Jessica Breland

Jessica Breland
Breland with the Chicago Sky in 2015
Personal information
Born (1988-02-23) February 23, 1988
New York City, New York
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Listed weight166 lb (75 kg)
Career information
High schoolBertie (Windsor, North Carolina)
CollegeNorth Carolina (2006–2011)
WNBA draft2011: 2nd round, 13th overall pick
Drafted byMinnesota Lynx
Playing career2011–2021
PositionForward
Number51
Career history
2011New York Liberty
2011Connecticut Sun
2013Indiana Fever
2014–2017Chicago Sky
2018–2019Atlanta Dream
2020Phoenix Mercury
2021Indiana Fever
Career highlights
Stats at WNBA.com
Stats at Basketball Reference

Jessica Nicole Breland (born February 23, 1988) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) from 2011 to 2021.

Early life and education

Born in New York City,[1] Breland grew up in Kelford, North Carolina,[1] and attended Bertie High School in Windsor where she was a three-sport athlete participating in volleyball and track & field and basketball. In her senior year she averaged 22 points per game and 12 rebounds for the Falcons basketball team. She was an All-American selection by McDonald's, the WBCA, and Parade Magazine, 2nd team All-American selection by EA Sports, 3rd-Team Street and Smith's All-America pick, Gatorade Player of the Year in North Carolina as a senior, and a USA U18 Women's National Team Trials Invitee.[2]

College career

In 2009, when playing for the North Carolina Tar Heels, Breland was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma, a cancer of the lymph system. She underwent chemotherapy and had to sit out the 2009–10 season, but recovered.[1] In 2011, Breland was awarded the Honda Inspiration Award which is given to a collegiate athlete "who has overcome hardship and was able to return to play at the collegiate level".[3][4][5]

Professional career

Breland was selected in the second round of the 2011 WNBA draft (13th overall) by the Minnesota Lynx.[6] She was then traded to New York. She signed a free agent contract with the Chicago Sky in 2014.

On February 2, 2018, Breland signed a contract with the Atlanta Dream.[7]

On February 19, 2020, Breland was traded to the Phoenix Mercury in a three-team deal.

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

WNBA regular season statistics[8]
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2011 New York 9 0 7.7 38.1 — 100.0 1.6 0.4 0.2 0.7 0.3 2.0
Connecticut 4 0 1.5 50.0 — — 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.3 0.0 0.5
2012 Did not play (waived)
2013 Indiana 30 2 14.6 43.9 — 74.1 4.0 0.6 0.6 1.0 1.1 5.3
2014 Chicago 32 32 26.5 46.1 0.0 75.9 6.8 1.9 0.9 1.8 2.2 9.7
2015 Chicago 33 30 21.4 47.1 — 77.4 5.9 1.3 0.7 1.1 1.0 6.7
2016 Chicago 34 16 17.2 49.4 — 79.5 4.4 0.7 0.5 1.1 1.1 6.0
2017 Chicago 34 33 24.5 47.6 38.1 78.7 6.3 1.6 0.6 1.7 1.8 9.5
2018 Atlanta 34 34 26.4 42.8 — 75.0 7.9 2.0 1.1 1.9 1.7 8.3
2019 Atlanta 33 33 23.2 37.8 23.7 87.9 7.3 1.7 1.3 1.1 1.2 7.5
2020 Did not play (opted out)
2021 Indiana 26 18 20.9 37.2 31.3 68.4 6.3 2.0 0.6 1.5 1.8 5.8
Career 9 years, 5 teams 269 198 21.2 43.9 28.2 77.7 5.9 1.4 0.8 1.4 1.4 7.1
All-Star 1 0 22.0 .333 — — 12.0 2.0 2.0 1.0 0.0 6.0

Playoffs

WNBA playoff statistics
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2014 Chicago 7 0 13.0 38.1 — — 4.0 1.0 0.1 0.6 0.4 2.3
2015 Chicago 3 3 28.3 52.0 — 100.0 7.7 1.3 1.3 2.3 1.0 10.0
2016 Chicago 5 5 25.4 51.1 0.0 — 8.4 0.6 1.2 1.4 0.8 9.2
2018 Atlanta 5 5 31.0 37.0 0.0 83.3 10.8 2.8 0.8 2.8 1.6 9.0
Career 4 years, 2 teams 20 13 22.9 44.1 0.0 90.0 7.4 1.4 0.8 1.6 0.9 6.9

College

NCAA statistics[9]
Year Team GP Points FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2006-07 North Carolina 37 241 54.4% 42.9% 67.8% 4.5 0.8 0.9 1.3 6.5
2007-08 36 380 53.1% 15.4% 70.2% 7.1 1.2 1.1 2.1 10.6
2008-09 35 493 51.3% 46.7% 76.7% 8.5 1.7 1.5 3.1 14.1
2009-10 Redshirt
2010-11 34 421 44.2% 24.0% 65.7% 7.1 1.6 1.1 1.9 12.4
Career 142 1535 50.0% 30.0% 70.8% 6.8 1.3 1.2 2.1 10.8

References

  1. ^ a b c Heyman, Brian (May 21, 2011). "Rookie in W.N.B.A. Who Is Veteran in Life's Lessons Faces Battle to Make Liberty". New York Times. Retrieved August 6, 2014.
  2. ^ Bullock, Chris (August 25, 2015). "Jessica Breland and her resilient rise to success". Swish Appeal. Retrieved June 12, 2021.
  3. ^ Staff, S. I. "North Carolina's Breland wins Inspiration Award". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
  4. ^ "Awards Overview". CWSA. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
  5. ^ "Past Inspiration Award Winners". CWSA. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
  6. ^ http://www.wnba.com draft2011/draft_board.html 2011 WNBA Draft board
  7. ^ Kennedy, Rene’ (February 1, 2018). "Atlanta making moves early in free agency". SwishAppeal.com. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
  8. ^ "Jessica Breland WNBA Stats". Basketball Reference. Retrieved May 10, 2025.
  9. ^ "NCAA Statistics". web1.ncaa.org. Retrieved August 28, 2017.


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