Brionna Jones (born December 18, 1995) is an American professional basketball center for the Connecticut Sun of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and currently with USK Prague of the Czech Women's Basketball League.[1] She was drafted with the 8th overall pick in the 2017 WNBA draft.[2]
.jpg) Jones in 2019 | |||||||||||||||
| No. 42 – Connecticut Sun | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Power forward | ||||||||||||||
| League | WNBA | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | December 18, 1995 Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 210 lb (95 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school | Aberdeen (Aberdeen, Maryland) | ||||||||||||||
| College | Maryland (2014–2017) | ||||||||||||||
| WNBA draft | 2017: 1st round, 8th overall pick | ||||||||||||||
| Selected by the Connecticut Sun | |||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 2017–present | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
| 2017–present | Connecticut Sun | ||||||||||||||
| 2017–2019 | Nadezhda Orenburg | ||||||||||||||
| 2019–present | USK Prague | ||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Stats at WNBA.com | |||||||||||||||
Medals
| |||||||||||||||
Early life
Jones was born to Michael and Sanciarhea Jones. Jones is from Havre de Grace, Maryland. She has an older brother Jarred, a younger sister Stephanie, and a younger brother Jordan. She attended Aberdeen High School, and led her high school to a state championship her junior year.[3]
College career
Jones attended the University of Maryland, where she graduated in three years and majored in kinesiology.[4]
| 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 |
| Year | Team | GP | Points | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| 2013–14 | Maryland | 35 | 240 | 60.7% | 0.0% | 55.4% | 4.5 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 6.9 |
| 2014–15 | Maryland | 37 | 458 | 60.1% | 0.0% | 63.4% | 8.9 | 0.7 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 12.4 |
| 2015–16 | Maryland | 35 | 533 | 66.5% | 0.0% | 63.5% | 9.8 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 15.2 |
| 2016–17 | Maryland | 35 | 697 | 69.0% | 0.0% | 76.7% | 10.9 | 1.5 | 1.9 | 1.6 | 19.9 |
| Career | 142 | 1928 | 65.0% | 0.0% | 67.2% | 8.5 | 0.9 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 13.6 |
WNBA career
In the 2017 WNBA draft Jones was selected 8th overall by the Connecticut Sun.
Jones broke out in the 2020 WNBA Bubble and showed signs of top super-star potential.
In 2021 Jones had her breakout year averaging 14.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 30.6 minutes while starting all 32 games for the Sun this season. Her previous career highs in each of those categories were all set with the Sun in 2020, when she averaged 11.2 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 26.1 minutes in 21 games. Jones was selected as a 2021 WNBA All Star. Jones helped the Sun post the highest winning percentage in franchise history (.813) and finish the regular season with 14 consecutive victories for the fourth-longest winning streak in WNBA history. With her improvement and her becoming one of the next stars in the WNBA Jones was named the 2021 WNBA Most Improved Player Award, Jones was also named to the 2021 WNBA All Defensive Second Team .[5]
On June 23, 2023, Jones suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon in her right leg, necessitating season–ending surgery.[6]
WNBA career statistics
Regular season
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Connecticut | 23 | 0 | 6.4 | .575 | .000 | .833 | 1.7 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 2.9 |
| 2018 | Connecticut | 27 | 0 | 9.0 | .469 | .000 | .727 | 2.0 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 3.1 |
| 2019 | Connecticut | 27 | 0 | 8.4 | .467 | .000 | .667 | 2.2 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 3.5 |
| 2020 | Connecticut | 21 | 21 | 26.1 | .605 | 1.000 | .691 | 5.6 | 1.0 | 1.7 | 0.7 | 1.6 | 11.2 |
| 2021 | Connecticut | 32 | 32 | 30.6 | .571 | .000 | .796 | 7.3 | 1.8 | 1.4 | 0.5 | 2.2 | 14.7 |
| 2022 | Connecticut | 36 | 7 | 25.1 | .571 | .000 | .844 | 5.1 | 1.3 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 1.5 | 13.8 |
| 2023 | Connecticut | 13 | 13 | 31.7 | .571 | .500 | .776 | 8.2 | 2.4 | 1.8 | 0.5 | 2.2 | 15.9 |
| 2024 | Connecticut | 9 | 9 | 23.4 | .634 | .000 | .696 | 4.8 | 1.3 | 1.8 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 13.3 |
| Career | 8 years, 1 team | 188 | 82 | 19.5 | .568 | .188 | .779 | 4.4 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 1.3 | 9.4 |
Postseason
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Connecticut | 8 | 0 | 4.4 | .625 | .000 | 1.000 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 1.5 |
| 2020 | Connecticut | 7 | 7 | 28.3 | .453 | .000 | .889 | 7.3 | 1.4 | 1.6 | 0.3 | 1.4 | 9.4 |
| 2021 | Connecticut | 4 | 4 | 25.8 | .594 | .000 | .643 | 4.3 | 0.5 | 1.5 | 0.8 | 1.5 | 11.8 |
| 2022 | Connecticut | 12 | 0 | 21.3 | .522 | .000 | .711 | 4.0 | 1.3 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 1.2 | 10.3 |
| Career | 4 years, 1 team | 31 | 11 | 19.1 | .515 | .000 | .730 | 4.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 1.1 | 8.0 |
Personal life
Jones's sister, Stephanie, played with her on the Connecticut Sun in the 2021 and 2022 seasons.[7]
References
External links
- Career statistics and player information from WNBA.com and Basketball-Reference.com
