Taj McWilliams-Franklin (born October 20, 1970) is a former American professional women's basketball player. A two-time WNBA champion with the Detroit Shock and Minnesota Lynx and six-time all-star, McWilliams-Franklin's professional career has spanned three decades, and began before the WNBA was founded. She retired from the WNBA after the 2012 season.

College years

After attending

T. W. Josey High School T. W. Josey Comprehensive High School (commonly referred to as T. W. Josey or Josey High School) is a public high school in Augusta, Georgia, Augusta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. Josey's campus is located several blocks south of ...

Augusta, Georgia Augusta ( ), officially Augusta–Richmond County, is a consolidated city-county on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies across the Savannah River from South Carolina at the head of its navig ...

, McWilliams-Franklin attended

Georgia State University Georgia State University (Georgia State, State, or GSU) is a Public university, public research university in Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1913, it is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities. It is also the ...

in 1989 and played on the school's basketball team for one season. However, she had become pregnant during her senior year in high school, and after the coach who recruited her to Georgia State was let go, the incoming staff told her "school was no place for kids." McWilliams-Franklin moved to

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

, where a friend connected her with

St. Edward's University St. Edward's University is a private, Catholic university in Austin, Texas. It was founded and is operated in the Holy Cross tradition. History Founding and early history St. Edward's University was founded by the Reverend Edward Sorin, CSC ...

coach Dave McKey. She enrolled at St. Edwards as a Rhetoric major. While at St. Edward's, she set school records and individual achievements, including: * NAIA National Player of the Year in 1993 *Selected to the 1993

Kodak The Eastman Kodak Company (referred to simply as Kodak ) is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in analogue photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorpor ...

NAIA

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n team *Member of the 1992 NAIA

second team *Set school records for career scoring (1,837 points), most points scored for a single season (760), highest scoring average (24.5 ppg) and highest field goal percentage (.640) McWilliams-Franklin said that after her first year at St. Edward's, she had the potential opportunity to transfer to a Division I school, but declined to pursue it, because she "felt loyalty is rewarded with loyalty."

USA Basketball

McWilliams-Franklin was named to the USA national team in 1998. The national team traveled to

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, Germany, in July and August 1998 for the FIBA World Championships. The USA team won a close opening game against Japan 95–89, then won their next six games easily. In the semifinal game against Brazil, the American team was behind by as much as ten points in the first half, but went on to win 93–79. The gold medal game was a rematch against Russia. In the first game, the American team dominated almost from the beginning, but in the rematch, the team from Russia took the early lead and led much of the way. With under two minutes remaining, the USA was down by two points, but held on to win the gold medal, 71–65.

ABL career

McWilliams-Franklin was drafted in 1996 (40th overall pick) and played two seasons for the

Philadelphia Rage The Philadelphia Rage, were one of the eight original franchises of the American Basketball League (ABL), a women's professional basketball league. The franchise existed for just two-and-a-half seasons—1996-97 in Richmond, Virginia, 1997–98 ...

of the American Basketball League (ABL). She led the league in blocks with 1.5 per game, and ranked fifth in field goal percentage (.528). She was also a member of the 1997 All-ABL second team.

WNBA career

McWilliams-Franklin has had a long and successful WNBA career, earning two titles and recognition as one of the all-time great post players in league history. She ranks first in career offensive rebounds and second in career total rebounds. McWilliams-Franklin was selected by the Orlando Miracle in the third round (32nd overall pick) of the 1999 WNBA draft. She starred for the Miracle for four years and remained with the franchise even when the it relocated to

Uncasville, Connecticut Uncasville is an area in the New England town, town of Montville, Connecticut, Montville, Connecticut, United States. It is a Administrative divisions of Connecticut#Village, neighborhood, section of town, village in southeastern Montville, at the ...

