Shyla Heal
Free agent
PositionGuard
Personal information
Born (2001-09-19) 19 September 2001 (age 22)
Kogarah, New South Wales, Australia
Listed height5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Career information
High school
WNBA draft2021: 1st round, 8th overall pick
Selected by the Chicago Sky
Playing career2015–present
Career history
2015South West Metro Pirates
2015–2016South East Queensland Stars
2016Ipswich Force
2017–2019Sutherland Sharks
2018BA Centre of Excellence
2018–2019Perth Lynx
2019Rockhampton Cyclones
2019–2020Bendigo Spirit
2020Townsville Fire
2021Chicago Sky
2021–2023Sydney Flames
2022Northside Wizards
2023Townsville Fire
2023Sydney Comets
2023AZS UMCS Lublin
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Asia Cup
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Australia

Shyla Jade Heal (born 19 September 2001)[1] is an Australian professional basketball player.

Early life

Heal was born in Kogarah, New South Wales.[1] She attended Brisbane State High School in Brisbane, Queensland,[2] and Lake Ginninderra College in Canberra.[3]

Professional career

After a season in the Queensland Basketball League (QBL) for the South West Metro Pirates in 2015,[4] Heal debuted in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) in the 2015–16 season with the South East Queensland Stars as a 14-year-old.[2] Her father, Shane Heal, was coach of the team.[2]

Heal continued in the QBL in 2016 with the Ipswich Force and then had a short stint with the Sutherland Sharks in the Waratah League in 2017.[4] In 2018, she split her year playing for the Sharks in the Waratah League and the BA Centre of Excellence in the SEABL.[4]

For the 2018–19 WNBL season, Heal joined the Perth Lynx.[5] She was injured in the first half of the season after sustaining a stress reaction in her left foot just days before round one.[6]

After splitting 2019 with the Sutherland Sharks in the Waratah League and the Rockhampton Cyclones in the QBL,[4] Heal joined the Bendigo Spirit for the 2019–20 WNBL season.[7][8] In her debut season with the Spirit, Heal was awarded the Most Consistent Player for her showings, averaging 12.1 points and 4.1 rebounds.[9]

In 2020, Heal played for the Townsville Fire in the WNBL Hub season.[10][11] She went on to earn WNBL Youth Player of the Year and All-WNBL Second Team.[12]

Heal was selected by the Chicago Sky in the first round of the 2021 WNBA draft.[13] She was unable to participate in the Sky's training camp due to a delay with her visa application, and after playing just 31 minutes in four games, she was traded to the Dallas Wings who then immediately waived her.[14]

For the 2021–22 WNBL season, Heal joined the Sydney Flames.[15] She then played for the Northside Wizards in the 2022 NBL1 North season.[4]

Heal returned to the Flames for the 2022–23 WNBL season, but in January 2023, she and her father, coach Shane Heal, parted ways with the Flames. The reasons for their departure were unspecified and coincided with an independent firm's investigation.[16][17][18]

On 1 February 2023, Heal signed with the Townsville Fire for the rest of the 2022–23 WNBL season.[19] She went on to help the Fire win the championship.[20]

After playing for the Sydney Comets in the NBL1 East, Heal joined AZS UMCS Lublin of the Polish Basket Liga Kobiet for the 2023–24 season.[21] She parted ways with Lublin on 4 December 2023.[22]

National team career

Heal made her international debut for the Sapphires at the 2017 FIBA Under-17 Oceania Championship in Hagåtña, Guam, where Australia would take home the gold.[23] Heal was named MVP to the Championship game. In 2017, Heal also helped lead the Sapphires to gold at the FIBA Under-16 Asian Championship in Bengaluru, India.[24] Heal would then go on to represent the Sapphires at the Under-17 World Cup in Belarus the following year, where they finished in third place, taking home the bronze medal. Heal also earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team, awarded to the five strongest players of the tournament, after averaging 16.0 points per game.[25]

Heal then made her debut for the Gems at the 2019 Under-19 World Cup in Bangkok, Thailand, where the Gems took home silver after returning to the final for the first time since 1997.[26]

Heal made her senior debut for the Opals in 2022 at the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers in Belgrade, Serbia.[27]

Personal life

Shyla is the daughter of former Australian Boomer and NBA player, Shane Heal.[3]

