Monica Wright facts for kids
Wright with the Minnesota Lynx in 2010
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| Phoenix Mercury | ||||||||||||||
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| Assistant general manager | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||
| Born | July 15, 1988 San Antonio, Texas, U.S. |
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| High school | Forest Park (Woodbridge, Virginia) | |||||||||||||
| Listed height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | |||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 182 lb (83 kg) | |||||||||||||
| Career information | ||||||||||||||
| College | Virginia (2006–2010) | |||||||||||||
| NBA Draft | 2010 / Round: 1 / Pick: 2nd overall | |||||||||||||
| Selected by the Minnesota Lynx | ||||||||||||||
| Pro career | 2010–2016 | |||||||||||||
| Coaching career | 2018–2021 | |||||||||||||
| League | WNBA | |||||||||||||
| Career history | ||||||||||||||
| As player: | ||||||||||||||
| 2010–2015 | Minnesota Lynx | |||||||||||||
| 2010–2011 | Lotos Gdynia | |||||||||||||
| 2011–2012 | Botaş SK | |||||||||||||
| 2012–2013 | Dandenong Rangers | |||||||||||||
| 2013 | Shinsegae One FX | |||||||||||||
| 2015–2016 | Seattle Storm | |||||||||||||
| 2015–2016 | Bnot Herzliya | |||||||||||||
| 2016 | Keflavík | |||||||||||||
| 2016 | Perth Lynx | |||||||||||||
| As coach: | ||||||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | Liberty (assistant) | |||||||||||||
| 2019–2021 | Virginia (assistant) | |||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | ||||||||||||||
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| Career WNBA statistics | ||||||||||||||
| Points | 1,293 (7.3 ppg) | |||||||||||||
| Rebounds | 388 (2.2 rpg) | |||||||||||||
| Assists | 292 (1.6 apg) | |||||||||||||
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Medals
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Monica Wright Rogers (born July 15, 1988) is an American basketball expert. She used to be a professional basketball player and coach. She played college basketball at the University of Virginia. The Minnesota Lynx picked her second overall in the 2010 WNBA draft.
Besides playing in the WNBA, Monica also played basketball in other countries. She played in Poland, Turkey, Australia, South Korea, and Iceland. Today, she is the assistant general manager for the Phoenix Mercury in the WNBA.
Contents
Early Life and High School Basketball
Monica Wright was born in San Antonio, Texas. Her parents are Garry and Lynette Wright. She has an older brother named Gerard. Later, her family moved to Woodbridge, Virginia. There, she went to Forest Park High School.
At Forest Park, Monica was an amazing player. She scored about 22.6 points and grabbed 9 rebounds per game. She also made 6.8 assists and 4 steals per game. She was named the Gatorade Virginia Player of the Year. Experts ranked her as the No. 2 guard and No. 11 player overall in the whole country.
Monica was also chosen as a WBCA All-American. She played in the 2006 WBCA High School All-America Game. She scored eleven points in that game and was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) for her team.
College Basketball Career
Monica Wright went to the University of Virginia for college. In her first year, she was named the ACC Rookie of the Year. This award goes to the best new player in the ACC.
As a sophomore, she joined the ACC All-Defensive Team. This means she was one of the best defensive players in the conference. She also scored her 1,000th point that season. In her junior year, Monica was again on the All-ACC defensive team. She also made the All-ACC first team as the top scorer in the league.
In her senior year, Monica won many big awards. She was named ACC Player of the Year and ACC Defensive Player of the Year. She was also the National Defensive Player of the Year. This means she was the best defensive player in NCAA Division I basketball.
Professional Playing Career
Playing in the WNBA
The Minnesota Lynx picked Monica Wright as the second player in the 2010 WNBA draft. This was a huge honor! She was then named to the WNBA's All-Rookie Team. This team features the best new players in the league.
In 2011 and 2012, Monica played as a backup player. She helped out at both guard and forward positions. In 2013, she took on a bigger role. She became the main backup at shooting guard and point guard. She averaged 9.0 points per game that season. Monica won two WNBA championships with the Lynx. These wins were in 2011 and 2013.
On July 20, 2015, Monica was traded to the Seattle Storm. This trade happened because of a knee injury. She missed the rest of the 2015 WNBA season while recovering. After getting better, she started playing for the Storm in 2016.
Playing Overseas
Monica also played basketball in other countries. For the 2010–11 season, she played in Poland for Lotos Gdynia. In 2011–12, she played in Turkey for Botaş SK. From 2012–13, she played in Australia for the Dandenong Rangers.
In 2013–14, Monica played in Korea for Shinsegae One FX. She later left the team. She rejoined the Dandenong Rangers in Australia for the 2014–15 season. However, she was released before the season started due to knee problems.
She began the 2015–16 season in Israel with Bnot Herzliya. Then, in January 2016, she signed with Keflavík in Iceland. On March 22, 2016, she scored 29 points in a game for Keflavík. In 6 games there, she averaged 16.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game.
On July 14, 2016, Monica signed with the Perth Lynx for the 2016–17 WNBL season. She played in the first four games. But a long-term knee injury caused her to be released from the team on October 19, 2016.
National Team Career
Monica Wright was chosen to be part of the USA Women's U19 team. This team won the gold medal at the FIBA U19 World Championship. The event took place in July and August 2007 in Bratislava, Slovakia. The USA team beat Sweden to win the championship. Monica averaged 9.8 points per game and was the team leader in steals.
Coaching and Management Career
After her playing career ended due to injuries, Monica started coaching. She was an assistant coach at Liberty University from 2018 to 2019. In May 2019, she became an assistant coach for the Virginia Cavaliers women's basketball team.
In January 2023, Monica Wright took on a new role. She was hired as the assistant general manager for the Phoenix Mercury. This means she helps manage the team's players and operations.
Personal Life
In 2013, Monica Wright got engaged to NBA superstar Kevin Durant. However, their relationship later ended. She is now married to Michael Rogers.
