MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL – The Minnesota Lynx today announced the team has acquired guard Danielle Robinson and a 2019 second round draft pick from the Phoenix Mercury in exchange for a 2018 first round draft pick (12th overall).
“We are excited to welcome Danielle Robinson to the Minnesota Lynx family,” said Lynx Head Coach and General Manager Cheryl Reeve. “Her ability to push the pace, collapse opposing defenses, and create quality opportunities for her teammates, makes her one of the most unique players in our league. Her combination of exceptional quickness and great instincts also makes her disruptive on the defensive end. Most importantly, Danielle has earned the reputation of being a tremendous teammate and exceptional member of any community she has served.”
The San Jose, California, native is a three-time All-Star (2013, 2014, 2015) and a three-time WNBA All-Defensive Team selection (2012, 2013, 2014) along with being named to the WNBA All-Rookie Team in 2011. Robinson is one of seven active players to hold career averages of at least nine points and four assists per game with a minimum of 40 games played (Sue Bird, Skylar Diggins-Smith, Moriah Jefferson, Diana Taurasi, Lindsay Whalen and Courtney Vandersloot).
Robinson, 28, spent the 2017 season with the Mercury after being drafted by the San Antonio Stars with the sixth overall draft pick in the 2011 WNBA Draft. Robinson appeared in 32 games (29 starts) in 2017, averaging 6.9 points (on 43.2% shooting), 2.9 rebounds, 3.4 assists and a team-high 1.1 steals in 23.5 minutes per game. She tallied a season-high 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting while pulling down five rebounds and dishing out seven assists in the Mercury’s 101-100 overtime victory on August 10.
In 188 career games (160 starts) with Phoenix and San Antonio, Robinson holds career averages of 9.7 points (on 45.5% shooting), 2.8 rebounds and 4.7 assists in 28.3 minutes per game. She has appeared in 12 postseason games in her career, averaging 6.1 points and 2.8 assists in 22.4 minutes per game.
Prior to the WNBA, the 5-9 guard played collegiately at Oklahoma University where she finished her career with 2,138 points, 726 assists and 309 steals, joining Nancy Lieberman and Dawn Staley, and later Courtney Vandersloot, as the only women’s college basketball players in history to cross the 2,000-point, 700-assist and 300-steal benchmarks in a career.
The Lynx will tip off the team’s historic 20th season in the WNBA with their Home Opener presented by Mayo Clinic Sports Medicine on Sunday, May 20 at 4:00 p.m. at Target Center. Full-season memberships, which include tickets to all 17 home games and priority playoff seating, are still available by visiting www.lynxbasketball.com/tickets or by calling 612-673-8400.