Ariel Atkins

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Ariel Atkins
Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Listed height5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Listed weight167 lb (76 kg)
Career information
High schoolDuncanville (Duncanville, Texas)
CollegeTexas (2014–2018)
WNBA draft2018: 1st round, 7th overall pick
Selected by the Washington Mystics
Playing career2018–present
Coaching career2023–present
Career history
As player:
2018–presentWashington Mystics
2018–2019InvestInTheWest ENEA Gorzów
2019–2020Perth Lynx
2020Elazığ İl Özel İdarespor
As coach:
2023–presentMichigan
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Women's basketball
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2020 Tokyo Team
World Cup
Gold medal – first place 2022 Australia

Ariel Atkins (born July 30, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for the Washington Mystics of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). In addition to her playing career, she serves as a player development coach at the University of Michigan.[1]during the off-season.

Drafted 7th overall by the Washington Mystics in the 2018 WNBA draft, Atkins quickly established herself as a key player. She helped lead the Mystics to the WNBA Finals in her debut season and was a pivotal figure in their 2019 WNBA Championship victory. Atkins' defensive prowess earned her 4 selections to the WNBA All-Defensive Team so far in her career.

College

Born in

Dallas, Texas, Atkins attended Duncanville in Duncanville, Texas. She played college basketball at the University of Texas
, where she was recognized for her athletic performance.

Career

At the 2018 WNBA draft, Atkins was drafted by the Washington Mystics in the first round, as the seventh overall pick.[2] Atkins would join a Mystics line-up alongside players such as Elena Delle Donne, Kristi Toliver & Natasha Cloud. In August 2018, Atkins was named to the All-Defensive Second Team in her debut season.[3] Later in September 2018, Atkins was also named to the All-Rookie Team.[4]

On October 10, 2019, Atkins and the Mystics took home their first WNBA Championship after defeating the Connecticut Sun, 3–2.[5] In September 2020, Atkins was named to the All-Defensive Second Team for the third time in her three career seasons.[6]

In August 2023, Atkins signed a multi-year extension to stay in Washington with the Mystics.[7]

Atkins has also played internationally. She spent the 2018–19 season with InvestInTheWest ENEA Gorzów Wielkopolski in Poland and played for the Perth Lynx in Australia during the 2019–20 off-season.

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 best ° League leader

College

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2014–15 Texas 27 19 23.9 .363 .288 .825 3.4 1.3 1.2 0.2 2.2 9.7
2015–16 Texas 27 14 21.0 .536 .356 .819 3.9 1.3 1.3 0.2 1.4 11.2
2016–17 Texas 32 32 26.6 .456 .377 .818 4.2 1.6 2.0 0.3 1.4 12.8
2017–18 Texas 35 35 27.7 .534 .420 .859 5.5 3.2 2.5 0.6 2.0 14.9
Career 4 years, 1 team 121 100 25.1 .475 .373 .831 4.3 1.9 1.8 0.4 1.7 12.4

WNBA Regular Season

† Denotes seasons in which Atkins won a WNBA championship
‡ WNBA record
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2018 Washington 29 24 22.5 .432 .357 .824 2.4 2.1 1.3 0.3 1.3 11.3
2019† Washington 33 33 24.3 .416 .357 .811 2.8 1.9 1.5 0.5 1.0 10.3
2020 Washington 22 22 31.0 .438 .411 .886 2.9 2.4 1.8 0.3 1.9 14.8
2021 Washington 30 30 30.6 .407 .359 .831 2.8 2.6 1.6 0.5 2.0 16.2
2022 Washington 36 36 30.0 .420 .365 .845 3.3 2.3 1.4 0.3 1.4 14.6
2023 Washington 27 27 25.1 .414 .339 .897 3.1 2.3 1.2 0.3 1.3 11.5
Career 6 years, 1 team 177 172 27.2 .420 .363 .849 2.9 2.3 1.4 0.4 1.5 13.1

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2018 Washington 9 9 27.9 .480 .424 .879 3.7 1.9 1.1 0.1 0.8 15.2
2019† Washington 9 9 19.8 .373 .333 .929 2.7 2.3 0.8 0.0 1.2 7.3
2020 Washington 1 1 36.0 .375 .000 1.000 4.0 4.0 2.0 0.0 0.0 13.0
2022 Washington 2 2 33.0 .379 .500 1.000 1.5 5.5 0.5 0.0 1.0 15.5
2023 Washington 2 2 33.5 .345 .250 1.000 5.5 3.0 2.0 1.5 1.5 13.5
Career 5 years, 1 team 23 23 26.0 .416 .371 .907 3.3 2.6 1.1 0.2 1.0 11.9

References

  1. ^ "Ariel Atkins joins Michigan women's basketball staff". Slam Hoops.
  2. ^ "MYSTICS SELECT ATKINS IN 2018 WNBA DRAFT". mystics.wnba.com.
  3. ^ "Defensive POY Alana Beard Leads 2018 All-Defensive First Team". wnba.com.
  4. ^ "Diamond DeShields, A'ja Wilson Headline 2018 WNBA All-Rookie Team". wnba.com.
  5. ^ "Bringing It Home: Delle Donne, Mystics Earn First WNBA Crown". wnba.com.
  6. ^ "Two Atlanta Dream Players And Seattle Storm's Alysha Clark Headline 2020 WNBA All-Defensive Team". wnba.com.
  7. ^ "Ariel Atkins Signs Multi-Year Extension". mystics.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved 16 August 2023.

External links

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