“My dream is to be in the WNBA again. Kinda cool when you think about it. It gives each day more purpose.”
Former WNBA player Diamond DeShields posted that message on Threads in late July. The last time DeShields appeared on a WNBA court was Sept. 8, 2024, when she was with the Chicago Sky facing the Dallas Wings.
“But I’ll be back! Just a matter of when. Patience has been my greatest gift thus far. Patience, poise, & grace.”
She signed a one-year free-agent deal with the Connecticut Sun in 2025. DeShields, however, was surprisingly cut once the roster was finalized.
Taking to Instagram shortly after, she posted a video of herself sitting on the curb of a rental car center and asking how she could get a car to go home. It was an uncertain moment for a player who had just been waived and was left to figure out what came next.
That, however, is not how she wants her story to end.
“There’s always some accountability because at the end of the day, that pain is something you have to heal so that you don’t project it onto other people. And onto your life experiences,” DeShields said in an interview on United Potential.
“…even though something happened to you, it really happened for you, and that’s really hard to understand…I didn’t do nothing. I didn’t deserve this. But, ok, it happened, what’re you gonna do?”
A Diamond Legacy in the WNBA
On Aug. 1, 2026, Sky rookie Sydney Taylor became the franchise’s only rookie to hit a go-ahead 3-pointer to win the game.
When this was announced, a graphic of the top 25-point games by a rookie in Sky history was shown. On that list were Taylor with five in 2026, DeShields with four in 2018 and Elena Della Donne with four in 2013.
DeShields has not been forgotten.
Drafted third overall in 2018 by the Sky, DeShields wasted no time making a name for herself.
It started when she scored 18 points against the Indiana Fever in her WNBA debut. She appeared in 34 regular-season games and started 33 that season. Being named to the WNBA and Associated Press All-Rookie teams capped off her year after she averaged 14.4 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game.
Though she already had overseas experience before entering the league, DeShields told WNBA.com that she knew she was living out her destiny.
“I have always felt like this is where I belong,” DeShields said. “I actually had a sigh of relief once the season started because I finally felt like I was where I was meant to be.”
It wasn’t just the stats that the rookie sparked for the team, but the drive and effort she added to produce consistency in her campaign.
Her coaches and teammates praised her IQ and comfort level on the court, equating it to her home.
The following year, DeShields made the WNBA All-Star team, became the All-Star Skills Challenge champion and increased her averages to 16.2 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. She also averaged 24 points in her two postseason appearances that year.
In 2021, DeShields became a WNBA champion with Chicago.
Her accomplishments piled up as the years went on, but it was 2022 that stood out when she was traded to the very team she and the Sky defeated in the 2021 WNBA Finals.
“Diamond DeShields is as dynamic an athlete as we have in our league and at just 26 years old has already been a champion, an All-Star and an All-WNBA performer,” Phoenix Mercury general manager Jim Pitman said. “She was one of our top targets this offseason because of her ability to score and defend from the wing position and how dangerous she is in the open floor. We are thrilled to add Diamond to our All-Star core.”
Coming fresh off a WNBA championship, DeShields played a significant role in guiding Phoenix’s trajectory through both its trials and successes.
Phoenix had to adjust to playing without 2014 WNBA champion Brittney Griner, who was detained in Russia at the time.
And though they added 2012 MVP Tina Charles to play alongside DeShields, Charles was eventually bought out by the Seattle Storm during Phoenix’s early-season struggles. This caused DeShields to step up even more in the starting role.
The Mercury made it to the playoffs but fell twice to the Las Vegas Aces, who went on to win that year’s championship.
The move was a fresh start for DeShields. She told Just Women’s Sports that she wanted to go somewhere where she could be an immediate asset and contributor. Averaging 13.1 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists and one steal per game, she did just that.
When Setbacks Are Part of the Story
DeShields’ career up until this point didn’t come without its struggles. She endured back pain while playing overseas in 2019, which led to the discovery of a rare spinal tumor in that area. She went through a longer-than-usual, nine-hour surgery in 2020 to have it removed. The side effects, however, were the most troubling aspect.
Severe tremors and spasms tormented DeShields’ body during her rehab process, and also caused hypersensitivity in her feet. She had to relearn how to walk before she could return to the court, and tried to keep her condition under wraps while she healed.
“You never think something like this will happen to you,” DeShields told ESPN. “The game of basketball can be just taken away from you.”
When DeShields returned, she managed as best she could in the 2020 WNBA Bubble season during the COVID-19 pandemic, but suffered another injury to her quads. This sidelined her for the remainder of her season. Around this time, DeShields also underwent two eye surgeries.
It’s safe to say this was not one of the brightest moments of DeShields’ career.
After clawing her way back to health, she returned in 2021 and played a big role for the Sky’s championship run.
“I think the lesson is that life happens to everybody,” DeShields told Swish Appeal. “No matter what it is that you are going through and no matter how bad you think it is, there is always life at the end of the tunnel. There are always growth opportunities, and to cherish every moment you have because they really are precious.”
It was 2023, however, when things would take a turn.
