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Kiki Jefferson

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Kiki Jefferson
Personal information
Born (2001-03-01) March 1, 2001 (age 23)
Lancaster, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Career information
High schoolLancaster Catholic High School
CollegeUniversity of Louisville (2023–2024)
James Madison University (2019–2023)
WNBA draft2024: 3rd round, 31st
Selected by the Minnesota Lynx
PositionGuard
Career history
2024–presentCadí La Seu
Career highlights and awards
  • Sun Belt tournament MVP (2023)
  • Sun Belt Player of the Year (2023)
  • First-team All-Sun Belt (2023)
  • First-team All-CAA (2021)
  • CAA Freshman of the Year (2020)
  • CAA All-Freshman Team (2020)
Stats at WNBA.com

Kiki Jefferson (born March 1, 2001) is an American professional basketball player who is a free agent. She was drafted by the Minnesota Lynx in the 2024 WNBA draft. She played college basketball for the James Madison Dukes and the Louisville Cardinals.

Early life

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Jefferson was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, to Marcus and Kiyana Jefferson.

High school career

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She attended and played basketball at Lancaster Catholic High School in Lancaster, under head coach Charlie Detz. Detz described Jefferson as "a special person and a once-in-a-generational player."[1] During her time on the team, she was named to the Lancaster Lebanon League First-Team selection three times, Lancaster Lebanon All-Star, USA Today Pennsylvania First Team honoree three times, USA Today Pennsylvania Player of the Year, Pennsylvania Class 4A Player of the Year twice, and PennLive's Player of the Year twice.[2]

Jefferson helped her team go undefeated in her junior year, winning the Lancaster Lebanon League, District Three championship, and the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) championship.[2] She finished her high school career with 2,510 career points, ranking second all-time in the Lancaster Lebanon League.[2]

She played for the Philadelphia Belles in the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL).[2]

College career

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In college, she played four seasons at James Madison University (JMU) and one graduate season at the University of Louisville.[3] At JMU, she was named Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) Rookie of the Week nine times, the second most in conference history.[2]

In her freshman year of 2019–20, Jefferson played in all 29 games and started in 25. She average 9.8 points per game (ppg), 5.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.1 steals. She had a 46.4% shot rate from the field and a 39.7% rate from behind the arc. In her debut game, she scored 17 points, nine rebounds, three steals, and three assists against Longwood University. She was named 2020 CAA Rookie of the Year as well as named to the 2020 CAA All-Rookie Team.[2]

In her sophomore season of 2020–21, she started in all 24 games. She led the team with 388 points total, 16.2 points per game, 188 rebounds, 7.8 rebounds per game, and 26 steals. Jefferson led the CAA in free throws with a 82% shot rate. In 2021, she was named to the 2020–21 All-CAA First Team, the Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID) All-State First Team, the CAA All-Tournament Team, and All-CAA First Team.[2]

In the 2021–22 season, her junior year, Jefferson started in all 29 games and led the team in scoring with 18.8 ppg average and 545 points total. She had two games where she scored 30-plus points. Jefferson entered the top-10 all time for free throws in the JMU Dukes history with 174 free throws on a 81.3% shot rate. She was fourth nationally in free throws that season. As a student, she was awarded JMU Athletic Director's Scholar-Athlete in spring 2022, and CAA Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll in both fall 2021 and spring 2022.[2]

Finishing her career at JMU in the 2022–23 season, she placed second in career free throws with 550, fifth in scoring average, sixth in all-time points with 1,838 points, and ninth in rebounds with 815.[4] She was also tied for sixth in free throw percentage with a 80.2% shot rate, tied for ninth in field goals with 518, and tied for 10th in three-point percentage with a 33.9% shot rate. She was award the 2023 Sun Belt Conference (SBC) Tournament Most Outstanding Player, and was named to the SBC's tournament team while averaging 18.7 points and 5.3 rebounds per game, with a 75% shot rate from three. Jefferson was awarded the 2022–23 Sun Belt Player of the Week three times, as well as Sun Belt Player of the Year. She was named to the First Team All-Sun Belt, VaSID All-State First Team, and Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) First Team.[2]

Jefferson transferred to the University of Louisville for her graduate year, where she finished the 2023–24 season with a team best of 12.3 ppg, second with 2.3 assists, and third with 4.5 rebounds per game.[3] She played in all 34 games and started in 32.[5] Jefferson helped the Cards to a 24–10 record.[6] She was named to the All-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Second Team, and was awarded the 2023–24 Cheryl Miller Award Top 10 List.[3][7]

She finished her college career with 2,257 points, 969 rebounds, 349 assists, 142 steals, 71 blocks, and 155 three-pointers. She made 82% of her foul shots.[4]

Professional career

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Jefferson was drafted in the third round, 31st overall, by the Minnesota Lynx in the 2024 WNBA draft. She was the 17th player from the University of Louisville to be selected in the draft, and the second by the Lynx.[5][6] Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve describes Jefferson as "an all-around good basketball player who impacts the game in a variety of ways. She scores, rebounds and can pass".[1] On May 9, 2024, Jefferson was waived by the Lynx.[8][9]

Career statistics

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College

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2019–20 James Madison 29 25 24.2 46.4 39.7 77.3 5.6 1.8 1.1 0.6 1.5 9.8
2020–21 James Madison 24 24 29.3 44.5 34.9 82.0 7.8 2.4 1.1 0.4 3.0 16.2
2021–22 James Madison 29 29 30.9 40.7 27.4 81.3 6.8 2.2 0.7 0.7 3.4 18.8
2022–23 James Madison 34 32 29.2 42.9 34.1 79.1 7.9 2.9 0.8 0.4 2.2 18.3
2023–24 Louisville 34 32 24.4 46.6 34.9 88.4 4.5 2.3 1.1 0.2 2.1 12.3
Career 150 142 27.5 43.7 34.1 81.5 6.5 2.3 0.9 0.5 2.4 15.0
Statistics retrieved from Sports-Reference[10]

Personal life

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Jefferson has a brother, Steven, and a sister, Ayanda.[2] She majored in Sport & Recreation Management at James Madison University.[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b Reinhart, Jeff (April 19, 2024). "Following her dream, former Lancaster Catholic standout Kiki Jefferson gets the call from WNBA's Minnesota Lynx". LancasterOnline. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Kiki Jefferson". James Madison University Athletics. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c "Kiki Jefferson". University of Louisville Athletics. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
  4. ^ a b Reinhart, Jeff (April 12, 2024). "Lancaster Catholic grad Kiki Jefferson hoping to hear her name called in Monday's WNBA draft". LancasterOnline. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
  5. ^ a b McGavic, Matthew (April 16, 2024). "Lynx Select Kiki Jefferson in Third Round of 2024 WNBA Draft". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
  6. ^ a b Cubit, Alexis (April 16, 2024). "Kiki Jefferson of Louisville Cardinals selected by Minnesota Lynx in 2024 WNBA Draft". Courier Journal. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
  7. ^ "Louisville's Olivia Cochran, Kiki Jefferson Named to 2023-24 All-ACC Team". Louisville Report. March 5, 2024. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
  8. ^ "WNBA Player Movement & Transactions | WNBA". WNBA.com. Retrieved May 14, 2024.
  9. ^ "Lancaster Catholic grad Kiki Jefferson waived by WNBA's Minnesota Lynx". LancasterOnline. May 10, 2024. Retrieved May 14, 2024.
  10. ^ "Kiki Jefferson College Stats". Sports-Reference. Retrieved June 15, 2024.
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