Elena Delle Donne is an American professional basketball player who plays for the Washington Mystics of the Women's National Basketball Association. From 2009 to 2013, she was a college basketball player for the Delaware Blue Hens.
4,000 career points
Despite only being a rookie, Elena Delle Donne already has a lot of success in the WNBA. She was named the Washington Mystics' 2018-19 Team Captain. She was also voted Team Captain for the WNBA's All-Star Game. She was also named Team MVP last season and reached the 4,000-point mark in career against the Atlanta Dream.
Elena Delle Donne is the franchise's centerpiece since her rookie year. She has been a leader in her team's deep playoff runs the past two seasons. She has been a league MVP even though she missed some time due to personal reasons and rest. An indicator of a player’s effectiveness is efficiency, especially in shooting percentage. Elena Delle Donne averages 17.9 points per game and 6.6 rebounds per game. Additionally, she shoots only 59.2% of her shots true. This is 5.8% more than the league average.
Three-time All-American
The six-foot-five forward/guard is the Honda Player of Year for 2013 and a two-time First Team All-American. She ranks fifth all-time in the NCAA in scoring, and has won two Academic All-America honors. She won a Gold Medal with Team USA at the World University Games. In addition to her stellar basketball career, Delle Donne is also a social activist.
Former college basketball star, she holds a special place within her heart for those who support people with intellectual disabilities. She has been a volunteer in Delaware, as well as at the University of Delaware. Additionally, she is active in social media and documents her family life as well as her love and devotion to her two sons. Follow Elena on Twitter and Instagram.
Honda Player of Year
The Collegiate Women Sports Awards honour the nation's greatest women athletes. In addition to athletic excellence, award recipients are often recognized for their leadership skills, academic excellence, and commitment to community service. Honda has sponsored this award since 1986. It has provided more than $2.5 million in grants to institutions that were nominated by award recipients. The Honda Cup has been won by Brittney Griner as well as Ann Meyers Drysdale (previous winners), Lisa Fernandez (previous winner), and Misty Maytreanor (previous winners).
Delle Donne, a Delawarean, played college basketball for the University of Delaware. She broke nearly every school record. She also led the Blue Hens' to two NCAA Tournament appearances. She is among only five female athletes to have scored more that 3,000 points over her career. She won the Gold Medal in 2013 with Team USA at World University Games. She is Honda Player of The Year because of her remarkable career.
Delaware Blue Hens star
Three times, the Delaware Blue Hens' star defense earned All-American honors. She helped the Blue Hens advance to the NCAA women's tournament in 2013, and she now sits 11th all-time in scoring. Donne graduated from the College of Education and Human Development and is the all-time leading scorer in the Colonial Athletic Association. This is a huge endorsement for the college basketball player.
Delaware basketball's biggest challenge this season will be to prove that the support staff can handle the job. With a star such as Elena Delle Donne sat out the first few weeks, the rest of the team will be forced to prove itself in the second half. The team has several lines to fill, particularly in the first act, as the star will be sidelined due to Lyme disease.