DeLisha Milton-Jones

Delisha Milton-Jones

DeLisha Milton-Jones at the 2007
WNBA All-Star game.
No. 1 – Atlanta Dream
Position Forward
League WNBA
Personal information
Born September 11, 1974
Riceboro, Georgia
Nationality American
Listed height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Listed weight 185 lb (84 kg)
Career information
High school Bradwell Institute (Hinesville, Georgia)
College Florida (1993–1997)
NBA draft 1999 / Round: Supplemental / Pick: 4th overall
Selected by the Los Angeles Sparks
Pro career 1999–present
Career history
1999–2004 Los Angeles Sparks
2005–2007 Washington Mystics
2008–2012 Los Angeles Sparks
2013 San Antonio Silver Stars
2013–2014 New York Liberty
2014–present Atlanta Dream
Career highlights and awards

DeLisha Lachell Milton-Jones (born September 11, 1974), née DeLisha Lachell Milton, is an American professional basketball player for the Atlanta Dream of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Milton-Jones played college basketball for the University of Florida. In her sixteen-season WNBA career, she has played for the Washington Mystics, the Los Angeles Sparks (twice), the San Antonio Stars, and the New York Liberty. She is a two-time Olympic gold medalist and a two-time WNBA champion, and has been selected to the WNBA All-Star Game three times. As of the 2014 season, she is the oldest active player in the WNBA.

Early years

Milton-Jones was born in Riceboro, Georgia in 1974. According to a DNA analysis, she descended, mainly, from Yoruba people and Hausa people of Nigeria.[1] She attended Bradwell Institute in Hinesville, Georgia, where she played high school basketball for the Bradwell Tigers. Milton-Jones graduated from Bradwell in 1993.

College career

Milton-Jones accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where she played for coach Carol Ross's Florida Gators women's basketball team from 1993 to 1997. She was a four-year letterman, and led the Lady Gators to four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. As a senior in 1996–97, she was recognized as an All-American by the Associated Press, Kodak and the Basketball Times; she was also the winner of the Wade Trophy, recognizing the best women's basketball player in NCAA Division I.[2]

Milton-Jones was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 2007.[3][4]

USA Basketball

Milton-Jones represented the USA at the 1997 World University Games held in Marsala, Sicily, Italy in August 1997. The USA team won all six games, earning the gold medal at the event. Milton-Jones averaged 10.3 points per game and recorded 14 steals, second highest on the team.[5]

Milton-Jones was named to the U.S. national team in 1998. The national team traveled to Berlin, Germany in July and August 1998 for the FIBA World Championships. The U.S. team won a close opening game against Japan 95–89, then won their next six games easily. In the semifinal game against Brazil, the U.S. team was behind as much as ten points in the first half, but the U.S. team went on to win 93–79. The gold medal game was a rematch against Russia. In the first game, the Americans dominated almost from the beginning, but in the rematch, the Russian team took the early lead and led much of the way. With under two minutes remaining, the U.S. team was down by two points but the Americans responded, then held on to win the gold medal 71–65. Milton-Jones averaged 7.1 points per game.[6]

Milton-Jones is well known for the unusual length of her arms, which give her an eighty-four inch wingspan—typical of that of a seven-foot person. She was a member of the U.S. national women's basketball teams that won the gold medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia and the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China,[7] as well as the U.S. women's teams that won world championships in 1998 and 2002.

Professional career

In the WNBA, she played for the Los Angeles Sparks from 1999 to 2004. She was traded to the Washington Mystics in exchange for Chamique Holdsclaw and a first-round draft pick in the 2004 off-season. In 2003, she won the Euroleague Championship with team Ekaterinburg in Russia. In the 2005–06 season, she won the Euroleague with Gambrinus Brno of the Czech Republic and for the season 2006–07 she signed a two-year contract with Ros Casares Valencia of Spain. During the 2008–2009 WNBA off-season, Milton-Jones played for Ros Casares Valencia in Spain.[8] for whom she also played during the 2007-08 off-season.[9]

She is a two-time WNBA champion and has been selected to the WNBA All Star Game multiple times. In her WNBA career, she has scored 3,944 career points (16th all-time). On April 22, 2008, Milton-Jones was reacquired by the Los Angeles Sparks in a trade for Taj McWilliams-Franklin.[10]

She played for the San Antonio Silver Stars of the WNBA in 2013 before being released and then signed by the New York Liberty. On July 9, 2014, Milton-Jones was traded to the Atlanta Dream in exchange for Swin Cash

Currently she is playing for Tarsus Belediyespor in Mersin Turkey.

Coaching career

She became the second woman (after Ashley McElhiney) to coach a men's professional basketball team when, in 2005, she took over the ABA's Los Angeles Stars.

