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Ivory Latta
Ivory Latta cropped.jpg
Free agent
Point guard
Personal information
Born (1984-09-25) September 25, 1984 (age 40)
McConnells, South Carolina, U.S.
High school York Comprehensive
(York, South Carolina)
Listed height 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Listed weight 138 lb (63 kg)
Career information
College North Carolina (2003–2007)
NBA Draft 2007 / Round: 1 / Pick: 11th overall
Selected by the Detroit Shock
Pro career 2007–2017
Career history
As player:
2007 Detroit Shock
2007–2008 Elitzur Holon
2008–2009 Atlanta Dream
2008–2009 Ceyhan Belediyesi
2009–2010 Mersin BŞB
2010–2012 Tulsa Shock
2011–2012 Tarsus Belediye
2013 Maccabi Ramat Hen
2013–2017 Washington Mystics
2015–2016 Edirne Belediyesi Edirnespor
As coach:
2013–2015 North Carolina (assistant)
Career highlights and awards
  • 2× WNBA All-Star (2013, 2014)
  • Dawn Staley Community Leadership Award (2017)
  • USBWA National Player of the Year (2006)
  • Nancy Lieberman Award (2006)
  • 2x All-American – Kodak, USBWA (2006, 2007)
  • 2x First-team All-American – AP (2006, 2007)
  • Third-team All-American – AP (2005)
  • ACC Player of the Year (2006)
  • 3x ACC Tournament MVP (2005–2007)
  • 3x First-team All-ACC (2005–2007)
  • ACC All-Freshman Team (2004)
  • McDonald's All-American (2003)
  • No. 12 retired by North Carolina Tar Heels

Ivory Latta (born September 25, 1984) is an American professional basketball player who is currently a free agent. She was drafted 11th overall by the Detroit Shock in the 2007 WNBA Draft. A 5'6" (1.68 m) guard noted for her three-point shooting and on-court enthusiasm, she played college basketball for the North Carolina Tar Heels. She is the all-time leading scorer in South Carolina high school basketball history (men's and women's) with a total of 4,319 career points.

High school

Born in McConnells, South Carolina, Latta played for York Comprehensive High School in York, South Carolina, where she was named a WBCA All-American. She participated in the 2003 WBCA High School All-America Game where she scored seventeen points, and earned MVP honors.

College career

Latta was named the 2006 Player of the Year by ESPN.com, USBWA, GballMag.com and Basketball Times National Player of the Year, Nancy Lieberman Award Winner as Point Guard of the Year (2006), Consensus All-American (2006), ACC Player of the Year (2006), ACC Tournament MVP (2005), WBCA National Player for the Month of March (2005), All-ACC First Team (2007, 2005), AP All-American Third Team (2005), ACC Preseason Rookie of the Year (2004), All-ACC Second Team (2004), All-ACC Freshmen Team (2004). Latta averaged 14.0 points per game as a freshman, 16.2 as a senior, and 16.6 for her career at North Carolina.

College statistics

Source

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
2003–04 North Carolina 31 433 36.2 34.7 78.0 2.8 3.5 1.9 0.1 14.0
2004–05 North Carolina 34 592 42.0 39.7 86.3 2.7 4.3 1.7 0.2 17.4
2005–06 North Carolina 35 645 45.5 40.1 85.2 2.1 5.2 2.3 0.1 18.4
2006–07 North Carolina 38 615 41.1 40.2 85.5 2.1 4.2 1.6 0.1 16.2
Career North Carolina 138 2285 41.4 38.9 84.0 2.4 4.3 1.9 0.1 16.6

Professional career

Latta was drafted by the Detroit Shock with the 11th pick in the 2007 WNBA draft. She averaged 3.0 points per game as a rookie, and had the second-best 3-point field goal percentage in the WNBA for the 2007 regular season. Latta appeared in her first WNBA Finals during her rookie season with the Shock, where they lost in 5 games to the Phoenix Mercury. On February 6, 2008, Latta was traded to the Atlanta Dream for the Dream's 2008 second round pick and LaToya Thomas. She played for Ceyhan in Turkey during the 2008–09 WNBA off-season. She was originally released by the Atlanta Dream at the start of the 2009 WNBA season, but then signed on July 3, 2009, after the Dream released Nikki Teasley instead.

