| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1973-08-12)August 12, 1973 (age 52) Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Listed height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| Listed weight | 206 lb (93 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Bolton (Arlington, Tennessee) |
| College |
|
| WNBA draft | 1997:undrafted |
| Playing career | 1997–2011 |
| Position | Power forward |
| Career history | |
| 1997–2000 | Sacramento Monarchs |
| 1998–99 | Sporting Athens |
| 2001–2003 | Los Angeles Sparks |
| 2001 | MiZo-Pécsi VSK |
| 2003–05 | Ceyhan Belediyespor |
| 2005 | Dynamo Energia Novosibirsk |
| 2005–06 | TED Kayseri Koleji |
| 2006 | Washington Mystics |
| 2006–07 | CSKA Sofia |
| 2007–2008 | Houston Comets |
| 2008–09 | Duda Leszno |
| 2009–10 | Beroe Stara Zagora |
| 2010–11 | Dunav 8806 |
| Career highlights | |
| |
| Career WNBA statistics | |
| Points | 1,935 (7.7 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 1,204 (4.8 rpg) |
| Assists | 200 (0.8 apg) |
| Stats at WNBA.com | |
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |
Latasha Nashay Byears (born August 12, 1973) is an American former professionalbasketball player. She played in theWomen's National Basketball Association (WNBA) for theSacramento Monarchs,Los Angeles Sparks,Washington Mystics, andHouston Comets. Byears ranked eighth all-time in the WNBA in field goal percentage (.514) and was among the top 10 rebounders in the league's history as of 2003.
Nicknamed "Tot", Byears usually played the position ofpower forward. However, the openly lesbian Byers became associated with legal controversy outside of her basketball career.[1]
Born inMemphis, Tennessee, Byears grew up inMillington, Tennessee and went tohigh school in nearbyArlington, Tennessee. Afterwards, Byears played two years in Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, located inMiami, Oklahoma. She later transferred toDePaul University inChicago, where she averaged 22.8 points and 11.7rebounds per game during the 1995–1996 season, a performance that earned her a first teamAll-American. On 23 January 2011 Byears inducted toDePaul Athletic Hall of Fame.[2]
Despite not being selected at the firstWNBA draft, theSacramento Monarchs invited Byears to their training camp prior to their inaugural season in 1997. Byears then starred for the Monarchs for the next four seasons.
After the 2000 season ended, Byears was traded to theLos Angeles Sparks, where she was a crucial part of a championship win for the team.[1] She was arrested on March 1, 2001 for driving under the influence ofmarijuana.[3] Because of this, she had to miss the first match of the 2001 regular season due to a suspension.[4] On July 11, 2002, she foughtMichelle M. Marciniak on the court in a game against theSeattle Storm. On July 12, 2002, theWNBA fined her $1,000 and banned her for 2 matches.[5] However, following a June 5, 2003 Sparks game, Byears and three men unconnected to the Sparks were investigated for an allegedrape of a WNBA player. Byears was cut by the Sparks a few days after the alleged incident. Four months later, in light ofKobe Bryant's rape allegations and how theLos Angeles Lakers, who owned the Sparks at the time, supported Bryant during the controversy. Byears sued the Lakers, accusing the team of double standard. Byears felt that it was unfair that she was never charged and was cut; Bryant's case was settled, yet he still continued to play and represent the team in media.[1] The criminal proceedings were closed in August 2005 due to insufficient evidence, and Byears' lawsuit against the Lakers was settled months later. Shortly after settling the lawsuit, Byears returned to the WNBA after a two-year absence, signing with the Mystics.[6]
In 2007, Byears signed afree agent contract with theHouston Comets. She was briefly waived in 2008, before being re-signed. The Comets organization folded at the end of the 2008 season. Byears, as an unrestricted free agent, was not eligible for selection by another team in the resulting dispersal draft, and was not signed by another team prior to or during the 2009 season.
In October 2001 Byears joined theEuroLeague final four participant andHungarian National League championMiZo-Pécsi VSK.[7] She played only two matches, on 15 November 2001 travel back theUnited States.[8]
In November 2006 Byears joined the Bulgarian team ofCSKA Sofia.[9] They won theBulgarian Championships andBulgarian Cup.
Byears played for Leszno in Poland during the 2008–09 WNBA off-season.[10]
| 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 |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Sacramento | 28 | 19 | 23.4 | .459 | .200 | .739 | 6.9 | 1.7 | 1.4 | 0.3 | 2.4 | 8.7 |
| 1998 | Sacramento | 30 | 26 | 27.6 | .453 | .222 | .663 | 6.6 | 1.0 | 1.4 | 0.4 | 2.4 | 14.2 |
| 1999 | Sacramento | 32 | 32 | 22.0 | .537 | .000 | .565 | 5.3 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 1.9 | 9.2 |
| 2000 | Sacramento | 32 | 0 | 16.3 | .524 | .500 | .612 | 3.8 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 1.1 | 5.7 |
| 2001† | Los Angeles | 32 | 13 | 23.1 | .602° | .333 | .577 | 5.7 | 0.9 | 1.3 | 0.4 | 1.2 | 9.3 |
| 2002† | Los Angeles | 26 | 5 | 18.7 | .618 | .000 | .566 | 5.4 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.8 | 7.0 |
| 2003 | Los Angeles | 5 | 0 | 14.4 | .400 | .000 | .727 | 4.2 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 5.6 |
| 2006 | Washington | 26 | 0 | 12.8 | .449 | .000 | .800 | 3.3 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 1.4 | 4.3 |
| 2007 | Houston | 30 | 0 | 10.9 | .591 | .000 | .583 | 2.5 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 1.2 | 5.0 |
| 2008 | Houston | 11 | 0 | 4.2 | .471 | .000 | .667 | 1.1 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 1.6 |
| Career | 10 years, 4 teams | 252 | 95 | 18.7 | .515 | .233 | .635 | 4.8 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 1.5 | 7.7 |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Sacramento | 1 | 1 | 24.0 | .000 | .000 | .500 | 10.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 1.0 |
| 2000 | Sacramento | 2 | 0 | 6.0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 2001† | Los Angeles | 7 | 0 | 14.6 | .500 | .000 | .643 | 4.0 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 6.4 |
| 2002† | Los Angeles | 6 | 2 | 21.3 | .633 | .000 | .364 | 4.8 | 0.8 | 1.5 | 0.2 | 1.7 | 7.0 |
| Career | 4 years, 2 teams | 16 | 3 | 16.6 | .521 | .000 | .519 | 4.3 | 0.4 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 1.1 | 5.5 |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994–95 | DePaul | 28 | - | - | 59.3 | 40.7 | 74.6 | 10.4 | 1.5 | 2.4 | 0.7 | - | 26.4 |
| 1995–96 | DePaul | 30 | - | - | 53.0 | 11.1 | 66.5 | 11.7 | 1.8 | 3.0 | 0.7 | - | 22.8 |
| Career | 58 | - | - | 56.2 | 28.9 | 69.9 | 11.1 | 1.7 | 2.7 | 0.7 | - | 24.5 | |
| Statistics retrieved fromSports-Reference.[11] | |||||||||||||