.jpg) Smith with theMinnesota Lynx in 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 8 – Minnesota Lynx | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Power forward | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| League | WNBA | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1996-09-10)10 September 1996 (age 29) Hobart, Tasmania, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 177 lb (80 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| High school | Wesley College (Melbourne, Victoria) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College | Stanford (2015–2019) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| WNBA draft | 2019: 1st round, 8th overall pick | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Drafted by | Phoenix Mercury | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 2019–present | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019–2021 | Phoenix Mercury | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019–2020 | Incheon S-Birds | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021–2022 | Adelaide Lightning | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022 | Indiana Fever | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022 | Townsville Flames | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022–2023 | AZS AJP Gorzów Wielkopolski | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | Chicago Sky | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023–2024 | Emlak Konut | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024–present | Minnesota Lynx | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024–2025 | Shandong Six Stars | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2026–present | Mist BC | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career highlights | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Stats atBasketball Reference  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medals
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Alanna Simone Smith (born 10 September 1996) is an Australian professionalbasketball player for theMinnesota Lynx of theWomen's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and for theMist ofUnrivaled. She playedcollege basketball for theStanford Cardinal.
Smith was a member of theAustralian women's basketball team (Opals) at the2020 Tokyo Olympics, where the Opals were eliminated after losing to the USA in the quarterfinals.[2] At the2024 Summer Olympics she earned a bronze medal with theAustralian team.[3][4]
Smith played four seasons of college basketball atStanford University inStanford, California for theCardinal.
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015–16 | Stanford | 34 | 0 | 11.8 | .432 | .333 | .659 | 2.4 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.7 | 1.2 | 5.3 |
| 2016–17 | Stanford | 38 | 3 | 19.3 | .465 | .317 | .689 | 5.4 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 1.6 | 1.1 | 9.1 |
| 2017–18 | Stanford | 35 | 35 | 28.4 | .474 | .302 | .531 | 7.0 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 1.7 | 2.5 | 13.5 |
| 2018–19 | Stanford | 36 | 36 | 29.2 | .515 | .397 | .730 | 8.6 | 1.9 | 1.0 | 2.1 | 2.4 | 19.4 |
| Career | 143 | 74 | 22.3 | .482 | .352 | .663 | 5.9 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 1.5 | 1.8 | 11.9 | |
Smith was selected as the eighth overall pick of the2019 WNBA draft by thePhoenix Mercury.[5] After making the final roster with the Mercury, Smith played under head coachSandy Brondello, who was also her coach in the Australian national team, and alongside the likes ofBrittney Griner,DeWanna Bonner andDiana Taurasi. Smith saw limited playing time in herfirst season with the Mercury, averaging 7.4 minutes per game, and an ankle injury requiring surgery ended her rookie season prematurely. She saw her role slightly increasing in hersecond season, averaging 15.6 minutes per game. However, her playing time dropped again in herthird season, and the Mercury did not re-sign her after her rookie contract expired.[6]
On 21 February 2022, Smith signed a training camp contract with theIndiana Fever. She made the opening day roster, but played only 9 games for the team before being released.[7]
Having a successful off-season in Poland, Smith received several offers from WNBA teams before the2023 WNBA season. She ultimately chose theChicago Sky after coachJames Wade guaranteed her a roster spot.[8] She hadn't been sure she wanted to return to the WNBA until Wade's offer.[9] In herfifth season in the WNBA, Smith had her most productive season to date. She started 35 games, averaged 26.5 minutes per game, and posted career-high averages in all statistical categories.[6] For her performance, Smith received three votes for the 2023WNBA Most Improved Player Award.[10]
On 1 February 2024, Smith signed with theMinnesota Lynx.[11] Her former Sky teammateCourtney Williams encouraged Smith to sign with the Lynx after Williams had signed on for the 2024 season.[12] In herfirst season playing for the Minnesota Lynx in 2024, Smith was named to theWNBA All-Defensive Second Team, her first WNBA award.[13] In Game 3 of the Finals, Smith's back was injured, but she continued to play in Game 4.[14]
In the 2025 season, Smith was namedWNBA Defensive Player of the Year.[15] For the first time, two players were given the award; Smith was awarded along withA'ja Wilson. The league noted: "Anchoring the league’s top-ranked defense, Smith powered Minnesota to a league-best 97.5 defensive rating. She finished second overall in combined steals and blocks (135), ranked third in both blocks per game (1.9) and total blocks (80), and tied for 10th in total steals (55)."[15]
On November 5th, 2025, it was announced that Smith had been drafted byMist BC for the2026 Unrivaled season.[16]
In the 2019–2020 season, Smith played forIncheon S-Birds of theWomen's Korean Basketball League and was named to in the All-Star team.[17]
Smith returned home to Australia after signing with theAdelaide Lightning for the2020 WNBL season.[18] However, she ultimately missed the shortened season due to an ankle injury sustained in the2020 WNBA season.[19] Smith joined the Lightning for the2021–22 WNBL season and was selected to theAll-WNBL Second Team.[20] Following her release by the Indiana Fever during the2022 WNBA season, Smith returned to Australia once again and signed with theNBL1 team, the Townsville Flames, winning a championship.[21]
In the 2022–2023 season, Smith played forAZS AJP Gorzów Wielkopolski of theBasket Liga Kobiet.[22] Smith was named the MVP of the league.[23]
In the 2023–2024 season, Smith played for Emlak Konut of theTurkish Super League.[24]
Smith played for theShandong Six Stars in theWCBA during the 2024–2025 season.[25]
Smith made her international debut for theSapphires at the2011 FIBA Oceania Under-16 Championship in Canberra.[26] Smith represented the Sapphires at theUnder-17 World Championship in the Netherlands the following year, where they finished in fifth place. Smith then made her debut for theGems at the2014 FIBA Oceania Under-18 Championship in Fiji. Smith represented the Gems at theUnder-19 World Championship in Russia the following year, where they finished in third place and took home the bronze medal. She also earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team, awarded to the five strongest players of the tournament.