, and was renamed 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 ...

prior to the 2003 season. From 1999 to 2008, McWilliams-Franklin played in six

WNBA All-Star Game The Women's National Basketball Association All-Star Game, commonly referred to as the WNBA All-Star Game, is an annual exhibition basketball game played in the United States between the best players of the Western and Eastern Conference of ...

s. She was also a member of the starting team of the 2004 WNBA All-Star squad that played against a select group of players (who were also WNBA players) from the

USA Basketball USA Basketball (USAB) is a non-profit organization and the governing body for basketball in the United States. The organization represents the United States in FIBA and the men's and women's national basketball teams in the United States Olympi ...

team. That game was held on August 4, 2004 at the historic

Radio City Music Hall Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue and Theater (structure), theater at 1260 Sixth Avenue (Manhattan), Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Nicknamed "The Showplac ...

in New York City. The game was held in place of the regular

and was a send-off for the USA Basketball squad prior to their participation at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

Athens, Greece Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

. McWilliams-Franklin was the recipient of the 2005

Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award The Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award is an annual Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) award given since the league's inaugural season, to the player who most "exemplifies the ideals of sportsmanship on the court—ethical behavior, fair ...

. She was awarded a Tiffany-designed trophy and $5,000. In addition, she designated an additional $5,000 to go to the Mary Elizabeth House in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

. She was also 2nd team all WNBA in 2005. In February 2007, she was traded to 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 ...

in exchange for the draft rights of Érika de Souza and a future selection in the 2007 WNBA Draft. On April 22, 2008 the Los Angeles Sparks traded McWilliams-Franklin 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 ...

for

DeLisha Milton-Jones DeLisha Lachell Milton-Jones (born September 11, 1974) is an American retired professional basketball player and head coach of Old Dominion. Milton-Jones played college basketball for the University of Florida. She was a first-team All-American a ...

. On August 12, 2008 McWilliams-Franklin was traded to the Detroit Shock for

Tasha Humphrey Tasha Humphrey (born December 29, 1985) is a professional basketball player. She played the center position for the Washington Mystics in the WNBA until being waived 6 July 2009. Her father was former Green Bay Packers player Donnie Humphrey. ...

Eshaya Murphy Eshaya "Shay" Murphy (born April 15, 1985) is an American professional basketball player. Born in Canoga Park, California, Murphy attended college at USC and graduated in 2007. Following her collegiate career, she was selected 15th overall in th ...

, and a second round pick in the 2009 WNBA draft. Following the trade, McWilliams-Franklin won her first WNBA championship with the Shock as they defeated the

San Antonio Silver Stars The San Antonio Stars were a professional basketball team based in San Antonio, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded in Salt Lake City, Utah, as the Utah Starzz before the ...

in a 3-game sweep. On April 22, 2010, McWilliams-Franklin signed a free agent deal with the

New York Liberty The New York Liberty are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Liberty compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as part of the league's Eastern Conference. The team was f ...

. She was targeted as a key

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 ...

acquisition by Minnesota Lynx head coach

Cheryl Reeve Cheryl Reeve (born September 20, 1966) is an American basketball head coach and President of Basketball Operations for the Minnesota Lynx of the WNBA. Reeve has coached the Lynx to four league championships. In WNBA history, she has the highest ...

prior to the 2011 season. McWilliams-Frankin played as the team's starting center throughout the season, averaging 7.0 rebounds per game and 11.6 points per game. Lynx

Assistant Coach A sports coach is a person coaching in sport, involved in the direction, instruction and training of a sports team or athlete. History The original sense of the word ''coach'' is that of a Coach (carriage), horse-drawn carriage, deriving ultima ...

Jim Petersen James Richard Petersen (born February 22, 1962) is an American former professional basketball player, and a current television analyst with the Minnesota Timberwolves. From 2009 to 2017 he served as an assistant coach and later associate head coac ...

credited McWilliams-Franklin with having an outsize impact on the team both on and off the court, saying, "You can talk all you want about the things she has done on the floor, but it is in the locker room, in the scouting reports, in the film sessions and just even around the airport -- she's somebody to talk to that has been there and done that. She has seen it all." Teammate

Candice Wiggins Candice Dana Wiggins (born February 14, 1987) is an American former professional basketball player. Wiggins played college basketball at Stanford University, where she graduated as the all-time leading scorer in Stanford and Pac-10 women's basket ...

agreed, noting that the team had nicknamed her "Mama Taj", and that "she is like a coach, a big sister for us, off the court and on. She has taken us all in. We are like her little chickies and she is the mother hen." Despite her age, McWilliams-Franklin was a key contributor to the Lynx's 2011 WNBA championship. She started 33 of 34 games during the regular season, and during the playoffs led her team in points once and assists three times, the last despite playing with a knee

sprain A sprain, also known as a torn ligament, is an acute soft tissue injury of the ligaments within a joint, often caused by a sudden movement abruptly forcing the joint to exceed its functional range of motion. Ligaments are tough, inelastic fibers ...

