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Mercedes Russell

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Mercedes Russell
Russell with the Seattle Storm in 2019
Free agent
PositionCenter
Personal information
Born (1995-07-27) July 27, 1995 (age 30)
Springfield, Oregon, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight195 lb (88 kg)
Career information
High schoolSpringfield (Springfield, Oregon)
CollegeTennessee (2013–2018)
WNBA draft2018: 2nd round, 22nd overall pick
Drafted byNew York Liberty
Playing career2018–present
Career history
2018New York Liberty
2018–2024Seattle Storm
2019–2020Southside Flyers
2020–2021Galatasaray
2023–2024Southside Flyers
2024Heilongjiang Dragons
2025Shanxi Flame
2025Los Angeles Sparks
Career highlights
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Medals
Women's basketball
Representing the  United States
2015 Summer Universiade
Gold medal – first place 2015 Gwangju Team
FIBA Under-17 World Cup
Gold medal – first place 2012 Netherlands Team
FIBA Americas Under-16 Championship
Gold medal – first place 2011 Mexico Team

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

College

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

Statistics

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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

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WNBA

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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

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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

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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

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Regular season

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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

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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

References

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  1. ^ Greif, Andrew (April 14, 2018). "Marie Gulich leads 4 players with Oregon ties selected in 2018 WNBA draft". The Oregonian. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  2. ^ "Mercedes Russell - Women's Basketball - University of Tennessee Athletics". utsports.com.
  3. ^ "Seattle Storm Signs Mercedes Russell". storm.wnba.com.
  4. ^ "Transactions". WNBA.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. February 11, 2025. Retrieved February 12, 2025. Mercedes Russell signed a Contract with the Los Angeles Sparks.
  5. ^ "Cameron Brink working toward July return as Sparks prepare to host Sun". Orange County Register. July 12, 2025. Retrieved July 14, 2025.
  6. ^ "Southside Flyers on Facebook". Facebook. Archived from the original on April 30, 2022.[user-generated source]
  7. ^ "WNBL24 SOUTHSIDE FLYERS CYGNETT WNBL CHAMPIONS". wnbl.basketball. March 17, 2024. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
  8. ^ "Mercedes Russell WNBA Stats". Basketball Reference.
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