American women's basketball coaches Basketball coaches from Arizona Basketball coaches from California Basketball players from Scottsdale, Arizona Basketball players from California Charlotte Sting players Cleveland Rockers players LGBT basketball players LGBT people from Arizona Lesbian sportswomen Los Angeles Sparks players Miami Sol players New York Liberty draft picks New York Liberty players Parade High School All-Americans (girls' basketball) Pepperdine Waves women's basketball coaches Phoenix Mercury coaches Portland Fire players Small forwards Sportspeople from Carlsbad, California Stanford Cardinal women's basketball players