Lindsey Harding

Lindsey Harding
No. 10 – Beşiktaş J.K.
Position Point guard
League WNBA
Personal information
Born (1984-06-12) June 12, 1984
Mobile, Alabama
Nationality American / Belarusian
Listed height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Listed weight 139 lb (63 kg)
Career information
High school Cy-Fair (Cypress, Texas)
College Duke (2002–2007)
WNBA draft 2007 / Round: 1 / Pick: 1st overall
Selected by the Phoenix Mercury
Playing career 2007–present
Career history
2007–2008 Minnesota Lynx
2008–2009 Mersin BSB. S.K.
2009–2010 VICI Aistes Kaunas
2009–2010 Washington Mystics
2011–2012 Atlanta Dream
2013 Galatasaray
2013–2014 Los Angeles Sparks
2014–2015 Edirne Belediyesi
2015–2016 Dynamo Kursk
2016 Yakin Dogu
2016 New York Liberty
2016 Phoenix Mercury
2016–present Beşiktaş J.K.
Career highlights and awards
Stats at WNBA.com

Lindsey Marcie Harding (born June 12, 1984) is an American-Belarusian professional basketball player for Beşiktaş J.K. of the Turkish Women's Basketball League. Throughout her playing career, Harding played for the Minnesota Lynx, Washington Mystics, Atlanta Dream, Los Angeles Sparks, New York Liberty and Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and has played overseas in Turkey and Russia. She was born in Mobile, Alabama, but grew up in Houston, Texas.

College career

Harding had a standout career at Duke University. As a freshman in 2002–2003 she was named to the All-ACC Freshman Team, averaging 6.2 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.8 steals and had an ACC-best 2.1 assist/turnover ratio. As a sophomore in 2003–04 she averaged 7.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 2.0 steals and had an ACC-best 2.2 assist/turnover ratio.

Harding was redshirted for the 2004–05 season because of violation of team rules. She returned as a junior for 2005–2006 and was an Honorable Mention Kodak and Associated Press All-America, ACC Defensive Player of the Year. She averaged 10.7 points, 4.5 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 2.1 steals as a junior.

Harding finished her college career with 1,298 points, 25 blocks, 579 assists, 296 steals and 565 rebounds in 128 games (school record). She was only the sixth player in ACC history to register 1,000 points, 500 assists, 500 rebounds and 250 steals.

Despite her tremendous career numbers, contributions and a 32–2 record, she left Duke without winning an NCAA championship. Harding's senior season at Duke ended with the Rutgers Scarlet Knights' upset of the Blue Devils in the Sweet Sixteen round of the NCAA tournament, a one-point upset sealed by Harding's missing two free throws with 0.1 seconds remaining in the game.[1]

Following her senior season, Harding entered the 2007 WNBA draft.

On January 20, 2008, Harding was honored by having her jersey number (10) retired, becoming only the second Duke women's basketball player after former teammate Alana Beard to be bestowed that honor. Some have questioned whether Duke should have bestowed such an honor, given the undisclosed reasons behind her redshirt year.[2] In addition, on December 18, 2007, her jersey No. 12 was retired by Cy-Fair High School.

College statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
Year[3] Team GP Points FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2002–03 Duke 37 231 43.8 7.7 76.5 3.9 3.4 1.8 0.2 6.2
2003–04 Duke 34 230 45.9 24.1 65.5 4.5 4.9 2.0 0.1 6.8
2004–05 Duke Redshirted
2005–06 Duke 35 374 48.1 41.1 78.1 3.7 4.5 2.1 0.1 10.7
2006–07 Duke 34 463 44.4 38.1 74.8 4.0 3.9 1.5 0.3 13.6
Career Duke 140 1298 45.5 34.2 73.9 4.0 4.1 1.9 0.2 9.3

Awards

WNBA career

Harding was drafted first overall in the 2007 WNBA Draft by the Phoenix Mercury and was traded to the Minnesota Lynx for forward Tangela Smith the same day.

During the 2007 season, Harding was leading all rookies in scoring before a knee injury ended her season on July 10.[6] She was named to the WNBA All-Rookie Team by the end of the season and finished with averages of 11.7 points and 3.9 assists per game.

