Kayla Thornton
No. 5 – New York Liberty | |
---|---|
Position | Small forward / power forward |
League | WNBA |
Personal information | |
Born | Germany | October 20, 1992
Nationality | American |
Listed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
Listed weight | 190 lb (86 kg) |
Career information | |
High school | Irvin (El Paso, Texas) |
College | UTEP (2010–2014) |
WNBA draft | 2014: undrafted |
Playing career | 2014–present |
Career history | |
2015 | Washington Mystics |
2015–present | Cheongju KB Stars |
2017–2022 | Dallas Wings |
2023-present | New York Liberty |
Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Kayla Thornton (born October 20, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for the New York Liberty of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). In college, Thornton played for the University of Texas at El Paso.[1][2]
Thornton was traded to the New York Liberty on January 16, 2023, as part of a 3-Team trade.[3]
Career[edit]
Thornton was El Paso's all-time leading scorer.[4] She led the team to a record 29 wins.[4]
Thornton was not selected in the 2014 WNBA draft, but she played 10 games with Washington that season.[4] Thornton is known for her defensive play, and her ability to guard players in any position.[4][5]
In the WNBA off season, Thornton has played in Australia, Israel, Puerto Rico, South Korea, and Italy.[5]
Career statistics[edit]
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[edit]
Regular season[edit]
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2015 | Washington | 10 | 0 | 8.8 | .333 | .000 | .667 | 2.1 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 2.2 |
2017 | Dallas | 34 | 1 | 17.2 | .412 | .279 | .800 | 3.3 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 6.8 |
2018 | Dallas | 34 | 32 | 28.6 | .447 | .355 | .860 | 4.0 | 1.8 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 1.1 | 9.2 |
2019 | Dallas | 27 | 25 | 30.4 | .343 | .272 | .931 | 5.3 | 1.8 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 1.6 | 10.4 |
2020 | Dallas | 22 | 14 | 25.3 | .429 | .347 | .875 | 5.1 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 1.1 | 7.3 |
2021 | Dallas | 31 | 25 | 27.6 | .421 | .349 | .849 | 5.6 | 1.5 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 1.0 | 7.5 |
2022 | Dallas | 36 | 35 | 29.2 | .471 | .329 | .829 | 5.9 | 1.8 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 1.2 | 8.0 |
2023 | New York | 40 | 0 | 17.3 | .433 | .313 | .767 | 3.5 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 4.5 |
Career | 7 years, 2 teams | 234 | 132 | 24.0 | .416 | .321 | .841 | 4.5 | 1.3 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 1.0 | 7.3 |
Playoffs[edit]
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2017 | Dallas | 1 | 0 | 6.0 | .000 | .000 | — | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
2018 | Dallas | 1 | 1 | 30.0 | .571 | .000 | — | 3.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 8.0 |
2021 | Dallas | 1 | 1 | 16.0 | .000 | .000 | — | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
2022 | Dallas | 3 | 3 | 26.3 | .526 | .500 | 1.000 | 4.7 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 1.0 | 8.3 |
2023 | New York | 10 | 0 | 10.1 | .444 | .400 | 1.000 | 1.5 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 3.2 |
Career | 5 years, 2 teams | 16 | 5 | 14.5 | .433 | .357 | 1.000 | 2.2 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 4.1 |
College[edit]
Source[6]
Year | Team | GP | Points | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
2010-11 | UTEP | 30 | 210 | 42.8% | 14.3% | 67.8% | 5.8 | 0.6 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 7.0 |
2011-12 | UTEP | 32 | 315 | 48.0% | 38.1% | 73.0% | 7.3 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 9.8 |
2012-13 | UTEP | 32 | 491 | 41.0% | 28.5% | 70.5% | 8.7 | 1.2 | 1.9 | 0.4 | 15.3 |
2013-14 | UTEP | 34 | 663 | 43.0% | 27.7% | 77.7% | 10.1 | 2.0 | 2.6 | 1.0 | 19.5 |
Career | 128 | 1679 | 43.3% | 28.5% | 73.6% | 8.1 | 1.2 | 1.7 | 0.5 | 13.1 |
References[edit]
- ^ "Kayla Thornton". University of Texas at El Paso. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
- ^ Bloomquist, Bret (May 17, 2018). "Ex-UTEP, Irvin basketball star Kayla Thornton set to open WNBA season with Dallas Wings". El Paso Times. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
- ^ "New York Liberty Acquire Frontcourt Duo of Jonquel Jones and Kayla Thornton in Three-Team Deal". liberty.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
- ^ a b c d Magliocchetti, Geoff (May 17, 2023). "Liberty 2023 Player Preview: Kayla Thornton". Sports Illustrated New York Knicks News, Analysis and More. Retrieved 2023-06-21.
- ^ a b Fleurantin, Brian (February 22, 2023). "Kayla Thornton talks her career, the Liberty, and more on Pull-Up with Myles and Owen". NetsDaily. Retrieved 2023-06-21.
- ^ "NCAA Statistics". web1.ncaa.org. Retrieved 2021-05-26.
External links[edit]
- Career statistics and player information from WNBA.com and Basketball-Reference.com
- UTEP Miners bio
Categories:
- 1992 births
- Living people
- American expatriate basketball people in South Korea
- American women's basketball players
- Basketball players from El Paso, Texas
- Dallas Wings players
- New York Liberty players
- Power forwards
- Small forwards
- UTEP Miners women's basketball players
- Washington Mystics players
- Undrafted Women's National Basketball Association players
- Southside Flyers players
- Irvin High School alumni
- Cangrejeras de Santurce players
- American women's basketball biography stubs