At age 20, Smith was selected to theOpals team that competed in the2017 FIBA Women's Asia Cup in India. She made an immediate impact, averaging 10.8 points and 5.3 rebounds (2nd and 3rd highest for the team, respectively) in 14.5 minutes per game,[27] helping Australia finish the tournament as runners-up and qualify for the World Cup the following year. Her best game was the quarter-final, in which she amassed 20 points and 9 rebounds in just 15 minutes of court time.In 2018, Smith represented the Opals in her first major international tournament—the2018 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup, held in Tenerife, Spain. She averaged 14.4 minutes of court time for 6.3 points and 2.3 rebounds per game,[28] with her best game yielding 10 points and 5 rebounds (vs Argentina). She also scored 10 points in the final vs USA.
Smith, like all the other members of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics Opals women's basketball team, had a difficult tournament. The Opals lost their first two group stage matches. They looked flat againstBelgium and then lost toChina in heartbreaking circumstances. In their last group match the Opals needed to beatPuerto Rico by 25 or more in their final match to progress. This they did by 27 in a very exciting match. However, they lost to the United States in their quarterfinal 79 to 55.[29]
Smith was again named to the Opals women's basketball team for the 2024 Paris Olympics.[4] She was named to the FIBA All-Star Five of the games for women's basketball for her role in the team's bronze medal performance.[30] Smith put up a double double in the bronze-winning game against Belgium with 13 points and 12 rebounds.[31] Australia beat Belgium 85-81 to return to the medal podium for the first time since their performance in the 2012 Olympics games in London.[31]
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Phoenix | 18 | 0 | 7.4 | .195 | .111 | .500 | 1.9 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 1.1 |
| 2020 | Phoenix | 19 | 0 | 15.6 | .422 | .233 | .690 | 3.6 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 6.1 |
| 2021 | Phoenix | 18 | 0 | 6.5 | .235 | .190 | .250 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 1.2 |
| 2022 | Indiana | 9 | 1 | 12.9 | .333 | .240 | .714 | 2.7 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 4.3 |
| 2023 | Chicago | 38 | 35 | 26.5 | .498 | .294 | .679 | 6.6 | 1.8 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.5 | 9.2 |
| 2024 | Minnesota | 39 | 39 | 26.5 | .471 | .398 | .750 | 5.6 | 3.2 | 1.4 | 1.5 | 1.9 | 10.1 |
| 2025 | Minnesota | 42 | 42 | 26.5 | .485 | .329 | .477 | 5.1 | 2.9 | 1.3 | 1.9 | 1.5 | 9.6 |
| Career | 7 years, 4 teams | 183 | 117 | 20.9 | .455 | .311 | .642 | 4.6 | 1.9 | 1.0 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 7.3 |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Phoenix | 2 | 0 | 8.0 | .250 | .500 | 1.000 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 2.5 |
| 2021 | Phoenix | 5 | 0 | 5.2 | .400 | .400 | 1.000 | 2.0 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 3.2 |
| 2023 | Chicago | 2 | 2 | 18.0 | .300 | .000 | 1.000 | 4.5 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 4.0 |
| 2024 | Minnesota | 12° | 12° | 28.4 | .520 | .412 | .700 | 5.3 | 2.8 | 1.2 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 8.8 |
| 2025 | Minnesota | 6 | 6 | 23.5 | .441 | .118 | .571 | 5.2 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 6.0 |
| Career | 5 years, 3 teams | 27 | 20 | 20.7 | .464 | .306 | .727 | 4.3 | 1.8 | 0.9 | 1.2 | 1.4 | 6.3 |
Smith is studying toward a master's degree in psychology atMonash University to become a psychologist.[32]
Links to related articles | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||