On January 30, 2009, Harding was traded to the Washington Mystics for the first and second round picks in the 2009 WNBA draft. She had a stellar season with the Mystics, averaging a career-high 12.8 points and 4.6 assists per game.[7] In her second season with the Mystics, Harding scored a career-high 33 points against the Indiana Fever.[8]

On April 11, 2011, Harding was traded to the Atlanta Dream along with the 2012 2nd round draft pick in exchange for Ta'Shia Phillips, Kelly Miller, and the Dream's 2012 1st round draft pick. In her first season with the Dream, Harding was the starting point guard on the team's roster. Along with Izi Castro Marques, Érika de Souza, Sancho Lyttle and Angel McCoughtry, the Dream were a championship contender in the league. Harding experienced her first WNBA Finals appearance with the team as they had advanced all the way to the WNBA Finals for the second year in a row, but lost to her former team, the Minnesota Lynx in a 3-game sweep.

On February 5, 2013, Harding signed with the Los Angeles Sparks.[9] In her first season with the Sparks, Harding was ranked 5th in assists with a career-high 5.2 assists per game. On August 4, 2013, Harding had 11 points along with a career-high 14 assists in a regular season victory against her other former team, the Washington Mystics.[10] Despite being an effective distributor on a talented team, the Sparks were nowhere near championship contention as they were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. In 2015, the Sparks waived Harding after two seasons with the team.[11]

On April 18, 2016, Harding signed with the New York Liberty.[12] She was waived on June 15, after appearing in five games with the Liberty.[13]

On June 24, 2016, Harding signed with the Phoenix Mercury.[14] She was brought in to back up All-Star point guard Diana Taurasi, and coach Sandy Brondello, who worked with Harding while she was with the Sparks, felt that she fit the position.[15] Harding appeared in 21 regular season games and then 5 playoff games while helping the Mercury advance all the way to the league semifinals. Following the team's elimination by the Minnesota Lynx, Harding announced her retirement from the WNBA after playing 9 seasons in the league.[16]

International career

USA Basketball

Harding was twice part of the long list for the United States women's national basketball team, but missed out on both the 2010 FIBA World Championship in the Czech Republic, and the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. She is the first Naismith winner since Kate Starbird to not have played for Team USA.[17][18]

Belarus

In 2015, Harding was invited to play for the Belarus women's national basketball team, who needed more point guards.[19] She was approved to the EuroBasket Women 2015 roster after getting a Belarusian passport,[20] and helped the team finish the tournament in fourth. This led to Harding playing for Belarus in the 2016 FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Women, that could get her an Olympic spot.[21] With Harding as its leading scorer, Belarus won the fifth and final place for the 2016 Olympic tournament.[22] Harding was listed for the Belarusian roster, though she missed part of the preparation while solving her WNBA commitments.[23]

Overseas career

In the 2008-09 off-season, Harding played for Mersin BSB. S.K. in Turkey.[24] In the 2009-10 off-season, Harding played in Lituania for VICI Aistes Kaunas.[25] In the 2012-13 off-season, Harding played in Turkey for Galatasaray. In the 2014-15 off-season, Harding played for Edirne Belediyesi in Turkey.[26] In the 2015-16 off-season, Harding played for Dynamo Kursk in Russia for the first portion and spent the rest of the off-season playing for Yakin Dogu in Turkey. Following her retirement from the WNBA, Harding signed with Beşiktaş J.K. for the 2016-17 off-season.[27][28][29]

Off the court

On April 30, 2009, Harding had re-signed with Nike for an exclusive athletic shoe and apparel endorsement. Harding is represented by Newport Beach, CA base sports attorney Orlando J. Castano, Jr.

WNBA career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game  RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game  BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game
 TO  Turnovers per game  FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 Bold  Career high League leader

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2007 Minnesota 20 20 30.1 .354 .229 .679 4.4 3.9 1.0 0.3 2.3 11.7
2008 Minnesota 24 11 24.6 .367 .080 .694 2.3 3.2 1.1 0.1 2.2 6.4
2009 Washington 34 34 35.1 .435 .323 .748 4.0 4.5 1.2 0.3 2.9 12.8
2010 Washington 34 34 33.2 .445 .288 .766 3.0 4.0 1.3 0.1 2.7 12.1
2011 Atlanta 34 33 30.5 .455 .303 .733 3.2 4.8 1.0 0.1 2.3 10.5
2012 Atlanta 34 32 30.6 .425 .241 .818 2.8 4.5 1.3 0.2 2.0 12.3
2013 Los Angeles 33 33 30.6 .441 .182 .759 2.7 5.2 1.0 0.3 2.4 10.9
2014 Los Angeles 31 10 22.7 .333 .227 .786 1.8 3.2 1.0 0.0 1.4 5.7
2016* New York 5 3 22.9 .320 .000 1.000 2.8 3.6 0.2 0.0 1.2 3.6
2016* Phoenix 21 0 15.6 .370 .400 .870 1.7 2.1 0.5 0.1 0.9 3.9
2016 Total 26 3 19.2 .345 .200 .935 2.2 2.8 0.3 0.0 1.0 3.7
Career 9 years, 6 teams 270 210 28.7 .414 .252 .755 2.9 4.0 1.1 0.2 2.2 9.8