“I’m going to come out here and do everything I can as I got this ‘Dallas’across my chest,” DeShields said in the Dallas Wings introductory press conference.
Just as DeShields was set to turn a new chapter in the four-team trade that would send her to Dallas that year, she realized she would have to put a pause on it.
“Diamond DeShields is as dynamic an athlete as we have in our league and at just 26 years old has already been a champion, an All-Star and an All-WNBA performer,” Phoenix Mercury general manager Jim Pitman said. “She was one of our top targets this offseason because of her ability to score and defend from the wing position and how dangerous she is in the open floor. We are thrilled to add Diamond to our All-Star core.”
“Diamond DeShields will also miss extended time as she deals with a knee injury.”
Winsidr reporter Jasmine Harper tweeted the message on May 17, 2023.
The “extended time” turned into a full season missed by the 2021 champion, who was once again experiencing a setback in her career.
In 2024, however, she got another shot.
A New Beginning Before the End
DeShields returned to the Sky the following year on a one-year deal after finally feeling 100% healthy again.
“I’m to a place now where this is something I don’t take for granted at all,” DeShields said during her reintroduction press conference. “If that’s something that I can have permeate the locker room and create a sense of responsibility to the game, knowing that it can be taken from you at any point. I’ve had to deal with that twice…How can I be as supportive as a vet, as a leader, as somebody who has survived some pretty traumatic stuff so that the team can have a sense of resilience very early on?”
That drive is what new general manager Jeff Pagliocca expressed that he wanted for the team. It wasn’t just what Deshields could produce on the court, but the battles she faced off it that he wanted the team to take from.
“It doesn’t matter to me that the team is different…I’m just really looking forward to a chance to hear that buzzer sound off and be a part of a rotation and play a basketball game,” DeShields said. “There’s no better place to do it than Chicago, where it all started for me.”
Appearing in 32 games with 10 starts, DeShields averaged 4.5 points, 1.4 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game to cap off the year.
Through the ups and downs Chicago experienced that year, and the significant drop in her stats, DeShields continued to use her voice to guide her teammates through the rough patches.
She found ways to remember why she’s playing the game, like writing “Have Fun” on her shoes before a game. Using her past struggles, she poured her lessons into others. DeShields said as much upon her arrival, stating that she believed she was put in her situation to inspire and encourage people as they faced their own hardships.
Finding her faith and perseverance helped her navigate that season as she utilized her voice and skills for a different purpose. With that same mindset propelling her forward today, she’s looking to make a comeback after being cut by Connecticut in 2025.
Maybe DeShields’ 2024 return wasn’t the beginning before the end. Instead, however, a chapter where her professional career started and is still being written.
Because, in honesty, Chicago wasn’t DeShields’ start, just as the Sun might not be the end.
There was always a before.
Early Beginnings
Before DeShields was drafted third overall in the first round of the WNBA Draft, she played professionally overseas with Cukurova in Turkey. During her collegiate career, she averaged 16.5 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists while playing at the University of Tennessee, combined with her freshman stats at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
During this time, she also earned National Freshman of the Year, ACC Rookie of the Year and AP All-SEC First and Second Team, to name a few of the many accolades that decorate her resume.
To understand, however, why DeShields’ potential return feels different, you’d have to go back to where the story really began. DeShields wasn’t just good in high school.
She was special.
Not in the way that’s often described with highly recruited players. The kind of special that made people stop what they were doing and watch.
At Norcross High School in Georgia, DeShields became one of the most feared players in the country. By the time her senior season arrived, there was already a sense that something about her was different.
She had the size, athleticism and skill of a player who could take over a game at any moment, but there was also an effortless quality to the way she played.
ESPN’s evaluation of DeShields tells part of the story. Entering the 2013 class ranked No. 3 overall, she was also ranked No. 1 in the ESPNW in her position, with a 98 scout grade.
DeShields led Norcross to three Georgia state championships in four seasons, including back-to-back titles in 2012 and 2013, and collected virtually every major high school honor imaginable. This also included 2013 WBCA National Player of the Year, Naismith Girls’ High School Player of the Year, USA TODAY All-USA Player of the Year, McDonald’s All-American and Miss Georgia Basketball.
Numbers and rankings don’t fully explain what made her so captivating. She could score from all three levels. She could defend, rebound and effortlessly handle the ball.
Once she was on the open floor, there were very few players who could keep up with her. Even ESPN’s scouting evaluation described her athleticism and ability to make plays that others couldn’t, as “jaw-dropping.”
That was Diamond DeShields.
To Be Continued
“But I’ll be back! Just a matter of when. Patience has been my greatest gift thus far. Patience, poise, & grace.
That was the Threads post that DeShields posted on July 29. 2026, and a recent post to follow saying she’ll see everyone next summer.
The story continues: DeShields is continuing to train, and she has more in the tank to show the league that she still belongs.
“I just try to keep my sights set forward and all the things that I want to do in my life,” DeShields told Swish Appeal. “There is so much possibility in that direction than in whatever it is that is holding me back.”
This article was co-authored by Micahya Costen and Ashley Heard.