. As of 2017, she remains the oldest player in league history to win a championship. McWilliams-Franklin came back for the 2012 season. Her longevity and talent earned her the career record for offensive rebounds in August, passing

Yolanda Griffith Yolanda Evette Griffith (born March 1, 1970) is an American professional basketball hall of fame player who played in both the ABL and WNBA. A former WNBA MVP, she is considered one of the greatest rebounders and defensive players in the history ...

. On October 4, 2012, McWilliams-Franklin played in her 59th postseason game, the most of any player in league history. McWilliams-Franklin retired at the end of the 2012 season, though in a 2013 interview, she said she had not completely ruled out a comeback as a player in 2014. Born Taj McWilliams, she married Reggie Franklin in 2000 and assumed a hyphenate surname.

WNBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , align="left" ,

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

, align="left" ,

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rele ...

, 32 , , 32 , , 32.6 , , .480 , , .444 , , .667 , , 7.5 , , 1.6 , , 1.8 , , 1.2 , , 2.5 , , 13.1 , - , align="left" ,

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

, align="left" ,

, 32 , , 32 , , 34.3 , , .524 , , .294 , , .713 , , 7.6 , , 1.7 , , 1.8 , , 1.0 , , 2.5 , , 13.7 , - , align="left" ,

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

, align="left" ,

, 32 , , 32 , , 33.1 , , .474 , , .200 , , .744 , , 7.6 , , 2.2 , , 1.6 , , 1.6 , , 2.5 , , 12.6 , - , align="left" ,

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

, align="left" ,

, 13 , , 12 , , 29.5 , , .500 , , .333 , , .871 , , 4.8 , , 1.0 , , 1.5 , , 1.1 , , 1.6 , , 8.5 , - , align="left" ,

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

, align="left" ,

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 ...

, 34 , , 34 , , 28.9 , , .442 , , .279 , , .745 , , 6.7 , , 1.4 , , 1.3 , , 1.0 , , 1.5 , , 10.4 , - , align="left" ,

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

, align="left" ,

, 34 , , 34 , , 33.3 , , .477 , , .000 , , .602 , , 7.2 , , 1.9 , , 1.4 , , 1.3 , , 2.1 , , 12.1 , - , align="left" ,

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

, align="left" ,

, 34 , , 34 , , 31.9 , , .495 , , .222 , , .787 , , 7.3 , , 1.9 , , 1.1 , , 0.7 , , 1.7 , , 13.9 , - , align="left" ,

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

, align="left" ,

, 32 , , 32 , , 31.0 , , .498 , , .125 , , .736 , , 9.6 , , 2.5 , , 1.1 , , 1.0 , , 2.4 , , 12.8 , - , align="left" ,

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

, align="left" ,

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' ...

, 29 , , 27 , , 29.3 , , .490 , , .231 , , .773 , , 5.9 , , 1.7 , , 1.2 , , 1.0 , , 1.7 , , 11.1 , - , align="left" ,

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; ...

* , align="left" ,

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, 26 , , 26 , , 33.2 , , .525 , , .280 , , .730 , , 7.3 , , 1.6 , , 1.7 , , 1.0 , , 2.8 , , 13.3 , - , align="left" ,

* , align="left" ,

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 ...

, 7 , , 7 , , 26.4 , , .422 , , 1.000 , , .909 , , 6.7 , , 1.9 , , 0.4 , , 0.7 , , 1.2 , , 10.7 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;",

^† , align="left" , Total , 33 , , 33 , , 31.7 , , .506 , , .308 , , .776 , , 7.2 , , 1.6 , , 1.4 , , 0.9 , , 2.5 , , 12.8 , - , align="left" ,

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 ...

