Mercedes Russell

Mercedes Russell
	Russell in 2019
No. 21 – Seattle Storm
Position	Center
League	WNBA
Personal information
Born	July 27, 1995 (age 29); Springfield, Oregon, U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight	195 lb (88 kg)
Career information
High school	Springfield (Springfield, Oregon)
College	Tennessee (2013–2018)
WNBA draft	2018: 2nd round, 22nd overall pick
	Selected by the New York Liberty
Playing career	2018–present
Career history
2018	New York Liberty
2018–present	Seattle Storm
2019–2020	Southside Flyers
2020–2021	Galatasaray
2023–2024	Southside Flyers
2024	Heilongjiang Dragons
Career highlights and awards
	2× WNBA champion (2018, 2020); WNBA Commissioner's Cup champion (2021); WNBL champion (2024); WNBL Grand Final MVP (2024); First-team All-SEC (2018); Gatorade National Player of the Year (2013); McDonald's All-American (2013);
	Stats at Basketball Reference
Women's basketball
Representing the United States
FIBA Under-17 World Championship for Women

Mercedes Brianna Russell (born July 27, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for the Seattle Storm of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). 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

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

Statistics


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

WNBA

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.

WNBL

In 2019, Russell was signed by the newly rebranded Southside Flyers in Australia's Women's National Basketball League (WNBL).^[4] 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.^[5]

Career statistics

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

Regular season

Stats current through end of 2024 season

WNBA regular season statistics^[6]
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
2018	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
Career	7 years, 2 teams	189	79	17.9	.524	.000	.649	4.0	0.9	0.6	0.3	1.0	4.9

Playoffs

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

^ Greif, Andrew (April 14, 2018). "Marie Gulich leads 4 players with Oregon ties selected in 2018 WNBA draft". The Oregonian. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
^ "Mercedes Russell - Women's Basketball - University of Tennessee Athletics". utsports.com.
^ "Seattle Storm Signs Mercedes Russell". storm.wnba.com.
^ "Southside Flyers on Facebook". Facebook. Archived from the original on April 30, 2022.^{[user-generated source]}
^ "WNBL24 SOUTHSIDE FLYERS CYGNETT WNBL CHAMPIONS". wnbl.basketball. March 17, 2024. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
^ "Mercedes Russell WNBA Stats". Basketball Reference.

External links

Career statistics and player information from WNBA.com and Basketball Reference
Tennessee Lady Vols bio

[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] "Southside Flyers on Facebook". Facebook. Archived from the original on April 30, 2022.^{[user-generated source]}

[5] "WNBL24 SOUTHSIDE FLYERS CYGNETT WNBL CHAMPIONS". wnbl.basketball. March 17, 2024. Retrieved March 17, 2024.

[6] "Mercedes Russell WNBA Stats". Basketball Reference.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

v t e Seattle Storm current roster
1 Mühl 3 Ogwumike 4 Diggins-Smith 5 Williams 8 Holmes 13 Magbegor 21 Russell 23 Horston 24 Loyd 32 Whitcomb 35 Vivians Head coach N. Quinn Assistant coaches P. Chatman E. Hoffman P. Huang
East ATL CHI CON IND NY WAS West DAL LV LA MIN PHO SEA