Kayla Thornton
Thornton with the Dallas Wings in 2021
No. 5 – New York Liberty
PositionSmall forward / power forward
LeagueWNBA
Personal information
Born (1992-10-20) October 20, 1992 (age 31)
Germany
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Listed weight190 lb (86 kg)
Career information
High schoolIrvin (El Paso, Texas)
CollegeUTEP (2010–2014)
WNBA draft2014: undrafted
Playing career2014–present
Career history
2015Washington Mystics
2015–presentCheongju KB Stars
2017–2022Dallas Wings
2023-presentNew York Liberty
Career highlights and awards

Kayla Thornton (born October 20, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for the New York Liberty of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). In college, Thornton played for the University of Texas at El Paso.[1][2]

Thornton was traded to the New York Liberty on January 16, 2023, as part of a 3-Team trade.[3]

Career

Thornton was El Paso's all-time leading scorer.[4] She led the team to a record 29 wins.[4]

Thornton was not selected in the 2014 WNBA draft, but she played 10 games with Washington that season.[4] Thornton is known for her defensive play, and her ability to guard players in any position.[4][5]

In the WNBA off season, Thornton has played in Australia, Israel, Puerto Rico, South Korea, and Italy.[5]

Career statistics

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

WNBA

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2015 Washington 10 0 8.8 .333 .000 .667 2.1 0.1 0.3 0.3 0.5 2.2
2017 Dallas 34 1 17.2 .412 .279 .800 3.3 0.9 0.6 0.2 0.7 6.8
2018 Dallas 34 32 28.6 .447 .355 .860 4.0 1.8 1.0 0.4 1.1 9.2
2019 Dallas 27 25 30.4 .343 .272 .931 5.3 1.8 0.9 0.3 1.6 10.4
2020 Dallas 22 14 25.3 .429 .347 .875 5.1 0.8 0.9 0.2 1.1 7.3
2021 Dallas 31 25 27.6 .421 .349 .849 5.6 1.5 0.8 0.2 1.0 7.5
2022 Dallas 36 35 29.2 .471 .329 .829 5.9 1.8 1.1 0.6 1.2 8.0
Career 7 years, 2 teams 194 132 25.4 .414 .322 .847 4.7 1.4 0.9 0.3 1.1 7.9

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2017 Dallas 1 0 6.0 .000 .000 .000 1.0 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
2018 Dallas 1 1 30.0 .571 .000 .000 3.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 8.0
2021 Dallas 1 1 16.0 .000 .000 .000 2.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
2022 Dallas 3 3 26.3 .526 .500 1.000 4.7 1.3 0.3 0.7 1.0 8.3
Career 4 years, 1 team 6 5 21.8 .424 .308 1.000 3.3 0.8 0.2 0.3 0.5 5.5

College

Source[6]

Year Team GP Points FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2010-11 UTEP 30 210 42.8% 14.3% 67.8% 5.8 0.6 1.1 0.2 7.0
2011-12 UTEP 32 315 48.0% 38.1% 73.0% 7.3 0.9 1.1 0.4 9.8
2012-13 UTEP 32 491 41.0% 28.5% 70.5% 8.7 1.2 1.9 0.4 15.3
2013-14 UTEP 34 663 43.0% 27.7% 77.7% 10.1 2.0 2.6 1.0 19.5
Career 128 1679 43.3% 28.5% 73.6% 8.1 1.2 1.7 0.5 13.1

References

  1. ^ "Kayla Thornton". University of Texas at El Paso. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
  2. ^ Bloomquist, Bret (May 17, 2018). "Ex-UTEP, Irvin basketball star Kayla Thornton set to open WNBA season with Dallas Wings". El Paso Times. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
  3. ^ "New York Liberty Acquire Frontcourt Duo of Jonquel Jones and Kayla Thornton in Three-Team Deal". liberty.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d Magliocchetti, Geoff (May 17, 2023). "Liberty 2023 Player Preview: Kayla Thornton". Sports Illustrated New York Knicks News, Analysis and More. Retrieved 2023-06-21.
  5. ^ a b Fleurantin, Brian (February 22, 2023). "Kayla Thornton talks her career, the Liberty, and more on Pull-Up with Myles and Owen". NetsDaily. Retrieved 2023-06-21.
  6. ^ "NCAA Statistics". web1.ncaa.org. Retrieved 2021-05-26.

External links


New York Liberty current roster
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