Aari McDonald

Aarion Shawnae McDonald (AIR-eeon; born August 20, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for the Atlanta Dream of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She is also contracted with the Perth Lynx of the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) in Australia. She was drafted third overall by the Dream in the 2021 WNBA draft after playing college basketball at the University of Washington and the University of Arizona.[1]

Aari McDonald
McDonald with the Atlanta Dream in 2023
No. 2 – Atlanta Dream
PositionShooting guard / point guard
LeagueWNBA
Personal information
Born (1998-08-20) August 20, 1998
Fresno, California, U.S.
Listed height5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Listed weight141 lb (64 kg)
Career information
High schoolBrookside Christian
(Stockton, California)
College
WNBA draft2021: 1st round, 3rd overall pick
Selected by the Atlanta Dream
Playing career2021–present
Career history
2021–presentAtlanta Dream
2021Uni Gyor MELY-UT
2023–presentPerth Lynx
Career highlights and awards

Early life and high school

McDonald grew up in Fresno, California as the youngest of six children. After initially playing at Bullard High School in her freshman year, she transferred to Brookside Christian High School in Stockton, 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 playing college basketball at Washington.

College career

University of Washington

After missing the first seven games due to injury, McDonald played in 28 games, starting 21 of them. She was named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman team after averaging 9.8 points on the season, third on the team behind Kelsey 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 coach Mike Neighbors, assistant coach Morgan Valley, and the passing of her grandfather as reasons for her transfer.[5]

University of Arizona

McDonald decided to transfer to play at Arizona for Adia 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]

Redshirt sophomore year

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 against Loyola 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 in Pac-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]

Redshirt junior year

After tying the single-game record for scoring in the previous season, McDonald broke the record with a 44-point performance against 22nd-ranked Texas on November 17, 2019.[11]

McDonald racked up awards, being named a second-team All-American by the Associated Press and United States Basketball Writers Association, a first-team All-American by the Women'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 the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Award and named the 2020 recipient of the Ann 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]

Redshirt senior year

McDonald was named the Pac-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's 2021 NCAA tournament run. After leading the Wildcats past Stony Brook and BYU, she scored 31 points against Texas 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 against Indiana, despite suffering an ankle injury with more than two minutes remaining in the game.[19] In their next game against UConn, she scored 26 points en route to earning the first championship appearance in program history, as well as praise from UConn head coach Geno Auriemma.[20]

In the national 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 to Stanford 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.

Professional career

After being projected to be a top-five draft pick,[22][23] McDonald was drafted third overall by the Atlanta Dream in the 2021 WNBA draft.[1] She averaged 6.3 points, 1.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 30 games in the 2021 WNBA season.[24] She was subsequently named to the WNBA All-Rookie Team.[25]

In October 2021, McDonald had a four-game stint in Hungary with Uni Gyor MELY-UT.[24]

McDonald returned to the Atlanta Dream for the 2022 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 in 2023 for a third season.[24]

On August 25, 2023, McDonald signed with the Perth Lynx in Australia for the 2023–24 WNBL season.[26][27]

Career statistics
Legend
  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

Regular season
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2021 Atlanta 30416.4.322.308.8821.62.00.80.21.26.3
2022 Atlanta 36624.3.411.338.8712.32.61.40.02.111.1
Career 2 years, 1 team 661020.7.379.325.8752.02.31.20.11.78.9

College
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2016–17 Washington 282124.1.473.330.6672.71.41.40.11.69.8
2017–18 Arizona Sat out due to NCAA transfer rules
2018–19 Arizona 373735.7.452.281.7556.54.62.60.13.824.1
2019–20 Arizona 292931.8.458.278.7885.63.62.30.03.820.6
2020–21 Arizona 272733.6.407.345.7655.44.02.60.13.120.6
Career 5 years, 2 teams 12111431.6.444.305.7565.13.42.30.13.119.1

Personal life

McDonald is the daughter of Aaron and Andrea McDonald. Her brother Tre'von Willis played basketball at UNLV.[28]

McDonald is currently engaged to former Arizona defensive back Devon Brewer, who proposed to her after the Wildcats were eliminated from the Pac-12 Tournament in 2020.[29]

References
  1. "UA's Aari McDonald taken third overall in WNBA Draft; teammate Trinity Baptiste goes in second round". Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  2. "Meet The Husky Freshmen: Aarion McDonald". University of Washington Athletics. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  3. "Kelsey Plum Named Pac-12 Player Of The Year". University of Washington Athletics. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  4. "Freshman basketball star Aarion McDonald leaving Washington". Seattle Times. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  5. "The rise of Aari McDonald, Arizona's star hungry for more". The Athletic. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  6. "Top Transfer Aarion McDonald Signs with Arizona". University of Arizona Athletics. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  7. "The special bond between Arizona's Adia Barnes and Aari McDonald, who believed in each other". The Athletic. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  8. "The Confidence, Speed and Shooting of Aari McDonald". The New York Times. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  9. "McDonald Ties School Record with 39 Points, LMU Wins 66-64". University of Arizona Athletics. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  10. "Wildcats star Aari McDonald wins pair of Pac-12 awards, loses out on player of the year". Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  11. "Aari McDonald breaks the Arizona record by scoring 44 points". KGUN9. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  12. "Arizona's Aari McDonald named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year; Oregon coach gets award over Adia Barnes". Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  13. "2020 Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Finalists Announced". Naismith Trophy. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  14. "Aari Mcdonald wins Ann Meyers Drysdale Award". The Daily Wildcat. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  15. "Aari McDonald will be back for her senior year". The Daily Wildcat. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  16. "This Is For Them by Aari McDonald". The Players Tribune. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  17. "Aari McDonald Named Pac-12 Player of the Year". University of Arizona Athletics. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  18. "Sweet 16: McDonald propels Arizona over Texas A&M 74-59". Associated Press. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  19. "Aari McDonald's 33 points leads No. 3 Arizona to first Final Four in program history". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  20. "Aari McDonald's Electric Night vs. UConn Lifts Her Arizona Program to New Heights". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  21. "Stanford defeats Arizona to win its first NCAA women's title since 1992". Washington Post. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  22. "WNBA mock draft 2021, version 4.0: Arizona guard Aari McDonald jumps into top five". ESPN. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  23. "WNBA mock draft: Charli Collier holds top spot; Aari McDonald makes splash". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  24. "Aari McDonald". usbasket.com. Retrieved June 21, 2023.
  25. "Aari McDonald Named to WNBA All-Rookie Team". dream.wnba.com. October 5, 2021. Retrieved June 21, 2023.
  26. "ATLANTA DREAM #3 DRAFT PICK AARI MCDONALD JOINS LYNX FOR THE UPCOMING SEASON". wnbl.basketball/perth. August 25, 2023. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  27. O'Donoghue, Craig (August 25, 2023). "Perth Lynx sign WNBA number three draft pick Aari McDonald after gaining backing from Marina Mabrey". The West Australian. Archived from the original on August 25, 2023. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  28. "Meet the next leader for the Washington women's hoops team: Aarion McDonald". Seattle Times. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  29. "'McDonald time': Ranking Aari McDonald's timeless performances with the Wildcats". Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
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