_(cropped).jpg) McDonald with theAtlanta Dream in 2023 | |
| No. 2 – Indiana Fever | |
|---|---|
| Position | Shooting guard /point guard |
| League | WNBA |
| Personal information | |
| Born | (1998-08-20)August 20, 1998 (age 27) Fresno, California, U.S. |
| Listed height | 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) |
| Listed weight | 141 lb (64 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Brookside Christian (Stockton, California) |
| College |
|
| WNBA draft | 2021: 1st round, 3rd overall pick |
| Drafted by | Atlanta Dream |
| Playing career | 2021–present |
| Career history | |
| 2021–2023 | Atlanta Dream |
| 2021 | Uni Gyor MELY-UT |
| 2023–2024 | Perth Lynx |
| 2024 | Los Angeles Sparks |
| 2024–2025 | Beijing Great Wall |
| 2025–present | Indiana Fever |
| 2026–present | Breeze BC |
| Career highlights | |
| |
Stats atBasketball Reference  | |
Aarion Shawnae McDonald (AIR-ee-on; born August 20, 1998) is an American professionalbasketball player for theIndiana Fever of theWomen's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and for theBreeze ofUnrivaled. She was selected third overall by theAtlanta Dream in the2021 WNBA draft after playingcollege basketball for theWashington Huskies and theArizona Wildcats.[1]
McDonald grew up inFresno, California as the youngest of six children. After initially playing atBullard High School in her freshman year, she transferred to Brookside Christian High School inStockton, California. At Brookside, she compiled nearly 1,500 points scored in her two years with the school, recording multiple triple-doubles and even a quadruple double.[2] A four-star recruit, she committed to playingcollege basketball atWashington.
After missing the first seven games due to injury, McDonald played in 28 games, starting 21 of them. She was named to thePac-12 All-Freshman team after averaging 9.8 points on the season, third on the team behindKelsey Plum and Chantel Osahor.[3]
McDonald announced that she would leave the program and transfer after one season.[4] She cited departures of Plum, Osahor, head coachMike Neighbors, assistant coachMorgan Valley, and the passing of her grandfather as reasons for her transfer.[5]
McDonald decided to transfer to play atArizona forAdia Barnes, a former Washington assistant who was heavily involved in recruiting her to play for the Huskies.[6][7] She spent her first season with the program sitting out due to transfer rules and was a member of the scout team.[8]
McDonald made an immediate impact in her first year on the court for the Wildcats, tying the school's single game scoring record with 39 points againstLoyola Marymount in the second game of the season.[9] She finished the season with 890 points scored, breaking a single-season record set by her coach Barnes, and was the second player inPac-12 history to have 800 points and 150 assists, joining her former teammate Plum.[5] She was named to the All-Pac-12 first team and defensive team at the end of the season.[10]
After tying the single-game record for scoring in the previous season, McDonald broke the record with a 44-point performance against 22nd-rankedTexas on November 17, 2019.[11]
McDonald racked up awards, being named a second-teamAll-American by theAssociated Press andUnited States Basketball Writers Association, a first-team All-American by theWomen's Basketball Coaches Association,Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, first-team All-Pac-12 and on the Pac-12 All-Defensive team.[12] She was also a finalist for theNaismith Defensive Player of the Year Award and named the 2020 recipient of theAnn Meyers Drysdale Award, given to the top shooting guard in the country.[13][14]
Although she was eligible for the WNBA draft, McDonald announced that she would return for her senior season at Arizona.[15][16]
McDonald was named thePac-12 Conference Player of the Year, becoming the first Arizona player to win the award since her head coach Adia Barnes.[17] She was also named the Co-Defensive Player of the Year, the second consecutive year she was named the winner.
McDonald excelled during Arizona's2021 NCAA tournament run. After leading the Wildcats pastStony Brook andBYU, she scored 31 points againstTexas A&M in the Sweet Sixteen, sending Arizona to the Elite Eight for the first time.[18] She scored 33 points in the Wildcats' Elite Eight match againstIndiana, despite suffering an ankle injury with more than two minutes remaining in the game.[19] In their next game againstUConn, she scored 26 points en route to earning the first championship appearance in program history, as well as praise from UConn head coachGeno Auriemma.[20]
In thenational championship game, McDonald scored a game-high 22 points and was able to get the final shot of the game off, but could not get it to fall as the Wildcats lost toStanford 54–53, ending their historic run.[21] She ended her college career after scoring double-digits in 93 consecutive games, which was the longest active streak.
