# Azurá Stevens

Azurá Breeona Stevens (born February 1, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Stevens played college basketball at Duke and UConn. She was drafted with the 6th overall pick in the 2018 WNBA draft by the Dallas Wings.

## Early life

Stevens was born in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, the daughter of Damon and Kaasha Stevens. She attended Cary High School in Cary, North Carolina, graduating in 2014. She played basketball at Cary High, where she averaged 30 points, 20 rebounds, and four blocks her senior year. As a sophomore and junior in high school, she played basketball with The Miracle League of the Triangle.
Stevens was an All-Academic selection all four years of high school. Her senior year, she was selected as an All-American by Parade Magazine. In 2014, she was selected for All-State by the Associated Press and for All-North Carolina First Team by USA Today.

## College career

Stevens played for the Duke Blue Devils during the 2014–15 and 2015-16 season. At Duke, she was named to the All-ACC Second Team as a freshman and to the First Team as a sophomore. She sat out the following due to transfer rules before playing for the UConn Huskies in the 2017-18 season. At UConn, she was named to the All-AAC Second Team and received the AAC Sixth Player of Year and AAC Newcomer of Year awards.

## Professional career
### WNBA
#### Dallas Wings (2018–2019)

In April 2018, Stevens decided to forgo her senior year of college and declare for the 2018 WNBA draft. She was a highly rated player expected to be taken in the first round of the draft, and noted for her ability to play "positionless" basketball.
In her rookie season for the Wings, Stevens mostly came off the bench, averaging 20.6 minutes, 8.9 points, and 4.6 rebounds per game, and was named to the WNBA All-Rookie Team. Although the Wings ended the season with a 15–19 losing record, they entered the playoffs as the eighth seed and lost in the first round to the Phoenix Mercury. Stevens missed most of the 2019 season with an injury, playing only 9 games where she averaged 16 minutes and 4.8 points per game. She later had surgery on her injured foot.

#### Chicago Sky (2020–2022)

Ahead of the 2020 season, the Wings traded Stevens to the Chicago Sky in exchange for Katie Lou Samuelson and first-round pick in the 2021 WNBA draft. In reporting ahead of the 2018 draft, multiple outlets had expected the Sky to draft Stevens with the third or fourth pick. With the Sky, Stevens was expected to fill a gap in the forward position created by the departure of Astou Ndour.

#### Los Angeles Sparks (2023–present)

Ahead of the 2023 season, Stevens signed a two-year contract with the Los Angeles Sparks. On August 22, 2024, Stevens signed a one-year contract extension with the Sparks.

### Overseas
#### Galatasaray

On August 3, 2022, she signed with Galatasaray of the Turkish Women's Basketball Super League (TKBL). As of July 2023, her contract has expired. Galatasaray club said goodbye to the player on July 6, 2023 by publishing a thank you message.

### Unrivaled

On October 3, 2024, it was announced that Stevens would appear and play in the inaugural season of Unrivaled, the women's 3-on-3 basketball league founded by Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart. She was selected for Rose BC. Rose won the first ever Unrivaled championship. Stevens had 19 points and 18 rebounds in the championship game.

## Career statistics

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

### 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 | Dallas | 34 | 9 | 20.6 | .430 | .318 | .788 | 4.6 | 1.3 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 1.5 | 8.9 |
| 2019 | Dallas | 9 | 1 | 16.0 | .358 | .111 | .800 | 3.6 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 4.8 |
| 2020 | Chicago | 13 | 13 | 27.3 | .500 | .385 | .850 | 5.9 | 1.5 | 0.9 | 1.8 | 1.5 | 11.5 |
| 2021$^†$ | Chicago | 30 | 11 | 19.6 | .500 | .333 | .813 | 4.6 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 7.4 |
| 2022 | Chicago | 35 | 8 | 21.9 | .472 | .362 | .744 | 3.9 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 10.6 |
| 2023 | Los Angeles | 35 | 29 | 26.0 | .404 | .321 | .754 | 5.9 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 1.5 | 10.8 |
| 2024 | Los Angeles | 20 | 19 | 24.7 | .399 | .350 | .815 | 7.0 | 1.9 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 1.8 | 9.6 |
| Career | 7 years, 3 teams | 176 | 90 | 22.5 | .440 | .337 | .784 | 5.0 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 9.4 |

#### Playoffs

WNBA playoff statistics :
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
| 2018 | Dallas | 1 | 0 | 13.0 | 1.000 | 1.000 | .000 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 7.0 |
| 2021$^†$ | Chicago | 10 | 10 | 25.4 | .477 | .263 | .786 | 6.9 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 9.8 |
| 2022 | Chicago | 8 | 0 | 18.8 | .472 | .188 | .667 | 3.8 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 7.4 |
| Career | 3 years, 2 teams | 19 | 10 | 21.9 | .486 | .250 | .739 | 5.3 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 8.6 |

### College

NCAA statistics :
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
| 2014–15 | Duke | 33 | 25 | 28.8 | .512 | .283 | .596 | 8.2 | 1.7 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 2.6 | 14.1 |
| 2015–16 | Duke | 25 | 25 | 31.2 | .535 | .358 | .750 | 9.6 | 1.6 | 1.3 | 2.1 | 2.7 | 18.9 |
| 2016–17 | Connecticut | Did not play (NCAA transfer rules) | Did not play (NCAA transfer rules) | Did not play (NCAA transfer rules) | Did not play (NCAA transfer rules) | Did not play (NCAA transfer rules) | Did not play (NCAA transfer rules) | Did not play (NCAA transfer rules) | Did not play (NCAA transfer rules) | Did not play (NCAA transfer rules) | Did not play (NCAA transfer rules) | Did not play (NCAA transfer rules) | Did not play (NCAA transfer rules) |
| 2017–18 | Connecticut | 37 | 8 | 20.9 | .606 | .176 | .791 | 7.4 | 1.9 | 0.8 | 2.1 | 1.3 | 14.7 |
| Career | Career | 95 | 58 | 26.4 | .552 | .273 | .707 | 8.3 | 1.7 | 1.0 | 1.7 | 2.1 | 15.6 |