Lauren Cox

Not to be confused with Lauren Cox (swimmer).
Lauren Cox
Personal information
Born (1998-04-20) April 20, 1998 (age 26)
Flower Mound, Texas, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight205 lb (93 kg)
Career information
High schoolFlower Mound
(Flower Mound, Texas)
CollegeBaylor (2016–2020)
WNBA draft2020: 1st round, 3rd overall pick
Selected by the Indiana Fever
Playing career2020–present
PositionPower forward
Number13
Career history
2020–2021Indiana Fever
2021Los Angeles Sparks
2022–2023Valencia Basket Club
2023Connecticut Sun
2023–2024Virtus Bologna
2024–presentTownsville Fire
Career highlights and awards
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Medals
Representing  United States
Women's basketball
FIBA Americas U-16 Championship
Gold medal – first place 2013 Mexico National team
FIBA U-17 World Cup
Gold medal – first place 2014 Czech Republic National team
Gold medal – first place 2015 Russia National team

Lauren Elizabeth Cox (born April 20, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for Virtus Bologna (Italy).[1] She played college basketball for the Baylor Lady Bears.[2] She was named a preseason All-American by Lindy's Sports, Athlon Sports, and Street & Smith prior to the 2019 season beginning. In November 2019, ESPN ranked Cox as the second-best collegiate women's basketball player in the country behind Sabrina Ionescu.[3] She would be named Big 12 Player of the Year that season.[4]

Professional career

Cox was drafted by the Indiana Fever at the 2020 WNBA draft on April 17, 2020 with the 3rd overall pick. In her rookie season she played 14 games, averaging 3.6 points and 3.3 rebounds. During her sophomore season, she played in 11 games for the Fever before being abruptly waived on June 27, 2021. Three days later on June 30, 2021, she signed with the Los Angeles Sparks, finishing the season with them by playing in 15 games and averaging 3.5 points and 3.7 rebounds.

Cox was not signed after finishing the 2021 season with the Sparks. And thus, would miss the entire 2022 season. In June, 2022, it was announced she would be joining Valencia Basket Club for 2022-2023 season of the Liga Femenina de Baloncesto.[5] She also played in the FIBA World Cup 3x3 Basketball Tournament during the summer of 2022.

On February 7, 2023, the Connecticut Sun announced that they signed Cox and Kristine Anigwe (9th overall pick of the 2019 WNBA Draft) to training camp contracts.

WNBA 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

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2020 Indiana 14 1 13.1 .419 .500 .733 3.3 1.4 0.4 0.3 0.8 3.6
2021 Indiana 11 0 8.6 .316 .333 1.000 2.0 0.3 0.4 0.3 0.6 1.4
Los Angeles 15 0 14.0 .413 .200 .778 3.7 0.6 0.7 0.9 0.6 3.5
2023 Connecticut 1 0 0.0 — — — 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Career 2 years, 2 teams 41 1 11.9 .398 .357 .771 3.0 0.8 0.5 0.5 0.7 2.9

High school

Cox was one of the top-rated high school basketball players in the country. She was the 2016 Women's Basketball Coaches Association High School Player of the Year.[2]

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

College

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2016–17 Baylor 37 1 13.4 .433 .412 .747 4.1 1.2 0.4 1.4 1.1 7.6
2017–18 Baylor 34 34 30.2 .516 .304 .748 9.7 2.9 1.1 2.7 1.7 15.3
2018–19 Baylor 38 38 29.5 .522 .306 .734 8.3 3.7 0.8 2.6 1.5 13.0
2019–20* Baylor 22 22 30.2 .463 .333 .614 8.4 3.6 1.3 2.7 1.6 12.5
Career 131 95 25.2 .492 .322 .725 7.5 2.8 0.8 2.3 1.5 12.0

* 2020 NCAA tournament canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic

Personal life

Cox was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of 7. She wears an insulin pump during games.[6] In each season of Cox's Baylor career, the Lady Bears played a preseason type 1 diabetes benefit game. The 2019 edition of the game, in Cox's final season at Baylor, was especially significant for her personally, as the opponent was defending NCAA Division II champion Lubbock Christian, which featured her younger sister Whitney—who had been diagnosed with the disease at age 17—as a freshman reserve. Near the end of the 2019–20 season, the United States Basketball Writers Association announced that both sisters would receive the Pat Summitt Most Courageous Award for their basketball and community involvement in the face of their condition.[7]

References

  1. ^ "Lauren Cox è una nuova giocatrice di Virtus Segafredo Bologna!" (in Italian). 2023-07-12. Retrieved 2024-01-25.
  2. ^ a b "Lauren Cox - Women's Basketball". Baylor University Athletics.
  3. ^ "The top 25 players in women's college basketball". ESPN.com. 4 November 2019. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  4. ^ "2019-20 Phillips 66 All-Big 12 WBB Awards Announced" (Press release). Big 12 Conference. March 9, 2020. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
  5. ^ Calabuig, Pascu (2022-06-01). "El Valencia Basket ficha a la estadounidense Lauren Cox". Superdeporte (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-06-01.
  6. ^ Litman, Laken (7 November 2019). "Baylor Center Lauren Cox Going for Back-to-Back Titles". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  7. ^ Greenberg, Mel (February 2020). "Most Courageous Cox sisters battle Type 1 diabetes". United States Basketball Writers Association. Archived from the original on July 20, 2021. Retrieved March 3, 2020.