 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 25, 1979 Flint, Michigan, U.S. |
| Nationality | American / Russian |
| Listed height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
| Listed weight | 155 lb (70 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Flint Northern (Flint, Michigan) |
| College | Georgia (1997–2001) |
| WNBA draft | 2001: 1st round, 6th overall pick |
| Selected by the Detroit Shock | |
| Playing career | 2001–present |
| Position | Shooting guard / point guard |
| Career history | |
| 2001–2009 | Detroit Shock |
| 2007–2010; 2012–2013 | UMMC Ekaterinburg |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| Stats at WNBA.com | |
Deanna Nicole "Tweety" Nolan (Russian: Деанна Нолан; born August 25, 1979) is an American-Russian professional basketball player for UMMC Ekaterinburg of the Russian Premier League as well as the Russia women's national basketball team.[1] Her primary position is shooting guard, but occasionally plays the point guard position. Her original name was Deana, but was legally changed to Deanna in 2000. She went to Flint Northern High School where she graduated and took that school state to state champs.
Nolan is the daughter of the late Phillip Murphy and Virginia Nolan. She has 1 older brother Omar, 1 younger brother Christopher, and 1 older sister Lekia. She lost her father 2 days before her first birthday.
Nolan attended Flint Northern High School where she led her team to back to back Michigan state championships in 1994 and 1995, and was crowned as Michigan's 1995 Miss Basketball.
Her favorite basketball players are Allen Iverson, LeBron James, and Russell Westbrook.[citation needed]
Nolan graduated in December 2001 with a degree in child and family development from the University of Georgia. Overall, she helped the Lady Bulldogs achieve an 86–12 record overall during her collegiate career.[citation needed]
As a senior, Nolan earned 2001 All-SEC Tournament Team honors.
In the 2001 WNBA draft, Nolan was selected by her home state team, Detroit Shock in the first round (sixth overall). She has been nicknamed "Tweety", and is well known by fans for her amazing vertical leap.
Nolan also helped the Detroit Shock win their first championship in 2003. In 2006, she won another championship with Detroit and was named MVP of the 2006 WNBA Finals.
In 2008, she helped the Shock win their third WNBA Championship. In 2007, 2008 and 2009, she was named the Detroit Shock Player of the Year in voting by members of the Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association.
In the 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10 and 2012–13 WNBA off seasons, she played for the UMMC Ekaterinburg club in Russia.[2]
She obtained a Russian passport in order to not count against the team's allowed number of foreign players. She stated during 2008 that she hoped to play for the Russian Olympic team, but was passed over in favor of Becky Hammon.[citation needed]