, align="left" ,

, 34 , , 34 , , 30.4 , , .491 , , .200 , , .750 , , 6.6 , , 2.9 , , 1.0 , , 0.5 , , 1.9 , , 9.8 , - , align="left" ,

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, align="left" ,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, 34 , , 34 , , 29.2 , , .511 , , .261 , , .826 , , 5.4 , , 2.0 , , 1.4 , , 0.9 , , 1.5 , , 10.6 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;",

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" ,

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 ...

, 34 , , 33 , , 28.4 , , .444 , , .222 , , .770 , , 6.0 , , 2.4 , , 1.0 , , 0.7 , , 1.5 , , 8.3 , - , 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 ...

, align="left" ,

, 33 , , 33 , , 26.6 , , .519 , , .400 , , .750 , , 5.4 , , 2.5 , , 1.0 , , 1.3 , , 2.0 , , 8.4 , - , align="left" , Career , align="left" , 14 years, 7 teams , 440 , , 436 , , 30.8 , , .489 , , .279 , , .737 , , 6.8 , , 2.0 , , 1.3 , , 1.0 , , 2.1 , , 11.4

Postseason

, - , align="left" ,

, align="left" ,

, 3 , , 3 , , 35.7 , , .474 , , .000 , , .778 , , 7.7 , , 1.7 , , 0.7 , , 1.0 , , 1.6 , , 14.3 , - , align="left" ,

, align="left" ,

, 4 , , 4 , , 30.5 , , .511 , , .200 , , .941 , , 7.5 , , 1.3 , , 1.5 , , 0.5 , , 1.5 , , 16.3 , - , align="left" ,

, align="left" ,

, 8 , , 8 , , 31.5 , , .402 , , .500 , , .667 , , 7.4 , , 1.9 , , 1.5 , , 0.8 , , 1.6 , , 10.4 , - , align="left" ,

, align="left" ,

, 8 , , 8 , , 35.5 , , .511 , , .333 , , .789 , , 9.4 , , 1.6 , , 1.1 , , 1.4 , , 2.0 , , 15.9 , - , align="left" ,

, align="left" ,

, 5 , , 5 , , 32.6 , , .429 , , .000 , , .667 , , 9.4 , , 2.2 , , 0.4 , , 0.8 , , 1.8 , , 12.8 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;",

^† , align="left" ,

, 9 , , 9 , , 32.6 , , .490 , , .500 , , .864 , , 7.0 , , 2.1 , , 1.0 , , 1.3 , , 1.8 , , 12.9 , - , align="left" ,

, align="left" ,

, 5 , , 5 , , 26.8 , , .643 , , 1.000 , , .500 , , 4.4 , , 1.8 , , 1.0 , , 0.4 , , 2.6 , , 7.6 , - , align="left" ,

, align="left" ,

, 5 , , 5 , , 30.4 , , .447 , , .000 , , .727 , , 8.6 , , 2.6 , , 0.6 , , 1.0 , , 3.0 , , 8.4 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;",

^† , align="left" ,

, 8 , , 8 , , 30.3 , , .455 , , .000 , , .833 , , 5.3 , , 3.3 , , 0.6 , , 1.2 , , 2.2 , , 10.6 , - , align="left" ,

, align="left" ,

, 9 , , 9 , , 27.0 , , .379 , , .000 , , .692 , , 4.2 , , 2.2 , , 0.7 , , 1.4 , , 1.3 , , 5.9 , - , align="left" , Career , align="left" , 10 years, 6 teams , 64 , , 64 , , 31.1 , , .465 , , .250 , , .783 , , 6.9 , , 2.1 , , 0.9 , , 1.1 , , 1.9 , , 11.2

Overseas career

McWilliams-Franklin began her playing career overseas. She played in Wolfenbuettel, Germany (1993–94);

Contern Contern ( ) is a commune and town in southern Luxembourg. It is located east of Luxembourg City. As of , the town of Contern, which lies in the south-west of the commune, has a population of . The main towns are Contern, Moutfort, Oetrange and M ...

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

(1994–95); and

Galilee Galilee (; he, הַגָּלִיל, hagGālīl; ar, الجليل, al-jalīl) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon. Galilee traditionally refers to the mountainous part, divided into Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and Lower Galil ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

(1995–96). She also spent the off-season in 1999–2001 playing in a professional league in Italy for Familia Schio. After the birth of her daughter, she went to Spain to play for Puig D'En Valls, Ibiza in 2003. Next she played for

Brno Brno ( , ; german: Brünn ) is a city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers, Brno has about 380,000 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in the Czech Republic ...

