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NaLyssa Smith
	Smith with the Indiana Fever in 2024
No. 1 – Zhejiang Golden Bulls
Position	Power forward
League	WCBA
Personal information
Born	August 8, 2000 (age 24); San Antonio, Texas, U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight	185 lb (84 kg)
Career information
High school	East Central ; (San Antonio, Texas)
College	Baylor (2018–2022)
WNBA draft	2022: 1st round, 2nd overall pick
	Selected by the Indiana Fever
Career history
2022–present	Indiana Fever
2023	Athletes Unlimited League
2023–2024	Galatasaray
2024–2025	Zhejiang Golden Bulls
Career highlights and awards
	WNBA All-Rookie Team (2022); Athletes Unlimited League champion (2023); NCAA champion (2019); Wade Trophy (2021); Honda Sports Award (2021); Katrina McClain Award (2021); 2x WBCA Coaches' All-American (2021, 2022); 2x First-team All-American – AP (2021, 2022); First-team All-American – USBWA (2022); Second-team All-American – USBWA (2021); 2x Big 12 Player of the Year (2021, 2022); Big 12 Tournament Most Outstanding Player (2021); Big 12 All-Defensive Team (2022); 3× First-team All-Big 12 (2020–2022); McDonald's All-American (2018);
	Stats at WNBA.com
	Stats at Basketball Reference
Women's basketball
Representing United States
FIBA Americas U18 Championship

NaLyssa Smith (born August 8, 2000) is an American professional basketball player for the Indiana Fever of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and for the Zhejiang Golden Bulls of the Women's Chinese Basketball Association (WCBA). She played college basketball for Baylor, winning the NCAA Division I Championship in 2019 and the Wade Trophy in 2021.^[1] She was drafted second overall by the Fever in the 2022 WNBA draft.

Early life

Smith grew up in San Antonio and played at East Central High School, averaging 23.4 points, 13.7 rebounds, and 3.4 blocks per game as a senior. A five-star recruit and the no. 3 recruit by ESPN, Smith committed to playing college basketball at Baylor over schools such as South Carolina, Ohio State, and Louisville.^[2]^[3]

College career

Freshman year

As a freshman, Smith came off the bench for the Lady Bears and provided steady minutes. Baylor coach, Kim Mulkey, praised Smith and said that she won many games for the Bears during their national championship season because opposing teams were too focused on the team's star players, Lauren Cox and Kalani Brown.^[4] In the national championship game, she came off the bench to replace an injured Cox and put up eight points and four rebounds to help Baylor win the title over Notre Dame.^[5]

Sophomore year

Smith was promoted into the starting lineup in her sophomore year and improved on her production, averaging 14.3 points and 8 rebounds en route to earning first-team All-Big 12 honors. She also led the Lady Bears in double-doubles with a total of 11.^[6]

Junior year

Smith continued to improve, averaging a near double-double and winning Big 12 Player of the Year.^[7]

In the NCAA tournament, Smith scored 24 points in the Lady Bears' Sweet Sixteen match against Michigan and tied a tournament record for most field goals made without a miss with 11.^[8]

Smith's stellar season garnered her a number of awards, such as the Wade Trophy, the Katrina McClain Award, and All-American honors from the Associated Press, Women's Basketball Coaches Association, and the United States Basketball Writers Association.^[9]

Professional career

WNBA

Indiana Fever (2022–present)

On April 11, 2022, Smith was drafted second overall by the Indiana Fever in the 2022 WNBA draft,^[10] and would go on to be selected to the WNBA All-Rookie Team alongside then teammate, Queen Egbo.

Overseas

Galatasaray

On August 30, 2023, she signed with Galatasaray of the Turkish Women's Basketball Super League (TKBL).^[11]

Zhejiang

Smith signed with the Zhejiang Golden Bulls of the Women's Chinese Basketball Association for the 2024–2025 season.^[12]

National team career

Smith was a member of the United States women's national under-18 basketball team at the 2018 FIBA Americas U18 Championship, helping them win the gold medal in Mexico City.

She was selected to represent the United States women's national under-19 basketball team at the 2019 FIBA Under-19 Women's Basketball World Cup, but withdrew due to injury concerns.^[13]

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

*	Denotes season(s) in which Smith won an NCAA Championship

WNBA

Regular season

Stats current through end of 2024 regular season

WNBA regular season statistics^[14]
Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	TO	PPG
2022	Indiana	32	32	30.7	.419	.381	.618	7.9	1.4	0.5	0.3	2.4	13.5
2023	Indiana	31	28	28.5	.477	.284	.677	9.2	1.4	0.3	0.3	2.7	15.5
2024	Indiana	40°	37	24.8	.480	.292	.567	7.1	1.0	0.8	1.0	1.3	10.6
Career	3 years, 1 team	103	97	27.8	.458	.330	.620	8.0	1.3	0.5	0.6	2.1	13.0

Playoffs

WNBA playoff statistics
Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	TO	PPG
2024	Indiana	2	1	6.5	.000	—	—	2.0	0.0	0.5	0.5	1.0	0.0
Career	1 year, 1 team	2	1	6.5	.000	—	—	2.0	0.0	0.5	0.5	1.0	0.0

College

NCAA statistics
Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	TO	PPG
2018–19*	Baylor	38	1	15.3	.543	.111	.681	5.1	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.9	8.4
2019–20	Baylor	28	27	24.1	.586	.000	.746	8.0	0.6	0.9	0.6	1.7	14.3
2020–21	Baylor	31	31	30.5	.561	.214	.792	8.9	1.2	1.2	0.8	2.8	18.0
2021–22	Baylor	35	35	32.9	.550	.237	.795	11.5	1.1	0.7	1.1	2.5	22.1
Career		132	94	25.4	.558	.200	.768	8.3	0.8	0.8	0.7	1.9	15.5

Personal life

Smith is the daughter of Rodney and Nikki Smith. Her father played basketball at UTSA, and her brother, Rodney Jr., played soccer at the University of Saint Mary.^[15]