Introduction
Imani Trishawn McGee-Stafford (born October 11, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for the Perth Lynx of the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). She played college basketball for University of Texas at Austin.
College
In 2015, while at Texas, McGee-Stafford was awarded the Honda Inspiration Award which is given to a collegiate athlete "who has overcome hardship and was able to return to play at the collegiate level". She grew up in a challenging home environment, but became the challenge and became a voice for others.
Texas statistics
Source
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | GP | Points | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| 2012-13 | Texas | 30 | 334 | 48.3% | 22.2% | 64.4% | 9.4 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 2.5 | 11.1 |
| 2013-14 | Texas | 33 | 356 | 49.8% | 57.1% | 62.8% | 7.3 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 2.2 | 10.8 |
| 2014-15 | Texas | 27 | 266 | 56.2% | 0.0% | 70.0% | 7.1 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 1.9 | 9.9 |
| 2015-16 | Texas | 36 | 405 | 50.3% | 30.0% | 78.6% | 8.9 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 2.9 | 11.3 |
| Career | 126 | 1361 | 50.6% | 32.1% | 69.6% | 8.2 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 2.4 | 10.8 |
Professional career
WNBA
McGee-Stafford was drafted 10th overall by the Chicago Sky in the 2016 WNBA Draft. In her rookie season, she was ranked seventh in the league in blocks per game and was named to the WNBA All-Rookie Team. In her first playoff game, she broke the WNBA playoff rookie record for blocks in a game with 6. Midway through the 2017 season, McGee-Stafford was traded to the Atlanta Dream along with teammate Tamera Young in exchange for Jordan Hooper and a first-round draft pick. She continued on with Atlanta in 2018 before joining the Dallas Wings for the 2019 season.
Overseas
In December 2016, McGee-Stafford moved to Israel to play for Bnot Hertzeliya. In 16 games during the 2016–17 season, she averaged 14.0 points, 10.8 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 1.1 steals and 2.6 blocks per game. Between November and December 2017, she played in China for Beijing Great Wall of the Women's Chinese Basketball Association. She returned to China a year later, where she played for the Liaoning Flying Eagles between October and November 2018. In February 2019, she had a four-game stint in Turkey with Adana Basketbol.
On June 13, 2019, McGee-Stafford signed with the Perth Lynx in Australia for the 2019–20 WNBL season.
WNBA 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 high | ° | League leader | ||||
Regular season
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Chicago | 31 | 16 | 18.9 | .554 | .000 | .660 | 5.6 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 1.3 | 0.9 | 6.7 |
| 2017* | Chicago | 22 | 4 | 15.5 | .444 | .333 | .706 | 4.4 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 4.6 |
| 2017* | Atlanta | 10 | 0 | 9.2 | .542 | .000 | .500 | 2.9 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 2.9 |
| 2017 | Total | 32 | 4 | 13.5 | .463 | .333 | .652 | 3.9 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 4.1 |
| Career | 2 years, 2 teams | 63 | 20 | 16.2 | .514 | .333 | .658 | 4.8 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 5.3 |
Playoffs
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Chicago | 5 | 5 | 20.4 | .500 | .000 | .600 | 8.2 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 8.4 |
| Career | 1 year, 1 team | 5 | 5 | 20.4 | .500 | .000 | .600 | 8.2 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 8.4 |
Personal life
McGee-Stafford is married to Texas Longhorns football player Paul Boyette Jr. She is the daughter of former WNBA player Pamela McGee, the younger sister of current NBA player JaVale McGee, and a cousin of NFL player Jarron Gilbert. She also appeared on Let's Make a Deal with her Grandma on March 8, 2018 and received a pair of scooters. In the Spring of 2020 she announced that she is stepping away for the next two WNBA seasons to pursue a law degree from Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles.