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.
 Atkins with the Washington Mystics in 2023 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 7 – Washington Mystics | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Shooting guard | ||||||||||||||||||||
| League | WNBA | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | July 30, 1996 Dallas, Texas, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 167 lb (76 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||||||||
| High school | Duncanville (Duncanville, Texas) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| College | Texas (2014–2018) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| WNBA draft | 2018: 1st round, 7th overall pick | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Selected by the Washington Mystics | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 2018–present | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Coaching career | 2023–present | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||||||||
| As player: | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2018–present | Washington Mystics | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | InvestInTheWest ENEA Gorzów | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019–2020 | Perth Lynx | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2020 | Elazığ İl Özel İdarespor | ||||||||||||||||||||
| As coach: | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023–present | Michigan | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Medals
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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.
In 2021, Atkins won her first Olympic Gold medal with Team USA at the 2020 summer Olympics.
College career
editBorn 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.
Professional career
editWNBA
editAt 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]
International
editAtkins 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.
National team career
edit2020 Olympics
editIn late March 2020, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government postponed the 2020 Summer Olympics until the summer of 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[8] On June 21, 2021, Atkins was named to the 12-player roster for Team USA for the 2020 summer Olympics.[9] She and Team USA went on to win the gold medal in the tournament, defeating Japan 90–75 in the final.[10]
Statistics
edit| 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
edit| 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 | 121 | 100 | 25.1 | .475 | .373 | .831 | 4.3 | 1.9 | 1.8 | 0.4 | 1.7 | 12.4 | |
WNBA
editRegular season
edit| † | 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 |
| 2024 | Washington | ||||||||||||
| Career | 7 years, 1 team | 177 | 172 | 27.2 | .420 | .363 | .849 | 2.9 | 2.3 | 1.4 | 0.4 | 1.5 | 13.1 |
Playoffs
edit| 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
edit- ^ "Ariel Atkins joins Michigan women's basketball staff". Slam Hoops.
- ^ "MYSTICS SELECT ATKINS IN 2018 WNBA DRAFT". mystics.wnba.com.
- ^ "Defensive POY Alana Beard Leads 2018 All-Defensive First Team". wnba.com.
- ^ "Diamond DeShields, A'ja Wilson Headline 2018 WNBA All-Rookie Team". wnba.com.
- ^ "Bringing It Home: Delle Donne, Mystics Earn First WNBA Crown". wnba.com.
- ^ "Two Atlanta Dream Players And Seattle Storm's Alysha Clark Headline 2020 WNBA All-Defensive Team". wnba.com.
- ^ "Ariel Atkins Signs Multi-Year Extension". mystics.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
- ^ "IOC, IPC, Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee and Tokyo Metropolitan Government Announce New Dates for the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020". Olympic.org. March 30, 2020.
- ^ Wimbish, Jasmyn (June 21, 2021). "Team USA women's basketball roster announced for 2020 Olympics, headlined by Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi". CBS Sports. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
- ^ Wallace, Ava (August 8, 2021). "Dawn Staley and Sue Bird make sure their final USA Basketball moment is golden". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
External links
edit
- Career statistics and player information from WNBA.com and Basketball-Reference.com
- WNBA player profile
- Texas Longhorns bio
