Andrea Stinson (born November 25, 1967) is a retired professional basketball player from the United States, playing for the WNBA from 1997 to 2004 for the Charlotte Sting and one final season in 2005 with the Detroit Shock.
Stinson played with the USA team at the 1991 Pan American Games. The team finished with a record of 4–2, but managed to win the bronze medal. The USA team lost a three-point game to Brazil, then responded with wins over Argentina and Cuba, earning a spot in the medal round. The next game was a rematch against Cuba, and this time the team from Cuba won a five-point game. The USA beat Canada easily to win the bronze. Stinson averaged 3.0 points per game.[5]
Stinson was named to the USA team competing in the 1992 William Jones Cup competition in Taipei, Taiwan. The team won all eight games and won the gold medal. Stinson averaged 11.1 points per game, second highest on the team.[6]
On January 22, 1997, Stinson was selected by the Sting as part of the initial player allocation of the WNBA's inaugural season. Her debut game was played on June 22, 1997 in a 59 - 76 loss to the Phoenix Mercury where she recorded 18 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 steals.[7] During her rookie season, Stinson was a consistent starter for her team, producing an average of 15.7 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.4 assists in 36.1 minutes per game. Stinson finished 2nd in the league in total minutes played and minutes per game for the 1997 season (being behind Chantel Tremitiere in both categories). The Sting finished 15 - 13 and reached the playoffs but were eliminated by the eventual champions Houston Comets.
Stinson would spend her career becoming a flagship notable player for the Sting franchise. After her rookie season, she stayed with the team for 7 additional seasons and made the All-Star team 3 times from 2000 to 2002. Her best individual season came in 2000 when she averaged 17.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.8 assists. Unfortunately, that would be the first of two times that Stinson did not reach the playoffs with the Sting, as the team finished with a 8 - 24 record. The best season for the Sting would happen immediately after. As for 2001, although Stinson recorded less minutes played and averaged less points, less assists and less steals per game, the team finished 18 - 14 and reached the WNBA finals. After crushing the Cleveland Rockers and New York Liberty in the first two rounds, Stinson and the Sting would match up against the Los Angeles Sparks in the 2001 Finals and be swept by the defending champions.
For the 2002 and 2003 seasons, the Sting would finish the season with a 18 - 14 and 18 - 16 record respectively and reach the playoffs, but both times were eliminated in the semi-finals (by the Washington Mystics in 2002 and by the Connecticut Sun in 2003). The 2004 season is when Stinson's numbers took a big decline. Although she still started every game that season, she played in less minutes than she has previously (only 22.9 per game) and had career-low averages in other statistics. With points per game dropping to 6.0, rebounds dropping to 3.5 and assists lowering to 1.4 per game.
After the Sting missed the playoffs in 2004, Stinson would say goodbye as a player for the organization. On May 10, 2005, she signed with the Detroit Shock and played 18 games for them before being traded to the Phoenix Mercury on June 29, 2005 along with a 2006 second-round pick (which later became Mistie Bass) for Plenette Pierson. Stinson was immediately waived by the Mercury that same day but she resigned with the Shock 4 days later on July 3 and finished the season with them. By this point, Stinson has never came off the bench in her career, as she started in all 254 games she played for the Sting from 1997 - 2004. With the Shock, Stinson played 5.7 minutes per game and only had a starting role on the last game of the season on August 27, 2005. This game ended up being Stinson's final game of her career as although the Shock were able to reach the playoffs, she did not participate in the semi-finals series against the Sun. In her final WNBA game, the Shock loss 67 - 76 to the Mystics while she recorded 7 points and 5 rebounds.[8]
Coaching career
2019 Head Coach at Walter Williams High School
Sports Diplomacy
Ms. Stinson has also been an active participant in the SportsUnited Sports Envoy program for the U.S. Department of State. In this function, she has traveled to Algeria, Bahrain, and Jordan where she worked with Shameka Christon, Martin Conlon, Sam Perkins, Sam Vincent, and Jerome Williams to conduct basketball clinics and events that reached more than 400 youth from underserved areas. In so doing, Stinson helped contribute to SportsUnited's mission to foster greater understanding between people and cultures.[9][10][11][12]