Postseason

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2009 Washington 2 2 40.5 .385 .000 1.000 2.5 4.0 1.5 0.0 5.0 10.5
2010 Washington 2 2 33.5 .219 .400 .625 2.5 3.0 2.0 0.0 3.0 10.5
2011 Atlanta 8 8 37.8 .391 .250 .743 3.0 5.9 1.8 0.2 1.6 14.5
2012 Atlanta 3 3 38.0 .426 .250 .889 4.7 5.3 2.6 0.3 3.6 19.0
2013 Los Angeles 3 3 32.9 .333 .000 .765 3.0 3.3 0.3 0.0 2.3 11.7
2014 Los Angeles 2 0 9.8 .500 .000 .667 0.5 2.0 1.0 0.0 0.0 4.0
2016 Phoenix 5 0 9.1 .462 .000 .000 0.4 1.4 0.0 0.2 1.0 2.4
Career 7 years, 4 teams 25 18 29.1 .376 .214 .733 2.4 3.9 1.3 0.2 2.1 10.8

References

  1. ↑ ESPN – Rutgers vs. Duke – Recap, March 24, 2007
  2. ↑ Beaton, Greg. "Lindsey hardly belongs in Cameron's rafters". Duke Chronicle. Retrieved Jan 15, 2008.
  3. ↑ "Women's Basketball Player stats". NCAA. Retrieved 24 Sep 2015.
  4. ↑ "WBCA NCAA Division I Defensive Player of the Year". Women's Basketball Coaches Association. Retrieved 1 Jul 2014.
  5. ↑ "Frances Pomeroy Naismith". Women's Basketball Coaches Association. Retrieved 30 Jun 2014.
  6. ↑
  7. ↑
  8. ↑ http://www.wnba.com/player/lindsey-harding/#/highs
  9. ↑ "Ex-WNBA All-Star Harding signs with Sparks". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2016-06-08.
  10. ↑ http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2013/08/04/hardings-career-high-in-assists-lifts-sparks-over-mystics-75-57/
  11. ↑ L.W (2015-02-10). "Los Angeles Sparks waive Lindsey Harding". Swish Appeal. Retrieved 2016-06-08.
  12. ↑ Liberty Signs Free Agent Guard Lindsey Harding
  13. ↑ New York Liberty Waives Guard Lindsey Harding
  14. ↑ Mercury Sign Former No. 1 Overall Pick Lindsey Harding
  15. ↑ Mercury fill needs with Lindsey Harding, Kelsey Bone
  16. ↑ Lynx Shoot Down Mercury, Another Trip To Finals On Tap
  17. ↑ Former WNBA No. 1 draft pick switches from U.S. to Belarus
  18. ↑ "Twenty-One Finalists In The Mix For Final 2012 U.S. Women's Olympic Basketball Team Roster". USA Basketball. February 13, 2012. Retrieved 13 February 2012.
  19. ↑ Belarus hope Harding helps team reach Olympics
  20. ↑ http://www.fibaeurope.com/cid_3-I9xIK,H52ZNfYSgahgJ0.inplayer_on.inteam_on.intext_on.incoach_on.search_Lindsey%20Harding.x_0.y_0.coid_Fy3zVWswIygmFMVOQ68vK3.htm
  21. ↑
  22. ↑ Lindsey Harding becomes first former Duke women's basketball player to qualify for Olympics
  23. ↑ "Belarus finalise roster for Rio Olympics". FIBA. 21 July 2016. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
  24. ↑ http://basketdergisi.com/lindsey-harding-edirnede.html
  25. ↑ http://basketball.eurobasket.com/team/Lithuania/VICI-Aistes-Kaunas/7698?Women=1&Year=2009-2010
  26. ↑ http://www.edirnesporbasket.com/?p=5117
  27. ↑ http://www.womensbasketball247.com/2016/08/2016-2017-wnba-overseas-signings/
  28. ↑ http://www.eurobasket.com/Turkey/news/461171/Besiktas-ink-Lindsey-Harding
  29. ↑ http://www.bjk.com.tr/en/news/67141/lindsey_harding_signs_with_besiktas_for_2016_17_season.html
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