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 best ° League leader

WNBA

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2021 Chicago 4 0 7.8 .125 .000 1.000 .8 .8 .0 .0 2.5 2.0

Source: basketball-reference.com[28]

References

  1. ^ a b "Shyla Jade Heal". fiba.com. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  2. ^ a b c Cormack, Michael (30 November 2015). "Shyla Heal looks to follow in her dad's footsteps by playing for Australia at the Olympics". couriermail.com.au. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Shyla following in Shane Heal's footsteps at Lake Ginninderra College". smh.com.au. 27 September 2017.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Shyla Heal". australiabasket.com. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
  5. ^ "PERTH LYNX ADD YOUNG GUN SHYLA HEAL". PerthLynx.com. 10 July 2018. Archived from the original on 16 August 2018. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  6. ^ O'Donoghue, Craig (17 January 2019). "Perth Lynx teenager Shyla Heal, daughter of Australian basketball legend Shane, times run perfectly ahead of WNBL finals". thewest.com.au. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
  7. ^ "TENACIOUS HEAL SIGNS WITH BENDIGO SPIRIT". Bendigo Spirit. wnbl.com.au. 11 April 2019.
  8. ^ Pinda, Anthony (11 April 2019). "WNBL: Bendigo Spirit signs Shyla Heal". Bendigo Advertiser. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  9. ^ "Bendigo Spirit on Facebook". Facebook. Archived from the original on 30 April 2022.[user-generated source]
  10. ^ "ONE OF THE MOST EXCITING PROSPECTS IN AUSTRALIA HEADING TO TOWNSVILLE". wnbl.basketball/townsville. 9 June 2020. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
  11. ^ "HEAL READY TO MAKE A NAME FOR HERSELF". wnbl.basketball. 29 November 2020. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
  12. ^ "STEPH TALBOT NAMED 2020 CHEMIST WAREHOUSE WNBL MVP". wnbl.basketball. 14 December 2020. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
  13. ^ "Chicago Sky Select Shyla Heal With 8th Overall Pick In 2021 WNBA Draft Presented by State Farm". wnba.com. 15 April 2021. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
  14. ^ Logue, Matt (3 June 2021). "Aussie legend's daughter brutally cut after 31 minutes in America". news.com.au. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
  15. ^ Rutherford, Karlie (21 June 2021). "'So shocked': Aussie star Shyla Heal in tears over cruel WNBA axing". foxsports.com.au. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
  16. ^ Waterworth, Ben (31 January 2023). "Basketball bombshell as Shyla Heal poised for shock late-season move amid Flames absence". foxsports.com.au. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
  17. ^ McMurtry, Andrew (31 January 2023). "Shock move amid bizarre Shane, Shyla Heal WNBL disappearance". news.com.au. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
  18. ^ "STATEMENT FROM THE SYDNEY FLAMES ON SHYLA HEAL". wnbl.basketball/sydney. 1 February 2023. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  19. ^ "PLAYER ANNOUNCEMENT". wnbl.basketball/townsville. 1 February 2023. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  20. ^ "JCU TOWNSVILLE FIRE CROWNED WNBL CHAMPIONS". wnbl.basketball. 22 March 2023. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  21. ^ "THE WEEK THAT WAS – 9". wnbl.basketball. 4 August 2023. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  22. ^ "KOMUNIKAT KADROWY". facebook.com/KUAZSUMCS (in Polish). 4 December 2023. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  23. ^ "Australia continue their gold standard with FIBA U17 Women's Oceania Championship". fiba.basketball.
  24. ^ "Sapphires go undefeated to claim 2017 FIBA U16 Asia crown". pickandroll.com.au.
  25. ^ "Jordan Horston named U17 Women's World Cup TISSOT MVP, leads All-Star Five". fiba.com.
  26. ^ "USA back on top of the world after recapturing lost title in Bangkok". FIBA.
  27. ^ "Shyla Heal". fiba.basketball. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
  28. ^ "Shyla Heal WNBA stats". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved 1 October 2022.

External links

2021 WNBA draft
Australia squad – 2018 FIBA Under-17 Women's Basketball World Cup – Bronze medal
Australia squad – 2019 FIBA Under-19 Women's Basketball World Cup – Silver medal
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