Diamond Danae-Aziza DeShields (born March 5, 1995) is an American professionalbasketball player who last played forChicago Sky of theWomen's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was drafted in third overall pick in the2018 WNBA draft, and won a championship with the Sky in2021. She is the daughter of former MLB playerDelino DeShields and the younger sister of MLB playerDelino DeShields Jr.
DeShields graduated fromNorcross High School inNorcross, Georgia. Playing for the school's basketball team, she was a part of three state champions and averaged 26points per game in her senior year. DeShields enrolled at theUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she playedguard for theNorth Carolina Tar Heels women's basketball team in her freshman year of college. She set anAtlantic Coast Conference record for points scored by a freshman with 648. After her freshman year, DeShields transferredUniversity of Tennessee, where she played for theTennessee Lady Volunteers basketball team for two years after sitting out for the season after her transfer. In the 2016-17 season, DeShields led the Lady Vols with 17.4 points per game and was chosen to the All-Southeastern Conference's first team.[1][2]
Though DeShields graduated with herbachelor's degree after her second season at Tennessee, she retained a year of eligibility for college basketball. After initially announcing she would return for the 2017-18 season, she opted to leave Tennessee to play professionally in Turkey.[3] DeShields signed withÇukurova Basketbol of theTurkish Super League, where she averaged 17.4 points, 6.4rebounds, and 3.8assists per game.[4]
DeShields was drafted by theChicago Sky with the third pick of the2018 WNBA draft. In her first season in the WNBA, she averaged 14.4 points per game while starting in 33 of 34 games played. She was named to theAll-Rookie Team.
In2019, her sophomore season, DeShields was named aWNBA All-Star. During the All-Star Weekend, she won the Skills Challenge, beating outJonquel Jones in the final round.[5][6] DeShields started all 34 games and averaged 16.2 points per game. On September 11, 2019, she played in her first career postseason game and scored 25 points, as the Chicago Sky defeated thePhoenix Mercury 105–76. It was the fifth-most points scored by a WNBA player in a postseason debut in league history.[7] DeShields scored 23 points in the Sky's loss to theLas Vegas Aces in the second round of theplayoffs.
In December 2019, while playing overseas in Turkey, DeShields suffered a back injury. An MRI following the injury revealed that she had a tumor (a lumbar spinalschwannoma) in her spine, which posed a serious risk of permanent paralysis. After surgery to remove the tumor, DeShields sufferedtremors and involuntaryspasms and spent months rehabilitating without certainty about whether she would be able to return to play. She decided to keep her condition and surgery experiences private, until sharing them in an interview in May 2022.[8]
DeShields returned to play in the2020 season, which was held in a bubble environment due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She did not start games, as she was recovering from a knee injury, and played in 13 games while averaging 6.8 points in 17.2 minutes per game.[9] DeShields suffered an apparent quadriceps injury in a game on August 21, and left the bubble a week later, missing the remainder of the season and the Sky's single postseason game.[10][9][11]
In the 2021 season, DeShields began as a starter and averaged 26.9 minutes and 11.3 points per game. Near the end of the season, she shifted to a role coming off the bench.[12] The Sky entered the playoffs as the sixth seed, and made their way to the2021 WNBA Finals, winning the series in four games against thePhoenix Mercury. DeShields recorded 15.7 minutes and 5.5 points per game in the team's playoff run.
In the offseason, DeShields expressed admiration for the Sky along with a preference to play for a team where she would return to a starting role.[12]
As a free agent entering the 2022 season, DeShields took meetings with several teams across the league.[12] On February 3, 2022, she was traded to thePhoenix Mercury in a three-teamsign-and-trade deal involving the Sky and theIndiana Fever.[13] She started 19 of 30 regular season games and both postseason games for the Mercury in the2022 season, averaging 13.1 points in the regular season and 19.5 points per game in the postseason.
On February 11, 2023 DeShields was traded to theDallas Wings in a four-team trade involving theNew York Liberty, Phoenix Mercury, Dallas Wings and Chicago Sky. She missed the 2023 season and postseason with a knee injury.[14]
On February 5, 2024, DeShields signed a one-year deal to return to the Chicago Sky, three seasons after her original departure.[15]
On February 3, 2025, DeShields signed a one-year deal with theConnecticut Sun.[16] She suffered an ankle injury in training camp and on May 15, 2025, she was waived by the Sun.[17]
Towards the end of the 2025 regular season, DeShields was featured — along withHaley Jones,Julie Vanloo,Harmoni Turner, andShyanne Sellers — in anESPN article on life on theWNBA fringe given the league's limit of only 12 roster spots per team.[18]
| 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 |
| † | Denotes seasons in which DeShields won aWNBA championship |
Stats current through end of 2024 regular season
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Chicago | 34 | 33 | 28.4 | .425 | .328 | .836 | 4.9 | 2.2 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 2.1 | 14.4 |
| 2019 | Chicago | 34 | 34 | 30.2 | .399 | .316 | .836 | 5.5 | 2.4 | 1.3 | 0.4 | 2.2 | 16.2 |
| 2020 | Chicago | 13 | 0 | 17.2 | .434 | .167 | .778 | 1.8 | 1.5 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 2.3 | 6.8 |
| 2021† | Chicago | 32 | 22 | 26.9 | .393 | .300 | .820 | 3.5 | 2.3 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 1.9 | 11.3 |
| 2022 | Phoenix | 30 | 19 | 25.3 | .388 | .236 | .765 | 3.8 | 2.2 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 2.3 | 13.1 |
| 2023 | Did not play (due to injury) | ||||||||||||
| 2024 | Chicago | 32 | 10 | 13.8 | .348 | .173 | .611 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.9 | 4.5 |
| Career | 6 years, 2 teams | 175 | 118 | 24.5 | .398 | .283 | .802 | 3.7 | 2.1 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 1.9 | 11.6 |
| All-Star | 1 | 0 | 15.9 | .545 | .333 | — | 5.0 | 4.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 13.0 | |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Chicago | 2 | 2 | 33.0 | .436 | .333 | .833 | 5.0 | 2.0 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 24.0° |
| 2021† | Chicago | 10 | 0 | 15.7 | .340 | .250 | .800 | 2.7 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 0.1 | 1.6 | 5.5 |
| 2022 | Phoenix | 2 | 2 | 27.0 | .432 | .333 | .714 | 4.5 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 3.5 | 19.5 |
| Career | 3 years, 2 teams | 14 | 4 | 19.8 | .395 | .300 | .795 | 3.3 | 1.4 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 1.7 | 10.1 |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013–14 | North Carolina | 36 | 31 | 27.9 | .426 | .279 | .776 | 5.4 | 2.6 | 1.7 | 0.3 | 3.4 | 18.0 |
| 2014–15 | Tennessee | Did not play due to NCAA transfer rules | |||||||||||
| 2015–16 | Tennessee | 36 | 20 | 26.8 | .391 | .248 | .765 | 5.2 | 2.3 | 1.6 | 0.8 | 3.2 | 14.3 |
| 2016–17 | Tennessee | 29 | 28 | 33.5 | .423 | .333 | .791 | 6.4 | 3.8 | 1.4 | 1.0 | 3.6 | 17.4 |
| Career | 101 | 79 | 29.1 | .413 | .279 | .779 | 5.6 | 2.8 | 1.6 | 0.7 | 3.4 | 16.5 | |
DeShields' father,Delino DeShields, and brother,Delino DeShields Jr., have played inMajor League Baseball. Her mother, Tisha, was named anAll-Americanheptathlete while attending Tennessee.[21] DeShields has a paternal half-brother and two paternal half-sisters.
· Basketball Reference 
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