Jessica Breland

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.

Jessica Breland

Breland with the Chicago Sky in 2015
Personal information
Born	(1988-02-23) February 23, 1988 (age 37) New York City, New York
Nationality	American
Listed height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Listed weight	166 lb (75 kg)
Career information
High school	Bertie (Windsor, North Carolina)
College	North Carolina (2006–2011)
WNBA draft	2011: 2nd round, 13th overall pick
Drafted by	Minnesota Lynx
Playing career	2011–2021
Position	Forward
Number	51
Career history
2011	New York Liberty
2011	Connecticut Sun
2013	Indiana Fever
2014–2017	Chicago Sky
2018–2019	Atlanta Dream
2020	Phoenix Mercury
2021	Indiana Fever
Career highlights
Honda Inspiration Award (2011) WNBA All-Star (2014) WNBA All-Defensive First Team (2018) ACC All-Defensive Team (2009) ACC Sixth Player of the Year (2008) McDonald's All-American (2006)
Stats at WNBA.com
Stats at Basketball Reference

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

Breland with North Carolina in 2008

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.^{[citation needed]}

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