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Yolanda Griffith
Griffith Yolanda Headshot.jpg
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Personal information
Born (1970-03-01) March 1, 1970 (age 54)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
High school Carver (Chicago, Illinois)
Listed height 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight 188 lb (85 kg)
Career information
College
  • Palm Beach CC (1990–1992)
  • Florida Atlantic (1992–1993)
NBA Draft 1999 / Round: 1 / Pick: 2nd overall
Selected by the Sacramento Monarchs
Pro career 1993–2009
Career history
1993–1997 DJK Wildcats Aschaffenburg
1997–1998 Long Beach Stingrays
1998 Chicago Condors
1999–2007 Sacramento Monarchs
2000–2002 Lavezzini Basket Parma
2003–2004 UMMC Ekaterinburg
2005–2006 UMMC Ekaterinburg
2008 Seattle Storm
2009 Indiana Fever
Career highlights and awards
  • WNBA champion (2005)
  • WNBA Finals MVP (2005)
  • WNBA MVP (1999)
  • 8× WNBA All-Star (1999–2001, 2003–2007)
  • 2× All-WNBA First Team (1999, 2005)
  • 3× All-WNBA Second Team (2000, 2001, 2004)
  • 2× WNBA rebounding champion (1999, 2001)
  • 2× WNBA steals champion (1999, 2004)
  • WNBA Defensive Player of the Year (1999)
  • 2x WNBA All-Defensive Team (2005, 2006)
  • WNBA 10th Anniversary Team (2006)
  • WNBA 15th Anniversary Team (2011)
  • WNBA 20th Anniversary Team (2016)
  • WNBA 25th Anniversary Team (2021)
  • Russian League Player of the Year (2005)
  • First-team Parade All-American (1989)
Medals
Women's basketball
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Gold 2000 Sydney National team
Gold 2004 Athens National team

Yolanda Evette Griffith (born March 1, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player who played in both the ABL and WNBA. An eight time WNBA All-Star, she was named the 1999 WNBA MVP and the WNBA Finals MVP in 2005 when she won the WNBA championship with the Sacramento Monarchs. One of the top defensive players in WNBA's history, she was the 1999 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year and led the league in rebounds and steals two times each. In 2011, she was voted in by fans as one of the top 15 players in WNBA history. She is sometimes called by her nicknames: "Yo" and "Yo-Yo". Griffith was inducted into the 2014 Women's Basketball Hall of Fame's class on her first year of eligibility. In 2021, she was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

Early life

Born in Chicago, Illinois, Griffith attended George Washington Carver High School in the Chicago area. In her senior year (1988–1989), she was named First-team Parade All-American, as well as first team All-America in softball.

College career

Griffith was offered a scholarship to play for the women's basketball team at the University of Iowa, but had to cancel it after she gave birth to her daughter, Candace.

Afterward, she attended Palm Beach Junior College in Lake Worth, Florida, where she earned Junior College All-America honors in 1990-91. She later transferred to Florida Atlantic University, which was then a Division II school, where she graduated in 1993, earning Kodak Division II Player of the Year honors. While in school, she supported herself and her daughter by working for a car repossession company.

Professional career

Germany

Following her graduating from college, Griffith began her professional basketball playing career in Germany with DJK Wildcats Aschaffenburg, where she played from 1993 to 1997. In 1997, she finished as the top scorer and rebounder in the Euroleague Women, averaging 24.7 points and 17.1 rebounds per game.

American Basketball League

After four seasons in Germany, Griffith joined the American Basketball League (ABL). She was selected by the Long Beach Stingrays as the number one pick overall in the ABL players draft. In their only season, Griffith led the Stingrays to the brink of the ABL title, only to lose to the defending champions, the Columbus Quest. Griffith was named the 1997–1998 ABL Defensive Player of the Year and to the All-ABL first team. She finished second in the ABL's 1998 Most Valuable Player voting to her future 2000 Summer Olympics teammate Natalie Williams.

When the Long Beach franchise folded after the end of the 1997–98 season, she was dealt to the expansion Chicago Condors, in her hometown. She played there only briefly, however, as the league folded on December 22, 1998. Prior to that, Griffith ranked fifth among league leaders in scoring (17.2 ppg), first in rebounding (12.3 rpg), 19th in assists (2.6 apg), second in steals (3.3 spg), and second in blocked shots (1.3 bpg).

WNBA

The Sacramento Monarchs selected Griffith as the no. 2 overall draft pick in the 1999 WNBA draft. She is a seven-time WNBA All-Star, and won the WNBA's MVP, Newcomer of the Year and Defensive Player awards in 1999.

In 2001, Griffith set the WNBA single-season record for most offensive rebounds with 162.

In 2005, the Monarchs won their first WNBA title over the Connecticut Sun, three games to one in a best-of-five series. Griffith was named Finals MVP.

On April 8, 2008, after nine seasons with the Sacramento Monarchs, Griffith signed with the Seattle Storm.

On February 20, 2009, Griffith signed with the Indiana Fever, after a one-year stint with the Storm.

