Dearica Hamby

Dearica Marie Hamby (born November 6, 1993) is an American basketball player for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).

College

During her senior year, Hamby averaged 20.3 points, the highest scoring average in the Atlantic Coast Conference Women's and 10.7 rebounds, the second highest in the conference. During her junior season, she had one of the best single-seasons in school-history. In 31 games, Hamby led the nation's top conference in both scoring (22.0) and rebounding (11.0) She would become the first Demon Deacon to lead the ACC in both categories in the same season. Hamby finished as Wake Forest's all-time leading scorer and rebounder, with 1,801 points and 1,021 rebounds.

Source

WNBA career

Drafted sixth overall in 2015, Hamby played for the San Antonio Stars, which became the Las Vegas Aces. She shot an average of 11 points, 7.6 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 0.97 steals per game. She tied the WNBA record for the most double-doubles by a reserve off the bench with five.

Hamby was voted WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year in 2019, almost unanimously (41 of 43 votes).

On the same day she received her award, in the second round, single-elimination 2019 WNBA Playoffs game against the Chicago Sky, with 6.5 seconds remaining and her team behind 92–90, Hamby made what the WNBA website termed "the shot of the year." Hamby stole a pass from Courtney Vandersloot intended for Diamond DeShields, dribbled once past half court, and threw in the game-winning basket, securing an Aces win.

On September 20, 2020, Hamby was named Sixth Woman of the Year for the second year in a row.

Hamby signed a multi-year contract extension with the Aces on June 29, 2022.

Hamby, and the Aces, won the 2022 WNBA Championship.

On January 21, 2023 Hamby was traded to the Los Angeles Sparks alongside a 2024 WNBA Draft first-round pick in exchange for the rights of Amanda Zahui B. and a 2024 WNBA Draft 2nd round pick.

In September 2023, Hamby filed a federal discrimination complaint against the WNBA and the Las Vegas Aces, claiming the Aces traded her because she was pregnant and that the league did not adequately investigate.

USA Basketball

Hamby played for USA Basketball for the first time at the national team training camp in 2022. She played on the women's 2022 USA World Cup Qualifying Team. In December 2023, she played on the 3x3 team for the first time, and they won the gold medal at the AmeriCup. Hamby made the tie-breaking shot to win. She was named the tournament MVP. Hamby was named, as a replacement for the injured Cameron Brink, to the United States 3x3 team for the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Personal life

Hamby and her husband welcomed their daughter, Amaya, in February 2017. In September 2022 at the Las Vegas Aces Championship parade, Hamby announced she was expecting her second child. Dearica Hamby announced the birth of her second child, Legend Maree Scandrick, on her Instagram account in March 2023.

WNBA career statistics