MIES (Switzerland) - Three-time Olympic champion and two-time FIBA Basketball World Cup winner Dawn Staley of the USA is being inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame Class of 2025. She will be honored at an enshrinement ceremony in Bahrain on May 17 and is joined by Alphonse Bilé (Côte d'Ivoire), Andrew Bogut (Australia), Leonor Borrell (Cuba), Pau Gasol (Spain), Ticha Penicheiro (Portugal), Ratko Radovanovic (Serbia); as well as Coach Mike Krzyzewski (USA).
Staley is one of the best backcourt ballers to have ever worn a USA jersey on the international stage, having put her name up in lights across countless major tournaments with her stellar contributions as point guard.
The success she attained for her country came off the back of a sparkling College career with Virginia Cavaliers. She landed the prestigious Naismith College Player of the Year award and ACC Female Athlete of the Year accolade twice - amongst a host of other individual honors.
Stepping out at the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup in 1994, she took her first medal at a FIBA event, but had to settle for bronze. It was something she would turn to gold at the next two editions and even if USA came up short in Australia, Staley was still named USA Basketball Player of the Year.
She won the title for the first time in 1998 in Germany and led USA in assists with almost six per game for her team. Staley then claimed back-to-back FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup gold medals by standing on the top of the podium in 2002 in China and once again handing out more dimes than any of her teammates.
A three-time Olympian and gold medal winner, her first Olympic appearance took place at the 1996 Games and it was extra special since it took place on home soil in Atlanta. She was then integral to USA winning again at the Sydney 2000 Games.
But the most memorable time for Staley came when she not only made it three consecutive golds, but was also a USA flag bearer for Athens in 2004. Her performances at the event also led to her being named 2004 USA Basketball Female Athlete Of The Year for a second time and exactly a decade after first being handed the honor.
An iconic figure in the women’s game for her accomplishments at the club level too, she is a six-time WNBA All-Star Player and was named to both the WNBA 10th and 15th Anniversary Teams.
The playmaker was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012 and then into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame a year later.
Staley then garnered success on the sidelines when she moved into coaching, firstly delivering the FIBA U19 Women's Basketball World Cup in 2015 and then talking USA to gold at the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2018 in Spain and at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Name | Dawn Staley |
Category of inductee | Point guard |
Date of birth | 4th May 1970 |
Place of birth | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America |
Nationality | American |
Height | 1.68 m, 5 ft 6 in |
Teams | Tarbes Gespe Bigorre (1994-1995) Richmond / Philadelphia Rage (1996-1998) Charlotte Sting (1999-2005) Houston Comets (2005-2006) |
National team highlights | University Games gold medallist (1991) William Jones Cup gold medallist (1992) FIBA World Cup bronze medallist (1994) Two-time FIBA World Cup gold medallist (1998, 2002) Three-time Olympic Games gold medallist (1996, 2000, 2004) |
Individual highlights | Six-time WNBA All-Star (2001–2006) WNBA 10th Anniversary Team (2006) WNBA 15th Anniversary Team (2011) WNBA Three-Point Shootout champion (2006) WNBA Skills Challenge champion (2003) Two-time ABL All-Star (1997, 1998) NCAA Tournament MOP (1991) 2x ACC Female Athlete of the Year (1991, 1992) ACC Tournament MVP (1992) 2× Honda Sports Award (1991, 1992) Honda-Broderick Cup (1991) 2× Naismith College Player of the Year (1991, 1992) 2× WBCA Player of the Year (1991, 1992) 2× USBWA Player of the Year (1991, 1992) 2× ACC Player of the Year (1991, 1992) 3x Kodak All-American (1990–1992) 2x All-American – USBWA (1991, 1992) 3x First-team All-ACC (1990–1992) ACC Rookie of the Year (1989) USA Flag bearer in Olympic Games Opening Ceremony (2004) Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (2013) Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame (2012) |
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