Mercedes Russell

Mercedes Brianna Russell (born July 27, 1995) is an American professional basketball player who is currently a free agent. She was drafted 22nd overall by the New York Liberty in the 2018 WNBA draft. Russell played center for the Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball team in college.^[1] In high school, she was named 2013 Gatorade Girls' Basketball Player of the Year.

Russell was MVP of the 2013 McDonalds All-American game

Mercedes Russell

Russell with the Seattle Storm in 2019
Free agent
Position	Center
Personal information
Born	(1995-07-27) July 27, 1995 (age 30) Springfield, Oregon, U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight	195 lb (88 kg)
Career information
High school	Springfield (Springfield, Oregon)
College	Tennessee (2013–2018)
WNBA draft	2018: 2nd round, 22nd overall pick
Drafted by	New York Liberty
Playing career	2018–present
Career history
2018	New York Liberty
2018–2024	Seattle Storm
2019–2020	Southside Flyers
2020–2021	Galatasaray
2023–2024	Southside Flyers
2024	Heilongjiang Dragons
2025	Shanxi Flame
2025	Los Angeles Sparks
Career highlights
2× WNBA champion (2018, 2020) WNBA Commissioner's Cup champion (2021) WNBL champion (2024) WNBL Grand Final MVP (2024) First-team All-SEC (2018) Gatorade National Player of the Year (2013) McDonald's All-American Game MVP (2013)
Stats at Basketball Reference
Medals Women's basketball Representing the  United States 2015 Summer Universiade 2015 Gwangju Team FIBA Under-17 World Cup 2012 Netherlands Team FIBA Americas Under-16 Championship 2011 Mexico Team

College

Russell played college basketball at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee for the Lady Volunteers.^[2]

Statistics

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	TO	PPG
2013–14	Tennessee	35	5	18.5	.596	.000	.514	5.0	0.5	0.4	1.1	1.2	6.3
2014–15	Tennessee	Injured
2015–16	Tennessee	36	31	29.3	.548	.000	.545	8.3	0.8	0.4	1.8	1.6	9.9
2016–17	Tennessee	32	32	34.6	.562	.000	.671	9.7	1.2	0.7	1.4	2.0	16.1
2017–18	Tennessee	33	33	32.7	.583	.000	.682	9.2	0.8	1.1	1.3	1.4	15.3
Career		136	101	28.6	.570	.000	.622	8.0	0.8	0.6	1.4	1.6	11.7

Career

WNBA

At the 2018 WNBA draft, Russell was drafted in the second round by the New York Liberty. After making her WNBA debut with the Liberty, Russell was waived and soon after picked up by the Seattle Storm.^[3] In joining the Storm's line-up featuring players such as Sue Bird, Breanna Stewart and Natasha Howard, Russell would take home a WNBA Championship in her first professional season.

Russell played with the Storm 2018-2024.

On February 11, 2025, Russell signed with the Los Angeles Sparks.^[4] On July 12, she was waived by the Sparks.^[5]

WNBL

In 2019, Russell was signed by the newly rebranded Southside Flyers in Australia's Women's National Basketball League (WNBL).^[6] There she would play alongside the likes of Leilani Mitchell and Jenna O'Hea.

With the Flyers in the 2023–24 WNBL season, Russell helped the team win the championship while earning grand final MVP honours.^[7]

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

Stats current through game on July 14, 2025

WNBA regular season statistics^[8]

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	TO	PPG
2018	New York	2	0	16.0	.333	–	.750	1.5	1.0	1.0	0.5	0.5	2.5
	Seattle	22	0	4.6	.484	–	.500	1.4	0.1	0.0	0.1	0.3	1.6
2019	Seattle	34	30	25.6	.520	–	.646	6.1	1.0	1.1	0.5	1.0	7.5
2020†	Seattle	22	2	13.8	.410	–	.560	3.2	0.6	0.4	0.4	0.7	3.5
2021	Seattle	30	28	24.7	.617	–	.766	6.1	1.6	0.9	0.4	1.3	7.3
2022	Seattle	5	0	10.8	.500	–	.667	1.8	0.2	0.0	0.0	1.4	2.0
2023	Seattle	37	13	19.1	.516	.000	.605	4.0	1.3	0.4	0.5	1.5	5.0
2024	Seattle	37	6	15.7	.517	—	.636	3.0	0.8	0.6	0.2	0.7	3.9
2025	Los Angeles	20	0	8.2	.444	–	.714	1.2	0.6	0.3	0.2	0.4	1.7
Career	8 years, 3 teams	209	79	17.0	.521	0.0	.653	3.8	0.9	0.6	0.3	0.9	4.6

Playoffs

WNBA playoff statistics

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	TO	PPG
2018	Seattle	1	0	4.0	–	–	–	1.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
2019	Seattle	2	2	32.0	.769°	–	1.000	8.5	2.0	0.0	1.0	1.0	11.5
2020†	Seattle	6	0	17.5	.619	–	1.000	3.8	1.0	0.2	0.2	0.8	5.2
2021	Seattle	1	1	45.0°	.556	–	–	12.0°	4.0	0.0	2.0	0.0	10.0
2024	Seattle	2	1	23.0	.500	—	1.000	7.0	0.0	0.5	0.0	2.5	5.0
Career	5 years, 1 team	12	4	22.0	.627	–	1.000	5.6	1.2	0.2	0.4	1.0	6.2