She appeared in the 2000 movie Love and Basketball as Delisha Milton. In her free time, she likes to relax by cooking, cleaning and playing tennis.

Europe

Awards and honors

Milton-Jones has received numerous awards and honors, some of which are listed below.

Gold Medals

Bronze Medal

Collegiate honors

WNBA career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game  RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game  BPG  Blocks per game
 PPG  Points per game  TO  Turnovers per game  FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage  Bold  Career high League leader

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
1999 Los Angeles 32 32 26.1 .530 .000 .791 5.5 1.6 1.5 0.5 2.22 9.9
2000 Los Angeles 32 32 30.7 .512 .250 .745 6.1 2.1 1.4 0.9 2.09 11.8
2001 Los Angeles 32 27 29.3 .453 .343 .794 5.3 2.1 1.5 0.9 1.81 10.3
2002 Los Angeles 32 25 30.2 .487 .420 .740 6.6 1.4 1.6 1.1 2.94 11.3
2003 Los Angeles 31 30 35.0 .424 .377 .804 7.1 2.1 1.6 1.3 2.55 13.4
2004 Los Angeles 19 19 31.8 .404 .297 .726 4.7 1.6 1.2 0.5 2.53 9.8
2005 Washington 33 30 32.4 .417 .328 .798 5.2 1.8 1.7 0.5 2.27 11.9
2006 Washington 23 20 29.3 .472 .430 .810 4.9 2.1 1.5 0.7 2.91 14.6
2007 Washington 34 34 33.6 .349 .235 .845 6.4 1.6 1.5 1.1 3.56 13.4
2008 Los Angeles 31 31 32.8 .480 .358 .774 6.3 2.4 1.1 0.6 3.09 13.9
2009 Los Angeles 33 33 31.6 .401 .293 .757 4.8 2.2 1.2 0.2 2.24 10.2
2010 Los Angeles 34 34 32.2 .470 .317 .866 4.7 2.5 1.1 0.6 2.82 15.4
2011 Los Angeles 34 34 26.2 .462 .352 .831 4.6 2.0 0.9 0.4 2.44 11.7
Career 13 years, 2 teams 401 381 30.8 .446 .332 .795 5.6 2.0 1.4 0.7 2.57 12.1

Postseason

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
1999 Los Angeles 4 4 31.8 .450 .000 .429 5.3 2.5 1.8 1.5 1.25 9.8
2000 Los Angeles 4 4 34.0 .541 .000 .833 5.5 3.0 1.5 0.5 2.50 12.5
2001 Los Angeles 7 7 32.3 .547 .375 .684 6.3 2.9 1.0 1.4 1.57 12.3
2002 Los Angeles 6 3 34.0 .450 .563 .938 6.8 1.3 1.7 1.5 1.83 13.0
2003 Los Angeles 9 9 37.6 .443 .556 .771 6.3 2.8 1.9 1.4 2.22 14.6
2006 Washington 2 2 34.5 .379 .444 1.000 9.0 2.5 1.5 0.5 3.00 14.0
2008 Los Angeles 6 6 34.3 .407 .357 .733 6.0 1.8 1.3 0.7 2.17 10.7
2009 Los Angeles 6 6 31.7 .351 .308 .625 5.8 2.5 1.7 0.2 2.17 9.0
2010 Los Angeles 2 2 35.5 .360 1.000 .500 8.5 1.0 0.5 0.5 2.50 10.5
Career 9 years, 2 teams 46 43 34.0 .442 .456 .738 6.3 2.3 1.5 1.0 2.04 12.0

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5UtsdBCSyU DeLisha Milton Jones Ancestry Reveal
  2. ↑ "The Wade Trophy". Women's Basketball Coaches Association. Retrieved 30 Jun 2014.
  3. ↑ F Club, Hall of Fame, Gator Greats. Retrieved December 13, 2014.
  4. ↑ "Nine Members Inducted Into University of Florida Athletics Hall of Fame," GatorZone.com (April 13, 2007). Retrieved July 21, 2011.
  5. ↑ "EIGHTEENTH WORLD UNIVERSITY GAMES -- 1997". USA Basketball. Retrieved 27 Oct 2013.
  6. ↑ "Thirteenth World Championship For Women -- 1998". USA Basketball. Retrieved 13 Oct 2013.
  7. ↑ Sports-Reference.com, Olympic Sports, Athletes, DeLisha Milton-Jones. Retrieved September 12, 2011.
  8. ↑ Offseason 2008-09: Overseas Roster
  9. ↑ Offseason 2007-08: Overseas Roster
  10. ↑ Milton-Jones traded back to the Sparks for McWilliams-Franklin

External links