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

in 2004, and Lavezzini Parma (Italy) in 2005. In the winter of 2005, McWilliams-Franklin played in the

Women's Korean Basketball League The Women's Korean Basketball League (WKBL) (Hangul: 한국여자프로농구) is the premier professional women's basketball league in South Korea. The league was established in 1998. Current clubs See also * Korean Basketball League Th ...

with the Ansan Shinhan Bank S-Birds, and toured Australia, matching up with

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 ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. After the Korean season, she went to Salamanca, Spain, where she won a title, beating Barcelona in five games. She played half a season in Spartak Region, Moscow, Russia, then returned to the Ansan Shinhan Bank S-Birds in Korea for the Women's Korean Basketball League in 2006. She won the Korean title and was MVP of the finals in 2007 Winter League, beating the Yongin Samsung Bichumi and Lauren Jackson. After having knee surgery in the 2007 offseason, she played in the winter of 2007 in Israel. In 2008, she played for

Galatasaray Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (, ''Galatasaray Sports Club'') is a Turkish sports club based on the European side of the city of Istanbul in Turkey. Most notable for its association football department, the club also consists of various other de ...

, Turkey, which won the Turkish President's Cup. In the winter of 2009, she returned to Famila Schio Beretta. She then returned to Brno for the whole season of 2009–2010. In 2011, she played with the Spanish club

Ros Casares Valencia Ros Casares Godella was a professional women's basketball team based in Godella, Spain. It played in the Liga Femenina de Baloncesto between 1996 and 2012, when it resigned to play in EuroLeague and Spanish League. It continued playing in Primera ...

on a short-term deal, and finished out the season with the

WBC Spartak Moscow Region Women's Basketball Club Sparta&K is a women's basketball team based in Vidnoye, Russia that plays in FIBA’s EuroLeague Women. History It won the 2005–06 EuroCup Women and the 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09 and 2009–10 EuroLeague Women ...

team that finished second in Euroleague Women. In 2012, she signed with Wisła Can-Pack Kraków. In January 2014, at the age of 43, she returned to the courts to play in Portugal, with CAB Madeira.

Honors

– 2007 Winter League Finals MVP * 2007–2008 Turkish Presidents Cup winner with

Coaching career

In May 2012, it was announced that McWilliams-Franklin would join the

Rice University William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranke ...

coaching staff as an assistant to head coach Greg Williams. She was to join the team after the conclusion of the WNBA season. While there was speculation that this meant McWilliams-Franklin would retire at the end of the 2012 season, McWilliams-Franklin made no formal announcement, saying only that she was "looking forward to becoming a contributing member of hestaff." In March 2013, after formally retiring, McWilliams-Franklin joined the

as an assistant coach under Bill Laimbeer. After leaving the New York Liberty in October 2013, McWilliams-Franklin became an assistant coach for

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

's Women's Basketball team in July 2014. In May 2015, she was named the head coach for Post University women's basketball. In 2017 she was hired as an assistant coach for the

Dallas Wings The Dallas Wings are an American basketball team based in Arlington, Texas. The Wings play in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team is owned by a group which is led by chairman Bill Cameron. Greg ...

. On August 12, 2018, McWilliams-Franklin was named interim head coach for the

following the dismissal of head coach Fred Williams. During the off-season, McWilliams-Franklin was not retained.

Brian Agler Brian Agler (born August 2, 1958) is an American women's professional basketball coach. He previously coached the Dallas Wings from 2019 to 2020. He also had previously been head coach of the Seattle Storm and the Los Angeles Sparks, each of whom ...

was hired from the

to become the team's new head coach.

Head coaching record

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, align="left" ,

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Personal life

McWilliams-Franklin was born in

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the county seat, seat of El Paso County, Texas, El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau w ...

. She has three daughters, and is married to Reginald Franklin. She lives in the San Antonio area. McWilliams-Franklin was a

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. Di ...

during some of her time as a player. In a 2008 article, she said, "I just wanted to make sure I had a healthy body because I wanted to continue playing for a longer period than most of my peers."

References

External links