After being projected to be a top-five draft pick,[22][23] McDonald was drafted third overall by theAtlanta Dream in the2021 WNBA draft.[1] She averaged 6.3 points, 1.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 30 games in the2021 WNBA season.[24] She was subsequently named to theWNBA All-Rookie Team.[25]
McDonald returned to the Atlanta Dream for the2022 WNBA season and averaged 11.1 points, 2.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.4 steals in 36 games.[24] She returned to the Dream in2023 for a third season.[24]
On February 1, 2024, McDonald was traded to theLos Angeles Sparks alongside the 8th pick in the2024 WNBA draft in exchange forJordin Canada and the 12th pick.[26]
On April 15, 2025, McDonald re-signed with the Sparks.[27] However, she did not play the season with the team, as she did not make the final roster.[28]
On June 2, 2025, McDonald signed with theIndiana Fever via emergency hardship exception due to injuries toCaitlin Clark andSophie Cunningham.[29] She was released by the Fever on June 13 upon their return.[30] The Fever re-signed McDonald on June 25.[31] During the fourth quarter of theFever's August 7 game atPhoenix, McDonald exited the fourth with a right foot injury.[32][33] The following day, the Fever announced McDonald had sustained a season-ending injury, a fracture in her right foot.[34][35]
On November 5, 2025, it was announced that McDonald had been drafted byBreeze BC for the2026 Unrivaled season.[36]
In October 2021, McDonald had a four-game stint in Hungary with Uni Gyor MELY-UT.[24]
On August 25, 2023, McDonald signed with thePerth Lynx in Australia for the2023–24 WNBL season.[37][38] On December 29, 2023, she was ruled out for six weeks with a knee injury. She suffered atorn medial collateral ligament two days earlier against theUC Capitals but avoided a knee reconstruction.[39] She returned to the line-up for the final two regular-season games, scoring 24 and 26 points to help the Lynx clinch a playoff spot.[40] She finished as the league'sscoring champion with 19.8 points per game[41] and earnedAll-WNBL Second Team honors.[42] She scored 26 and 27 points in two semi-final games to lift the fourth-placed Lynx over the first-placedTownsville Fire to reach the WNBL grand final series.[43][44][45] In game one of the grand final series against theSouthside Flyers, McDonald had 15 points and 10 assists in a 101–79 win.[46][47] They went on to lose game two 97–95 despite McDonald's game-high 26 points.[48][49] McDonald had 21 points in a 115–81 loss in game three.[50][51]
McDonald signed with theBeijing Great Wall of theWomen's Chinese Basketball Association for the 2024–2025 season.[52]
| 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 best | ° | League leader |
Stats current through end of 2025 season
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Atlanta | 30 | 4 | 16.4 | .322 | .308 | .882 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 1.2 | 6.3 |
| 2022 | Atlanta | 36 | 6 | 24.3 | .411 | .338 | .871 | 2.3 | 2.6 | 1.4 | 0.0 | 2.1 | 11.1 |
| 2023 | Atlanta | 24 | 9 | 23.5 | .402 | .321 | .762 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 1.6 | 7.9 |
| 2024 | Los Angeles | 26 | 10 | 21.8 | .403 | .319 | .843 | 2.0 | 3.7 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 1.8 | 8.7 |
| 2025 | Indiana | 20 | 13 | 26.3 | .429 | .308 | .784 | 2.4 | 4.7 | 1.3 | 0.2 | 2.3 | 9.8 |
| Career | 5 years, 3 teams | 136 | 42 | 22.3 | .395 | .320 | .838 | 2.0 | 3.1 | 1.0 | 0.1 | 1.8 | 8.8 |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Atlanta | 2 | 0 | 18.0 | .273 | .250 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 2.5 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 2.5 | 3.5 | |
| 2025 | Indiana | Did not play (injury) | ||||||||||||
| Career | 1 year, 1 team | 2 | 0 | 18.0 | .273 | .250 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 2.5 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 2.5 | 3.5 | |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016–17 | Washington | 28 | 21 | 24.1 | .473 | .330 | .667 | 2.7 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 0.1 | 1.6 | 9.8 |
| 2017–18 | Arizona | Did not play (NCAA transfer rules) | |||||||||||
| 2018–19 | Arizona | 37 | 37 | 35.7 | .452 | .281 | .755 | 6.5 | 4.6 | 2.6 | 0.1 | 3.8 | 24.1 |
| 2019–20 | Arizona | 29 | 29 | 31.8 | .458 | .278 | .788 | 5.6 | 3.6 | 2.3 | 0.0 | 3.8 | 20.6 |
| 2020–21 | Arizona | 27 | 27 | 33.6 | .407 | .345 | .765 | 5.4 | 4.0 | 2.6 | 0.1 | 3.1 | 20.6 |
| Career | 5 years, 2 teams | 121 | 114 | 31.6 | .444 | .305 | .756 | 5.1 | 3.4 | 2.3 | 0.1 | 3.1 | 19.1 |
McDonald is the daughter of Aaron and Andrea McDonald. Her brother Tre'von Willis played basketball atUNLV.[54]
McDonald is currently married to formerArizonadefensive back Devon Brewer, who proposed to her after the Wildcats were eliminated from thePac-12 Tournament in2020.[55] The pair was married on September 23, 2021, during her first season in the WNBA.[56][57]
· Basketball Reference