# Mercedes Russell

Mercedes Brianna Russell (born July 27, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and for the Shanxi Flame of the Women's Chinese Basketball Association (WCBA). 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. In high school, she was named 2013 Gatorade Girls' Basketball Player of the Year.

## College

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

### 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 | Injured | Injured | Injured | Injured | Injured | Injured | Injured | Injured | Injured | Injured | 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. 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.

### WNBL

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

## Career statistics
### WNBA
#### Regular season

Stats current through end of 2024 season
WNBA regular season statistics :
| 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 |