Kia Vaughn

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Kia Vaughn
Fenerbahçe Istanbul
2019–2020Elazığ İl Özel İdarespor
2020–2021Phoenix Mercury
2022Atlanta Dream
Career highlights and awards
Stats at WNBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Kia Vaughn (born January 24, 1987) is an American-born former professional basketball player. She last played for the Atlanta Dream of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)[1] She attended high school at St. Michael's All Girls High School in New York, and later went on to star at Rutgers University.[2]

High school

Born in

street ball player at Rucker Park.[3] She participated in the 2005 WBCA High School All-America Game where she scored two points.[4]

College

Vaughn attended Rutgers University from 2006 to 2009, playing under legendary coach C. Vivian Stringer. She helped Rutgers to a perfect 16–0 record in the Big East conference her freshman year, averaging 6.3 points per game and 7 rebounds a game. During her sophomore season, she was named the All-Met Division I Women's College Basketball Player of the Year. She averaged 12.8 points per game, 9.3 rebounds per game, and 2.5 blocks per game.[5] That year, she helped lead the Rutgers women's basketball team to a Big East Conference championship. The Lady Scarlet Knights lost to the Tennessee Lady Vols in the NCAA championship game.[6]

Vaughn continued to excel in her junior season, garnering Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association All-Met First Team honors along with being named to the All Big-East second team. She averaged 10 points per game and 8.2 rebounds per game on the season. Her senior campaign was solid, but a little underwhelming as she averaged only 9.7 points per game 6.7 rebounds per game.[5] Nevertheless, she was named All-Big East Honorable Mention at the season's conclusion.[7]

Rutgers statistics

Source[8]

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
Year Team GP Points FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2005-06 Rutgers 32 200 53.6 - 53.5 7.0 0.2 0.6 2.1 6.3
2006-07 Rutgers 36 462 55.7 100.0 67.8 9.3 0.6 1.1 2.6 12.8
2007-08 Rutgers 34 339 54.9 - 47.5 8.3 0.8 0.9 1.7 10.0
2008-09 Rutgers 33 328 58.5 - 44.1 7.2 0.8 1.1 1.9 9.9
Career Rutgers 135 1329 55.9 100.0 55.9 8.0 0.6 0.9 2.1 9.8

USA Basketball

Vaughn was also a member of the Championship winning 2006 USA National Team

Americas U20 Championship for Women
in Mexico City, Mexico. Kia averaged 12 points and 3 rebounds in 5 games.

Professional career

WNBA

Vaughn was drafted 8th overall in the 2009 WNBA draft by her home state team, the New York Liberty. In her first two seasons with the Liberty, she was a reserve on the team's roster. In her third season with the Liberty, she was the starting center for the team and averaged career-highs in scoring and rebounding. For these efforts, she would win the 2011 WNBA Most Improved Player Award. In her fourth season with the Liberty, Vaughn became a role player on the roster, playing 31 games with 17 starts. Upon the 2013 season, Vaughn was a restricted free agent and was traded to the Washington Mystics along with a 2013 first round pick in exchange for the seventh overall pick in the 2013 WNBA draft.[9]

In her first season with the Mystics, she was a role player on the roster and then would be upgraded in the Mystics' starting lineup the following year at the five spot. In 2015, Vaughn would have an injury-riddled season, she missed the first half of the season due to a concussion, she made her return in the beginning of August and played 20 games.[10] In the 2016 season, Vaughn would be fully healthy, playing all 34 games with 4 starts. In January 2017, the New York Liberty re-acquired Vaughan in a three-team trade deal that sent teammate Bria Hartley also to the Liberty, Carolyn Swords along with the 15th overall pick in the 2017 WNBA draft to the Seattle Storm and the Mystics receiving two 2017 first round draft picks from the Storm.[11]

In February 2018, Vaughn re-signed with the Liberty.[12]

Vaughn did not play in the 2019 WNBA season, choosing to focus on her season in Turkey.[13]

Vaughn signed with the Phoenix Mercury for the 2020 season.[14] She would re-sign with the team in 2021.[15]

On August 14, 2022, Vaughn announced her retirement.[16]

Overseas

From 2012 to 2015, Vaughn played three off-seasons in

Fenerbahçe Istanbul of the Turkish Super League for the 2017-18 off-season.[19]