Latta played for the Tulsa Shock from 2010 to 2012, and joined the Washington Mystics in 2013. In 2013, she was selected to the WNBA All-Star Game for the first time. In 2014, Latta was selected as an all-star replacement for the injured Elena Delle Donne, making it her second all-star game appearance.

In July 2016, Latta suffered a left knee injury during practice at the Verizon Center that would sideline her for the rest of the season after playing 22 games.

In 2017, Latta was healthy and played all 34 games. The Mystics advanced past the second round for the first time in franchise history, but were swept by the Minnesota Lynx in the semi-finals.

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 high ° League leader

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2007 Detroit 31 1 7.1 .391 .449 .429 0.6 0.6 0.2 0.0 0.5 3.0
2008 Atlanta 34 31 28.2 .362 .344 .802 2.1 3.6 1.3 0.0 1.7 11.4
2009 Atlanta 24 0 14.6 .409 .360 .826 0.7 1.4 0.5 0.0 1.0 6.1
2010 Tulsa 18 16 28.7 .422 .370 .776 1.4 3.9 1.0 0.1 2.1 12.4
2011 Tulsa 24 24 28.5 .414 .351 .830 2.0 3.2 1.2 0.0 2.8 12.2
2012 Tulsa 34 18 28.3 .430 .390 .840 2.2 3.3 0.9 0.0 2.1 14.3
2013 Washington 34 34 31.5 .392 .396 .902 2.6 4.4 0.8 0.0 1.8 13.9
2014 Washington 34 33 31.7 .395 .377 .833 2.4 3.3 0.7 0.0 1.9 12.8
2015 Washington 34 25 27.3 .406 .389 .909 1.8 2.6 0.6 0.0 1.7 13.4
2016 Washington 22 2 20.8 .331 .305 .909 1.7 1.9 0.3 0.0 1.4 8.3
2017 Washington 34 1 17.0 .349 .328 .871 0.8 1.7 0.4 0.0 0.8 8.0
Career 11 years, 4 teams 323 185 24.2 .393 .369 .848 1.7 2.7 0.8 0.0 1.7 10.7

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2007 Detroit 10 0 4.7 .263 .333 .667 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.0 0.2 1.9
2009 Atlanta 2 2 37.5 .400 .333 .889 2.0 2.5 0.5 0.0 1.5 13.5
2013 Washington 3 3 31.3 .484 .400 .500 4.0 3.0 0.6 0.0 2.0 12.7
2014 Washington 2 2 37.1 .357 .333 1.000 1.5 4.5 0.5 0.0 3.0 17.0
2015 Washington 3 3 31.5 .400 .524 .818 1.3 4.3 1.0 0.0 1.3 16.0
2017 Washington 3 0 9.2 .467 .444 .000 0.7 0.7 0.0 0.0 0.3 6.0
Career 6 years, 3 teams 23 10 17.9 .399 .402 .795 1.2 1.8 0.4 0.0 1.0 8.0

European career

  • 2007–2008: Israel Elitzur Holon
  • 2008–2009: Turkey Ceyhan Belediyesi
  • 2009–2010: Turkey Mersin BŞB
  • 2010–2011: Israel Maccabi Ramat Hen
  • 2011–2012: Turkey Tarsus Belediye
  • 2013: Israel Maccabi Ramat Hen
  • 2015–2016: Turkey Edirne Belediyesi Edirnespor

Personal life

On January 9, 2003 a resolution was read on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives by U.S. Representative John Spratt honoring Latta. She would also receive the key to the city of York, South Carolina (where she attended high school and Spratt's hometown), which celebrated Ivory Latta Day on January 10, 2003.

Latta's father and paternal grandmother both live with Parkinson's disease and she has been very outspoken about how her father's diagnosis impacted her. As a result, Latta serves as an ambassador for the Parkinson's Disease Foundation (PDF). In this role, she is involved with fundraising campaigns for PDF and generating awareness about Parkinson's disease, and enlists other professional athletes to support the cause.

Latta's friendships with NBA superstar LeBron James and actor/rapper Chris "Ludacris" Bridges have been well documented.

Awards and honors

  • 2006 – Nancy Lieberman Award
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