Aerial Powers

Aerial Powers

No. 23 – Dallas Wings
Position	Small forward
League	WNBA
Personal information
Born	(1994-01-17) January 17, 1994 Detroit, Michigan
Nationality	American
Listed height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Listed weight	157 lb (71 kg)
Career information
High school	Detroit Country Day (Detroit, Michigan)
College	Michigan State (2013–2016)
WNBA draft	2016 / Round: 1 / Pick: 5th overall
Selected by the Dallas Wings
Playing career	2016–present
Career history
2016–present	Dallas Wings
Career highlights and awards
WNBA All-Rookie Team (2016) 3× First-team All-Big Ten (2014–2016)
Stats at WNBA.com
Medals Representing the USA World University Games 2015 South Korea Team Competition

Aerial Powers (born January 17, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for the Dallas Wings of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).^[1][2] In 2016, Powers signed an endorsement deal with Nike.^[3]

Early life

Powers was born in Detroit, Michigan to Juan and Cecelia Powers. She has a younger brother named Juan Jr. Powers. Before playing basketball, Powers participated in boxing at a young age.^[4]

High school

Powers was a 2012 graduate of Detroit Country Day. During her high school career, Powers lead her school team to four consecutive regional championships. Upon graduation, Powers accepted a basketball scholarship at Michigan State University.

College

Powers attended Michigan State University for four seasons. Powers couldn't play for Michigan State in her first year due to a torn achilles tendon that she suffered in practice before the season started.^[5] In her second year, Powers came back healthy and averaged 13.8 points per game in her first season for Michigan State. During her first season, Powers had 26 points and 18 rebounds against Hampton University in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, which was the third-most points scored by a Michigan State Spartan in the NCAA Tournament, while her rebounding performance broke Michigan State's NCAA Tournament single-game record. By the end of her first season, Powers was named to the All-Big Ten First Team, becoming the first Michigan State freshman to ever be named to the First Team. She was also named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team and was a co-recipient for both Michigan State's Player of the Year and Spartan Hustle award. In her second season with Michigan State, Powers had the best year of her college career, averaging 21.9 points and 12.1 rebounds per game. During the season, she had 24 double-doubles, which tied her for first on the All-Big Ten First Team and was the third-most in the NCAA. In her final season with Michigan State, Powers averaged 21.8 points and 9.2 points per game. In February 2016, Power earned espnW player of the week honors following her career-high 40 points (on 14–26 field goal shooting) along with 8 rebounds and 6 assists in a 114–106 win against Minnesota.^[6] By the end of the season, she was named to the All-American Third Team and the All-Big Ten First Team for the third time. Following her senior season, Powers entered the 2016 WNBA draft.^[7]

College statistics

Source^{[8][9][10][11][12]}

Professional career

WNBA

Powers was drafted 5th overall by the Dallas Wings in the 2016 WNBA draft.^[13] In her rookie season, Powers came off the bench and was effective on the Wings' second unit, averaging 10.4 points per game in 32 games with 2 starts. In a loss to the Washington Mystics, she put up career-highs in both scoring and rebounding with 21 points and 10 rebounds. It was also her first career double-double.^[14] She was named to the WNBA All-Rookie Team by the end of the season.

USA Basketball

Aerial Powers driving in the World University gold medal game against Canada

Powers was selected to be a member of the USA representative to the World University Games held in Seoul, South Korea from July 5–13, 2015. The team won all six games, including the championship game against Canada. The first three quarters the game were quite close with four ties and four lead changes. In the fourth quarter the USA exploded for 34 points to pull out to a large lead, and won the gold-medal with a score of 82–63.^[15]

Overseas

During her rookie season, Powers signed with Bucheon KEB Hana Bank, a South Korean club for the 2016–17 off-season.^[16] However, she ended up not playing for the team due to a tear on her hip labrum that she sustained towards the end of the 2016 WNBA season.^[17] She underwent hip surgery that would keep her out for the entire off-season.^[18]

WNBA career statistics

Regular season

References

External links

• Aerial Powers profile at WNBA.com