Introduction
Deauzya "DiDi" Richards (born February 8, 1999) is an American basketball player who most recently played for the Washington Mystics of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), and for the Sydney Flames of the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). She played college for the Baylor Lady Bears. Following the 2019–20 season, Richards was named WBCA Defensive Player of the Year and Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Award as well as Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year. She averaged 8.2 points and 4.9 rebounds per game, and had 52 steals and 25 blocked shots.
College career
Richards had a breakout season as a sophomore, starting in all 38 games and helping the Lady Bears to a national championship ... Known for her solid on-ball defense, she was selected to the Big 12 All-Defensive Team and was named Defensive Player of the Year.
Richards' reputation as one of the nation’s top on-ball defenders headed into her junior season was solidified when she swept National Defensive Player of the Year Awards from both Naismith and the WBCA, as she was named as the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year. Richards ranked 14th and 13th in the NCAA, respectively, in assists (171) and assists per game (5.7) while leading the Big 12 in both categories. Her 171 assists in the COVID-19-shortened season still ranked as the sixth-best total among Baylor juniors all-time. Richards played and started in all 30 games for Baylor, averaging a team-best 29.9 minutes per contest.
Career statistics
| * | Denotes season(s) in which Richards won a NCAA Championship |
WNBA
Regular season
Stats current through end of 2024 season
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | New York | 31 | 0 | 11.2 | .422 | .455 | .600 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 2.3 |
| 2022 | New York | 14 | 0 | 11.1 | .306 | .273 | .700 | 1.7 | 1.4 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 0.9 | 2.3 |
| 2023 | Did not play (waived) | ||||||||||||
| 2024 | Washington | 19 | 7 | 10.4 | .408 | .000 | .429 | 1.5 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 2.4 |
| Career | 3 years, 2 teams | 64 | 7 | 10.9 | .389 | .351 | .559 | 1.4 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 2.3 |
Playoffs
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | New York | 1 | 0 | 12.0 | 1.000 | 1.000 | — | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 5.0 |
| 2022 | New York | 2 | 0 | 8.5 | .400 | .000 | 1.000 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 4.0 |
| Career | 2 years, 1 team | 3 | 0 | 9.7 | .571 | .333 | 1.000 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 1.3 | 4.3 |
College
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017–18 | Baylor | 33 | 1 | 18.0 | .471 | .000 | .510 | 4.3 | 1.6 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 1.2 | 5.1 |
| 2018–19* | Baylor | 38 | 38 | 26.9 | .522 | — | .567 | 3.7 | 4.1 | 1.4 | 0.4 | 1.6 | 7.2 |
| 2019–20 | Baylor | 30 | 30 | 29.8 | .497 | — | .775 | 4.9 | 5.7 | 1.7 | 0.8 | 1.9 | 8.2 |
| 2020–21 | Baylor | 30 | 29 | 29.8 | .429 | — | .656 | 3.3 | 6.3 | 1.2 | 0.7 | 2.5 | 6.3 |
| Career | 131 | 98 | 26.0 | .483 | .000 | .642 | 4.0 | 4.3 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 1.8 | 6.7 | |