.jpg) Russell in 2019 | |||||||||||||||
| No. 21 – Seattle Storm | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Center | ||||||||||||||
| League | WNBA | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | July 27, 1995 Springfield, Oregon, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 195 lb (88 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school | Springfield (Springfield, Oregon) | ||||||||||||||
| College | Tennessee (2013–2018) | ||||||||||||||
| WNBA draft | 2018: 2nd round, 22nd overall pick | ||||||||||||||
| Selected by the New York Liberty | |||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 2018–present | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
| 2018 | New York Liberty | ||||||||||||||
| 2018–present | Seattle Storm | ||||||||||||||
| 2019–2020 | Southside Flyers | ||||||||||||||
| 2020–2021 | Galatasaray | ||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
Medals
| |||||||||||||||
Mercedes Brianna Russell (born July 27, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for the Seattle Storm of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was drafted 22nd overall by the New York Liberty in the 2018 WNBA draft. Russell played center for the Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball team in college.[1] In high school, she was named 2013 Gatorade Girls' Basketball Player of the Year.
Russell played college basketball at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee for the Lady Volunteers.[2]
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013–14 | Tennessee | 35 | 5 | 18.5 | .596 | .000 | .514 | 5.0 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 6.3 |
| 2014–15 | Tennessee | Injured | |||||||||||
| 2015–16 | Tennessee | 36 | 31 | 29.3 | .548 | .000 | .545 | 8.3 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 1.8 | 1.6 | 9.9 |
| 2016–17 | Tennessee | 32 | 32 | 34.6 | .562 | .000 | .671 | 9.7 | 1.2 | 0.7 | 1.4 | 2.0 | 16.1 |
| 2017–18 | Tennessee | 33 | 33 | 32.7 | .583 | .000 | .682 | 9.2 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 15.3 |
| Career | 136 | 101 | 28.6 | .570 | .000 | .622 | 8.0 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 1.4 | 1.6 | 11.7 | |
At the 2018 WNBA draft, Russell was drafted in the second round by the New York Liberty. After making her WNBA debut with the Liberty, Russell was waived and soon after picked up by the Seattle Storm.[3] In joining the Storm's line-up featuring players such as Sue Bird, Breanna Stewart and Natasha Howard, Russell would take home a WNBA Championship in her first professional season.
In 2019, Russell was signed by the newly rebranded Southside Flyers in Australia's Women's National Basketball League (WNBL).[4] There she would play alongside the likes of Leilani Mitchell and Jenna O'Hea.
| 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 best | ° | League leader |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | New York | 2 | 0 | 16.0 | .333 | – | .750 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 2.5 |
| 2018 | Seattle | 22 | 0 | 4.6 | .484 | – | .500 | 1.4 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 1.6 |
| 2019 | Seattle | 34 | 30 | 25.6 | .520 | – | .646 | 6.1 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 7.5 |
| 2020† | Seattle | 22 | 2 | 13.8 | .410 | – | .560 | 3.2 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 3.5 |
| 2021 | Seattle | 30 | 28 | 24.7 | .617 | – | .766 | 6.1 | 1.6 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 1.3 | 7.3 |
| 2022 | Seattle | 5 | 0 | 10.8 | .500 | – | .667 | 1.8 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.4 | 2.0 |
| Career | 5 years, 2 teams | 115 | 60 | 18.3 | .529 | – | .662 | 4.4 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.9 | 5.2 |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Seattle | 1 | 0 | 4.0 | .– | – | – | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 2019 | Seattle | 2 | 2 | 32.0 | .769 | – | 1.000 | 8.5 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 11.5 |
| 2020† | Seattle | 6 | 0 | 17.5 | .619 | – | 1.000 | 3.8 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.8 | 5.2 |
| 2021 | Seattle | 1 | 1 | 45.0 | .556 | – | – | 12.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 10.0 |
| Career | 4 years, 1 team | 10 | 3 | 21.8 | .651 | – | 1.000 | 5.3 | 1.4 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 6.4 |
