# Dana Evans (basketball)

Dana Evans (born August 1, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for the Las Vegas Aces of the Women's National Basketball Association, and Beşiktaş of the Turkish Super League. A two-time ACC Basketball Player of the Year at the University of Louisville, she was drafted by the Dallas Wings with the 13th overall pick of the 2021 WNBA draft.

## Early life

Evans grew up in Gary, Indiana, where although she did not play basketball until the fourth grade, she immediately excelled at it. She was praised for her skills on defense, and was said to have garnered an offer to play college basketball by Valparaiso head coach Keith Freeman in the sixth grade. The first girl from Gary to make it to the McDonald's All-American Game, Evans averaged over 35 points per game in her senior season, also winning three Class 4A sectional titles for West Side Leadership Academy.

## College career

One of the top recruits in college basketball, Evans committed to playing at Louisville, where she was named to the ACC All-Freshman team in 2018. In her sophomore year she was named the ACC sixth player of the year after averaging over 10 points per game off the bench.
Evans was named the ACC Player of the Year in 2020, the first player in ACC history to go from winning sixth player of the year to player of the year. She was also named the conference player of the year in 2021, the fourth consecutive season a player from the Louisville program was named the conference's top player.

## Professional career
### WNBA
#### Dallas Wings (2021)

Evans was drafted by the Dallas Wings with the 13th overall pick of the 2021 WNBA draft. On June 2, 2021, Evans was traded to the Chicago Sky in exchange for Shyla Heal, the option to swap first-round picks with the Sky in the 2022 WNBA draft, and a 2022 third-round draft pick.

#### Chicago Sky (2021–present)

With Chicago, Evans became the backup point guard for Courtney Vandersloot. Evans was named to the 2021 WNBA All-Rookie Team and won the 2021 championship with the Sky, who defeated the Phoenix Mercury 3–1 in the 2021 WNBA Finals.
In the 2022 WNBA season, Evans made her first career start in the season opener and recorded a new career-high 24 points. She returned to the bench for the remainder of the season and continued in her role as a backup point guard. However, her playing time diminished with the mid-season arrival of another point guard, Julie Allemand. The Sky failed to repeat their 2021 run, losing in the semifinals, 2–3, to the Connecticut Sun.
With the departure of several key players before the 2023 WNBA season, including starting point guard Vandersloot, Evans's role and playing time increased with the Sky. Although she did not assume the starting role, facing competition from new arrivals Courtney Williams and Marina Mabrey, her playing time nearly doubled, and she posted career-high averages in all statistical categories. The Sky made the playoffs as the eighth seed, but were swept in the first round by the eventual champions, the Las Vegas Aces.
Evans began the 2024 WNBA season as the starting point guard for the Sky. However, she lost her starting spot twelve games into the season and experienced inconsistent playing time throughout the rest of it. Due to her reduced role, Evans initiated trade talks before the Olympic break in July but ultimately stayed with the Sky for the rest of the season.

### Overseas

In winter 2021, Evans played for KSC Szekszárd in Hungary.
Since the 2022–2023 season, Evans has played for Beşiktaş of the Turkish Super League. She was the top scorer of the 2023–24 EuroCup Women and led her team to the finals, where they lost 145–149 on aggregate to the London Lions.

## Off the court

Evans is a Jordan Brand athlete, and designed her own player exclusive of the Jordan Tatum 2 which Jayson Tatum wore in the second game of the 2024 NBA Eastern Conference Finals.

## Career statistics

| † | Denotes seasons in which Evans won a WNBA championship |

### WNBA
#### Regular season

Stats current through end of 2024 regular season
WNBA regular season statistics :
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
| 2021 | Dallas | 6 | 0 | 4.0 | .342 | .400 | 1.000 | 0.4 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 0.8 |
| 2021 | Chicago$^†$ | 23 | 0 | 8.6 | .356 | .405 | .885 | 0.5 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 3.9 |
| 2022 | Chicago | 33 | 1 | 11.5 | .377 | .328 | .880 | 0.8 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.8 | 4.3 |
| 2023 | Chicago | 39 | 1 | 21.5 | .360 | .294 | .854 | 1.2 | 3.0 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 1.6 | 9.0 |
| 2024 | Chicago | 39 | 12 | 19.1 | .377 | .376 | .960 | 1.1 | 2.4 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 1.4 | 7.2 |
| Career | 4 years, 2 teams | 140 | 14 | 15.6 | .367 | .391 | .889 | 0.9 | 2.0 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 1.1 | 6.2 |

### Playoffs

Playoff statistics :
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
| 2021$^†$ | Chicago | 9 | 0 | 7.1 | .313 | .417 | .000 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 1.7 |
| 2022 | Chicago | 4 | 0 | 5.8 | .600 | .600 | 1.000 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 4.3 |
| 2023 | Chicago | 2 | 0 | 22.5 | .417 | .400 | 1.000 | 0.5 | 3.5 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 14.5 |
| Career | 3 years, 1 team | 15 | 0 | 8.8 | .420 | .400 | 1.000 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 4.1 |

### College

NCAA statistics :
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
| 2017–18 | Louisville | 39 | 1 | 21.0 | .364 | .224 | .797 | 2.0 | 3.4 | 0.1 | 1.1 | 1.8 | 5.1 |
| 2018–19 | Louisville | 36 | 5 | 25.9 | .418 | .385 | .842 | 2.4 | 4.0 | 0.0 | 1.5 | 1.8 | 10.4 |
| 2019–20 | Louisville | 30 | 29 | 33.7 | .416 | .431 | .890 | 2.8 | 4.2 | 0.0 | 0.8 | 2.5 | 18.0 |
| 2020–21 | Louisville | 30 | 30 | 32.9 | .430 | .353 | .873 | 2.7 | 3.9 | 0.1 | 1.3 | 2.1 | 20.1° |
| Career | Career | 135 | 65 | 27.8 | .414 | .377 | .858 | 2.4 | 3.9 | 0.0 | 1.2 | 2.0 | 12.7 |