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 best ° League leader

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2009 New York 34 1 11.6 .493 .000 .500 2.6 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.9 4.8
2010 New York 30 0 8.1 .348 1.000 .650 1.4 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.6 2.1
2011 New York 34 34 28.1 .497 .000 .786 6.7 1.1 1.2 0.7 1.8 10.1
2012 New York 31 17 22.9 .430 .000 .656 5.0 0.9 0.5 0.8 1.0 6.5
2013 Washington 34 15 20.0 .425 .000 .761 5.2 0.6 0.7 1.1 1.5 6.9
2014 Washington 33 33 24.1 .458 .000 .634 6.3 1.2 0.9 0.5 1.4 9.0
2015 Washington 20 1 17.8 .451 .000 .667 4.2 1.0 0.4 0.4 1.3 5.7
2016 Washington 34 4 19.8 .503 .000 .750 4.3 0.6 0.6 0.5 0.9 6.3
2017 New York 28 22 19.6 .536 .000 .583 4.9 0.7 0.4 0.4 0.8 5.8
2018 New York 29 27 18.3 .533 .000 .643 4.0 0.7 0.7 0.2 1.0 5.7
2020 Phoenix 22 10 18.9 .488 .000 .579 3.6 1.5 0.5 0.3 1.5 6.1
2021 Phoenix 28 2 15.8 .444 .000 .600 2.7 1.3 0.2 0.2 1.3 4.6
2022 Atlanta 29 1 13.8 .400 .000 .692 3.2 0.9 0.3 0.3 1.1 2.5
Career 13 years, 4 teams 386 167 18.5 .468 .100 .668 4.2 0.8 0.5 0.5 1.2 5.9

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2010 New York 5 0 15.6 .625 .000 .462 3.0 0.6 0.0 0.6 1.0 5.2
2011 New York 3 3 26.0 .571 .000 .900 6.3 1.3 1.0 0.3 1.0 8.3
2012 New York 2 0 22.5 .417 .000 1.000 8.5 1.0 0.0 0.5 1.5 5.5
2013 Washington 3 3 24.7 .462 .000 .000 5.0 0.7 0.7 0.7 1.3 8.0
2014 Washington 2 2 23.0 .300 .000 .500 5.0 0.5 0.5 0.0 2.0 3.5
2015 Washington 3 0 16.7 .538 .000 .833 4.3 0.3 0.0 0.0 0.7 6.3
2017 New York 1 1 15.0 .000 .000 .000 5.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 2.0 0.0
2020 Phoenix 2 2 31.5 .478 .000 .000 6.0 0.5 0.0 0.0 1.0 11.0
2021 Phoenix 11 0 12.8 .288 .000 1.000 2.2 1.2 0.4 0.0 1.1 2.9
Career 9 years, 3 teams 32 11 18.4 .423 .000 .706 4.1 0.8 0.3 0.2 1.2 5.2

Litigation

On August 14, 2007 Vaughn, one of the women involved in the controversial remarks made earlier that year by

defamation of character. Vaughn was the only player to pursue legal damages brought on by the controversy.[20] Vaughn dropped the lawsuit against Imus on September 11, 2007, citing her desire to "concentrate on her studies and basketball training."[21][22]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kia Vaughn.
  1. ^ "Kia Vaughn Playerfile". WNBA. Archived from the original on July 21, 2009. Retrieved August 7, 2009.
  2. Daily News (New York)
    , May 18, 2009. Accessed August 7, 2009.
  3. ^ Braziller, Zach (December 21, 2013). "Hoops scion Vaughn making a name for himself".
  4. ^ "WBCA High School All-America Game Box Scores". Women's Basketball Coaches Association. Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
  5. ^ a b "Prospect: Kia Vaughn". WNBA. Archived from the original on July 14, 2009. Retrieved August 7, 2009.
  6. ^ "Prospect: Rutgers Women's Basketball History". Rutgers University. Archived from the original on March 30, 2009. Retrieved August 7, 2009.
  7. ^ Mehta, Manish (March 5, 2009). "Rutgers guard Epiphanny Prince earns first-team All-Big East honors for second straight season". www.nj.com. Archived from the original on March 7, 2009. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
  8. ^ "Women's Basketball Player stats". NCAA. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
  9. ^ Lee, Albert (February 27, 2013). "Mystics acquire Kia Vaughn from the Liberty". Swish Appeal.
  10. ^ Bullock, Chris (August 1, 2015). "Kia Vaughn gives Mystics a dominant force in paint". Swish Appeal.
  11. ^ "Vaughn And Hartley to New York, Swords to Seattle in Three-Team Trade". WNBA.com - Official Site of the WNBA.
  12. ^ Bria Hartley, Kia Vaughn re-sign with Liberty
  13. ^ "Kia Vaughn WNBA Stats & News". www.rotowire.com. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
  14. ^ "Kia Vaughn Chooses Phoenix in Free Agency". WNBA.com. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
  15. ^ "Kia Vaughn Set To Return To Phoenix Mercury". WNBA.com - Official Site of the WNBA.
  16. ^ Koons, Zach (August 14, 2022). "Longtime WNBA Veteran Kia Vaughn Announces Retirement". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
  17. ^ "Gamecenter Player Profile". Archived from the original on December 27, 2015.
  18. ^ "2016-2017 WNBA Overseas Signings". Archived from the original on September 30, 2017. Retrieved February 2, 2017.
  19. ^ "Basketball News, Scores, Stats, Analysis, Standings". www.eurobasket.com.
  20. ^ "ABC News:Rutgers' Player sues Imus, NBC, CBS". ABC News. August 2007. Retrieved August 14, 2007.
  21. ^ "Rutgers' Vaughn withdraws lawsuit against Imus, CBS". USA Today. Associated Press. September 12, 2007. Retrieved September 12, 2007.
  22. E! Online. Archived from the original
    on December 17, 2007. Retrieved September 14, 2007.
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