On June 9, 2009, Griffith tore her achilles tendon in a game against the Seattle Storm, her former team. In August the same year, she announced her retirement from professional basketball. In 2011, she was voted in by fans as one of the top 15 players in the fifteen-year history of the WNBA. In 2016, Griffith was once again honoured by the WNBA in the WNBA Top 20@20 in celebration of the league's 20th season.

Europe

As the WNBA and the seasons in Europe did not overlap, Griffith, like many other WNBA players played in Europe during the winter. She played two seasons for Lavezzini Basket Parma in Italy from 2000 to 2002. In 2003–2004 and 2005–2006, she played for Russian club UMMC Ekaterinburg.

Coaching career

Griffith began her coaching career in 2009 as an assistant coach with the Indiana Fever. She was later an assistant coach at the college level with Dartmouth, Lafayette, Albany and the University of Massachusetts Amherst. In 2018, she became an assistant coach with the Boston College Eagles.

Statistics

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
1999 Sacramento 29 29 33.8 .541 .000 .617 11.3° 1.6 2.5° 1.9 2.28 18.8
2000 Sacramento 32 32 32.1 .535 .000 .706 10.3 1.5 2.6 1.9 2.56 16.3
2001 Sacramento 32 31 33.7 .522 .000 .720 11.2° 1.7 2.0 1.2 2.34 16.2
2002 Sacramento 17 17 33.9 .520 .000 .803 8.7 1.1 0.9 0.8 2.65 16.9
2003 Sacramento 34 34 29.9 .485 .000 .774 7.3 1.4 1.7 1.1 2.21 13.8
2004 Sacramento 34 34 30.3 .519 .000 .853 7.2 1.2 2.2° 1.2 1.74 14.5
2005 Sacramento 34 33 28.3 .485 .000 .707 6.6 1.5 1.2 0.9 2.00 13.8
2006 Sacramento 34 34 25.1 .457 .000 .751 6.4 1.6 1.3 0.5 1.94 12.0
2007 Sacramento 32 32 23.1 .502 .000 .658 4.6 1.5 1.0 0.4 2.03 9.0
2008 Seattle 30 30 21.9 .462 .000 .648 6.3 1.5 1.4 0.6 1.70 7.2
2009 Indiana 3 0 13.7 .500 .000 .778 2.3 0.0 0.0 0.7 1.00 6.3
Career 11 years, 3 teams 311 306 28.8 .506 .000 .713 7.9 1.5 1.7 1.0 2.11 13.6

Postseason

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2000 Sacramento 2 2 39.0 .522 .000 .625 12.0° 1.0 0.5 0.5 2.00 14.5
2001 Sacramento 5 5 36.2 .478 .000 .764 8.8 1.4 1.6 1.2 2.20 21.2
2003 Sacramento 6 6 33.3 .537 .000 .912 8.8 1.2 1.2 1.0 2.00 17.2
2004 Sacramento 6 6 34.0 .492 .000 .833 8.2 1.3 2.0 1.0 2.00 13.7
2005 Sacramento 8 8 30.8 .491 .000 .711 8.3 1.4 1.2 0.5 1.25 17.3
2006 Sacramento 9 9 26.3 .485 .000 .765 7.1 1.8 1.1 0.6 1.11 14.8
2007 Sacramento 3 3 23.7 .409 .000 .889 6.0 0.3 0.7 0.3 2.33 8.7
2008 Seattle 3 3 29.0 .214 .000 .875 6.3 1.7 3.0 1.3 1.67 4.3
Career 8 years, 2 teams 42 42 31.1 .484 .000 .786 8.0 1.4 1.4 0.8 1.69 15.0

National team career

Griffith has twice been a member of the U.S. National Women's Basketball team. She won Gold Medals at the Summer Olympics in both 2000 and 2004. Griffith will serve as a member of the USA Basketball Women's Development National Team Committee from 2013-2016. The Women's Developmental National Team committees will select coaches and athletes for USA Basketball teams competing in the 2013 and 2015 FIBA Americas U16 Championships; and the 2014 and 2016 FIBA U17 World Championships. The Men's Developmental National Team Committee also selects staff and players for the annual Nike Hoop Summit.

Coaching career

Griffith Yolanda Action
Yolanda Griffith coaching from the sidelines

In 2011, Griffith accepted an assistant coach position with Ivy League university, Dartmouth, located in Hanover, NH. In her first season with the Big Green the Dartmouth post players made great strides. Griffith was instrumental in the development of Arianne Hunter and Tia Dawson. Dawson, who was the Big Green's top rebounder and the top shot blocker in the Ivy League, was twice named Ivy League Rookie of the Week. In 2013, Griffith was named the First Assistant Coach for Lafayette College a member of the Patriot League. She was an assistant coach for Joanna Bernabei-MacNamee at the University of Albany. When Bernabei-MacNamee was named as the new head coach at Boston College in 2018, she brought Griffith along as her assistant. Griffith has been instrumental in the development of post players at BC.

See also

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