Erlana Larkins

Erlana Larkins
No. 2 Indiana Fever
Position Power forward
League WNBA
Personal information
Born (1986-04-02) April 2, 1986
West Palm Beach, Florida
Nationality American
Listed height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Listed weight 205 lb (93 kg)
Career information
High school The Benjamin School
(North Palm Beach, Florida)
College North Carolina (2004–2008)
WNBA draft 2008 / Round: 1 / Pick: 14th overall
Selected by the New York Liberty
Playing career 2008–present
Career history
20082009 New York Liberty
2008–2009 Samsun Basketbol
2009–2013 Mersin BŞB
2012–present Indiana Fever
2013–2014 Jiangsu Phoenix
2014 Famila Schio
2014–2015 Adana ASKİ
2016–present Olympiacos
Career highlights and awards
Stats at WNBA.com

Erlana La'Nay Larkins (born April 2, 1986) is an American professional basketball player for the Indiana Fever of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and Olympiacos of Greece.

High school

Larkins played for The Benjamin School in North Palm Beach, Florida, where she was named a WBCA All-American. She participated in the 2004 WBCA High School All-America Game where she scored four points.[1] She is the school's all-time leading scorer with over 3,000 career points.

USA basketball

Larkins was a member of the USA Women's U18 team which won the gold medal at the FIBA Americas Championship in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. The event was held in August 2004, when the USA team defeated Puerto Rico to win the championship. Larkins helped the team win the gold medal, scoring 9.0 points per game and recording eleven steals during the event.[2]

She continued on as the U18 team became the USA Women's U19 team which competed in the 2005 U19 World Championships in Tunis, Tunisia. The USA team won all eight games, winning the gold medal. Larkins hit eight out of nine field goals attempts in the opening round game against South Korea. In the gold medal game, she was a perfect nine for nine, scoring 20 points.[3]

Larkins played for the USA team in the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The team won all five games, earning the Gold Medal for the event.[4]

College career

Larkins played college basketball at the University of North Carolina for the Tar Heels. She made the all-ACC first team in 2006, 2007, and 2008.


WNBA career

Larkins was drafted 14th overall by the New York Liberty in the 2008 WNBA Draft. In her rookie season, she averaged 4.8 ppg and 2.7 rpg off the bench. In 2010, Larkins was waived by the Liberty. During her three-year absence from the WNBA she played overseas in Turkey for Mersin Büyükşehir Belediyesi. In 2011, Larkins had signed a training camp contract with the Phoenix Mercury but was waived before the start of the season. In 2012, Larkins signed with the Indiana Fever. In her first season with the Fever, she averaged 4.1 ppg and 4.4 rpg as a reserve. The Fever finished second place in the Eastern Conference with a 22-12 record. During the playoffs, Larkins was put in the starting lineup at the four spot and was effective for the Fever with her scoring and rebounding, nearly averaging a double-double (9.9 ppg and 10.9 rpg). The Fever would eventually end up winning the 2012 WNBA Championship after they defeated the Minnesota Lynx 3-1 in the Finals. During the series, Larkins had tied the second-most total for rebounds in a WNBA Finals game when she grabbed 15 rebounds in Game 1.[5] The following season, Larkins became the starting power forward for the Fever and averaged 7.9 ppg as well as 7.8 rpg. In the 2014 season, Larkins put up career-best averages of 9.7 ppg and 9.2 rpg (ranked fourth in the league). She had also led the league in field goal percentage, shooting 59%.[6] In the 2015 season, Larkins missed several games due to a knee injury and played 21 games with only 3 starts, but was able to start again for the Fever during the playoffs.[7] The Fever had advanced all the way to the Finals for a rematch with the Lynx but lost the series 3-2. In the 2016 season, Larkins was healthy again after undergoing surgery on her knee. She started in 33 games, averaging 8.3 ppg and 7.4 rpg. The Fever made it to the playoffs but were eliminated in the first round elimination game by the Phoenix Mercury.

Notes


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