Brianna Turner (born July 5, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Sky of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and for the Adelaide Lightning of the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). She played college women's basketball for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish women's basketball team at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. She is a native of Pearland, Texas.[1]

Brianna Turner
Turner was MVP of the 2014 McDonald's All-American Game
No. 21 – Adelaide Lightning
PositionPower forward
LeagueWNBL
Personal information
Born (1996-07-05) July 5, 1996 (age 28)
Pearland, Texas, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight170 lb (77 kg)
Career information
High schoolManvel (Manvel, Texas)
CollegeNotre Dame (2014–2019)
WNBA draft2019: 1st round, 11th overall pick
Selected by the Atlanta Dream
Playing career2019–present
Career history
20192024Phoenix Mercury
2019–2020Adelaide Lightning
2020–2021Nika Syktyvkar
2021–2022Virtus Bologna
2022–2023Çankaya Üniversitesi S.K.
2023–presentAdelaide Lightning
2024–presentChicago Sky
Career highlights and awards
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Medals
Women's basketball
Representing the  United States
FIBA Under-17 World Championship for Women
Gold medal – first place 2012 U17 Amsterdam Team competition

She competed for the United States women's national basketball team at the 2012 FIBA Under-17 World Championship and the 2014 FIBA Americas Under-18 Championship.

College career

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Turner played college basketball at the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana for the Fighting Irish.[2] Turner led Notre Dame to the 2017 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament as a #1 seed after a 30–3 regular season record. During a game against Purdue in the second round of the tournament, Turner ruptured her ACL and was done for the season. She later announced that she would miss the 2017–18 season because of the same injury. She returned for her final season of eligibility in 2018–19 after receiving a hardship waiver from the NCAA.[3]

Professional career

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WNBA

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Phoenix Mercury (2019–2024)

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At the 2019 WNBA draft, Turner was selected in the first round by the Atlanta Dream and was then quickly traded to the Phoenix Mercury.[4] There Turner would join a line-up featuring players such as Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner. In September 2019, Turner was named to the 2019 All-Rookie Team.[5]

Chicago Sky (2024–present)

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On February 6, 2024, Turner was traded to the Chicago Sky alongside Michaela Onyenwere, the 2024 No. 3 pick, a 2025 second round pick (from CHI), a 2026 first round pick, and the right to swap 2026 second round in exchange for Kahleah Copper and the rights to Morgan Bertsch.

WNBL

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In 2019, Turner was signed by the Adelaide Lightning in Australia's Women's National Basketball League (WNBL).[6] There she would play alongside the likes of Crystal Langhorne, Stephanie Talbot and Laura Hodges.

Career statistics

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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
* Denotes season(s) in which Turner won an NCAA Championship

WNBA

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Regular season

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Stats current through end of 2024 regular season

WNBA regular season statistics
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2019 Phoenix 29 12 15.9 .538 .731 4.1 0.5 0.2 0.7 0.7 4.0
2020 Phoenix 22 22 27.9 .579 .000 .643 9.0 1.8 1.1 2.0 1.4 7.2
2021 Phoenix 32 32 31.1 .554 .000 .717 9.4 1.8 0.8 1.3 1.5 7.8
2022 Phoenix 35 35 33.4 .607 .500 6.8 2.3 1.2 1.6 1.4 4.3
2023 Phoenix 40 33 26.3 .650 .500 5.1 1.3 1.0 1.1 1.5 3.5
2024 Chicago 27 2 9.4 .615 .500 2.0 0.4 0.3 0.5 0.4 1.2
Career 6 years, 2 teams 185 132 24.6 .583 .000 .639 6.3 1.4 0.8 1.2 1.2 4.6

Playoffs

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WNBA playoff statistics
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2019 Phoenix 1 1 23.0 .000 .000 .000 4.0 0.0 0.0 1.0 0.0 0.0
2020 Phoenix 2 2 39.5 .800° .250 12.5 4.0 1.0 2.0 2.5 8.5
2021 Phoenix 11 11 31.5 .548 .000 .684 9.9 2.5 1.3 1.9 1.2 8.5
2022 Phoenix 2 2 30.0 .444 .000 .000 11.5° 2.5 0.0 0.5 1.0 4.0
Career 4 years, 1 team 16 16 31.8 .553 .000 .609 10.1 2.6 1.0 1.7 1.3 7.4

College

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NCAA statistics
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2014–15 Notre Dame 36 34 25.5 .651 .000 .605 7.8 0.6 1.0 2.4 2.0 13.7
2015–16 Notre Dame 29 29 27.0 .593 .000 .639 7.3 0.9 0.8 3.0 1.4 14.5
2016–17 Notre Dame 35 35 28.6 .619 .000 .594 7.1 1.1 0.8 2.4 1.8 15.3
2017–18 Notre Dame Did not play due to injury
2018–19 Notre Dame 39 39 27.8 .631 .000 .701 7.8 1.5 1.1 2.7 1.5 14.3
Career 139 137 27.3 .624 .000 .636 7.5 1.1 0.9 2.6 1.7 14.5

References

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  1. ^ "Brianna Turner". UND.com. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
  2. ^ "Brianna Turner – Notre Dame Fighting Irish – Official Athletics Website". und.com. July 9, 2018.
  3. ^ "Brianna Turner to miss Notre Dame Fighting Irish's season to rehab torn ACL suffered in NCAA tournament". ESPN.com. September 5, 2017. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
  4. ^ "Brianna Turner lands in Phoenix as No. 11 pick in WNBA Draft". ndsmcobserver.com.
  5. ^ "Rookie of the Year Collier Headlines 2019 All-Rookie Team". wnba.com.
  6. ^ Adelaide (May 7, 2019). "LIGHTNING SIGNS BURGEONING USA STAR FORWARD BRIANNA TURNER". Adelaide Lightning. wnbl.basketball.
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