Yolanda Griffith facts for kids
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| Born | March 1, 1970 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
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| High school | Carver (Chicago, Illinois) | ||||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 188 lb (85 kg) | ||||||||||||||||
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| NBA Draft | 1999 / Round: 1 / Pick: 2nd overall | ||||||||||||||||
| Selected by the Sacramento Monarchs | |||||||||||||||||
| Pro career | 1993–2009 | ||||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||||
| 1993–1997 | DJK Wildcats Aschaffenburg | ||||||||||||||||
| 1997–1998 | Long Beach Stingrays | ||||||||||||||||
| 1998 | Chicago Condors | ||||||||||||||||
| 1999–2007 | Sacramento Monarchs | ||||||||||||||||
| 2000–2002 | Lavezzini Basket Parma | ||||||||||||||||
| 2003–2004 | UMMC Ekaterinburg | ||||||||||||||||
| 2005–2006 | UMMC Ekaterinburg | ||||||||||||||||
| 2008 | Seattle Storm | ||||||||||||||||
| 2009 | Indiana Fever | ||||||||||||||||
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Yolanda Evette Griffith (born March 1, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player. She played in both the ABL and the WNBA. Yolanda was an amazing player, known for her strong defense and ability to get rebounds and steals.
She was named the WNBA's Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 1999. In 2005, she helped her team, the Sacramento Monarchs, win the WNBA championship. She was also named the MVP of those WNBA Finals! Yolanda was chosen as a WNBA All-Star eight times. She was also the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year in 1999.
Fans voted her as one of the top 15 players in WNBA history in 2011. People sometimes called her "Yo" or "Yo-Yo." Yolanda Griffith is a member of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame (inducted in 2014) and the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame (inducted in 2021).
Contents
Early Life and High School
Yolanda Griffith was born in Chicago, Illinois. She went to George Washington Carver High School in Chicago. In her last year of high school (1988–1989), she was named a First-team All-American by Parade Magazine for basketball. She was also a first-team All-America in softball that year!
College Basketball Journey
Yolanda was offered a special scholarship to play basketball at the University of Iowa. However, she had to change her plans after her daughter, Candace, was born.
She then went to Palm Beach Junior College in Florida. There, she earned Junior College All-America honors in 1990-91. Later, she moved to Florida Atlantic University, which was a Division II school at the time. She graduated in 1993 and was named the Kodak Division II Player of the Year. While studying, she worked for a car repossession company to support herself and her daughter.
Professional Basketball Career
Playing in Germany
After finishing college, Yolanda started her professional basketball career in Germany. She played for DJK Wildcats Aschaffenburg from 1993 to 1997. In 1997, she was the top scorer and rebounder in the Euroleague Women. She averaged 24.7 points and 17.1 rebounds per game!
Playing in the ABL
After four seasons in Germany, Yolanda joined the American Basketball League (ABL). This was another professional league in the U.S. before the WNBA became very popular. The Long Beach Stingrays picked her as the very first player in the ABL draft.
Yolanda led the Stingrays almost to the ABL title, but they lost to the Columbus Quest. She was named the ABL Defensive Player of the Year for the 1997–1998 season. She was also chosen for the All-ABL first team.
The Long Beach team stopped playing after the 1997–98 season. Yolanda then moved to the Chicago Condors, which was her hometown team. She only played there for a short time because the ABL league stopped operating in December 1998.
Becoming a WNBA Star
The Sacramento Monarchs chose Yolanda as the second overall pick in the 1999 WNBA draft. She quickly became a star! In 1999, she won three big awards: WNBA Most Valuable Player (MVP), Newcomer of the Year, and WNBA Defensive Player of the Year.
In 2001, Yolanda set a WNBA record for the most offensive rebounds in a single season with 162.
In 2005, the Monarchs won their first ever WNBA championship! They beat the Connecticut Sun. Yolanda was named the Finals MVP for her amazing performance.
After nine seasons with the Sacramento Monarchs, Yolanda signed with the Seattle Storm in 2008. In 2009, she joined the Indiana Fever.
On June 9, 2009, Yolanda unfortunately tore her achilles tendon during a game. In August of that year, she announced that she was retiring from professional basketball. Even after retiring, she was honored by the WNBA. In 2011, fans voted her as one of the top 15 players in the league's history. In 2016, she was again recognized as one of the WNBA's Top 20 players for the league's 20th anniversary.
Playing in Europe During Off-Season
Like many WNBA players, Yolanda also played basketball in Europe during the winter months when the WNBA season was over. She played two seasons for Lavezzini Basket Parma in Italy from 2000 to 2002. She also played for the Russian club UMMC Ekaterinburg in 2003–2004 and again in 2005–2006.
National Team Success
Yolanda Griffith was a key player for the U.S. National Women's Basketball team. She won two Gold Medals at the Summer Olympics! She helped the U.S. team win gold in Sydney in 2000 and again in Athens in 2004.
From 2013 to 2016, Yolanda also served on the USA Basketball Women's Development National Team Committee. This committee helps choose coaches and players for younger U.S. basketball teams.
Coaching Career
After her playing career, Yolanda Griffith became a basketball coach. She started as an assistant coach with the Indiana Fever in 2009. Later, she became an assistant coach at several colleges, including Dartmouth, Lafayette, Albany, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
In 2011, when she was coaching at Dartmouth, she helped the team's post players (players who play close to the basket) improve a lot. In 2018, she became an assistant coach for the Boston College Eagles. She continues to help young players develop their skills.
Images for kids
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Yolanda Griffith's headshot.
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Yolanda Griffith coaching from the sidelines.
See also
In Spanish: Yolanda Griffith para niños
