Baker, Laura
After finishing her collegiate career at the University of California, Baker went undrafted in 1999, signing with the WNBA as a free agent and being assigned to the Shock on May 6, 1999. Detroit waived Baker on May 31, 1999.
Basketball Hall of Fame, Naismith Memorial
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame first opened its doors on February 17, 1968 on the campus of Springfield College. It remained there until June 9, 1985 when the original Hall closed its doors to make way for a new Hall located closer to the Springfield business district.
Future Shock head coach and general manager Nancy Lieberman was inducted into the Hall in 1996, and former Shock player Lynette Woodard was inducted in 2004
Basketball Hall of Fame, Women's
The Women's Basketball Hall of Fame held its grand opening and hosted its first class of inductees in Knoxville, Tennessee on June 5, 1999. Former Shock head coach and general manager Nancy Lieberman was among the first 25 people inducted that day. Former Shock player Lynette Woodard joined her in the Hall as a member of the induction class of 2005.
Batteast, Jacqueline (2006-current)
Batteast |
Jacqueline Batteast graduated from the
University of Notre Dame in 2005. Originally selected by the
Minnesota Lynx in the second round (No. 17 overall) of the
2005 WNBA Draft, Batteast was traded by the Lynx to Detroit on April 5, 2006 in exchange for the draft rights to
Ambrosia Anderson whom the Shock had selected with the third pick in the second round (No. 17 overall) of the
2006 WNBA Draft. Batteast won the
2006 WNBA Championship with the Detroit Shock.
Batteast Bio and Statistics
Baylor University
Baylor University began women�s basketball competition for the 1974-75 season, advancing to six NCAA Tournaments over the ensuing years and winning the 2005 NCAA Championship. Sheila Lambert played for Baylor and the Shock, and Kacy Moffitt attended Baylor and was on Detroit's 2001 Training Camp roster.
Bell, Nikita
Bell |
The Detroit Shock selected Nikita Bell out of
North Carolina in the second round (No. 20 overall) of the
2005 WNBA Draft. Detroit waived her on May 17, 2005.
Belgium
Kathy Wambe, who was a 2002 Detroit draft pick, is the lone Shock player to hail from Belgium.
Blades, Rhonda (1998)
Blades |
Blades, a
Vanderbilt graduate, was acquired by the Detroit Shock in the
1998 WNBA Expansion Draft as a first round pick. She was initially signed and played for the
New York Liberty during the WNBA�s inaugural year. The Shock waived Blades on April 23, 1999. The
Washington Mystics signed Blades on May 8, 1999 but waived her on June 9, 1999. The
Cleveland Rockers signed Blades on April 30, 2001, but waived her on May 13, 2001.
Blades Bio and Statistics
Boston College
Boston College, founded in 1863, began competing in women's basketball in 1972-73. They have advanced to seven NCAA Tournaments. Cal Bouchard, whom the Shock drafted in the 2000 WNBA Draft, attended Bosotn College.
Bouchard, Cal (2000)
Bouchard |
The Detroit Shock selected Cal Bouchard out of
Boston College with the 12th pick in the fourth round (No. 60 overall) of the 2000 WNBA Draft. The Shock waived Bouchard on May 27, 2001.
Boyd, Carla (1998-1999, 2001)
Boyd |
Carla Boyd went undrafted in 1998, signed with the WNBA and was added to the Shock training camp roster on May 2, 1998. She played two seasons with Detroit before sitting out the 2000 season to train with the
Australian National Team. During the
2000 Olympic Games, Boyd and her fellow Aussies earned a silver medal to go with the bronze medals she earned in the
1996 Olympics and the
1998 World Championship. Boyd resumed her career with the Shock for the 2001 season before sitting out the 2002 season to once again train with her national team. The Shock waived her on March 12, 2003.
Boyd Bio and Statistics
Branzova, Gergana (1998)
Branzova |
A graduate of
Florida International University, Branzova was drafted by the Detroit Shock in the third round (No. 24 Overall) of the
1998 WNBA Draft. The Shock waived Branzova on June 9, 1999.
Branzova Bio and Statistics
Braxton, Kara (2005-current)
Braxton |
Kara Braxton attended the
University of Georgia prior to being drafted by the Detroit Shock in the first round (7th overall) of the
2005 WNBA Draft. She was named to the
2005 All-Rookie Team and won the
2006 WNBA Championship with the Shock.
In 2007, Braxton received her first All-Star nod.
Braxton Bio and Statistics
Brazil
Kelly Santos and Claudia Maria das Neves are the only two Shock players to hail from Brazil
Bromfield, Syreeta
Bromfield |
Detroit selected Bromfield out of
Michigan State with the 3rd pick in the third round (No. 28 overall) of the 2003 WNBA Draft. The Shock waived her on May 21, 2003.
Brondello, Sandy (1998, 1999)
Brondello |
The Detroit Shock selected Brondello in the fourth round (No. 34 Overall) of the
1998 WNBA Draft, and one season later she became the first Shock player to be named to a
WNBA All-Star Team. The Shock left her unprotected in the
2000 Expansion Draft after she decided to skip the 2000 season to train with the
Australian National Team as they prepared for the
2000 Olympic Games.
The Indiana Fever selected Brondello in the Expansion Draft and traded her that same day to the Miami Sol along with a first round pick in the 2000 WNBA Draft in exchange for Stephanie McCarty. She would later sign with the Seattle Storm as a free agent on April 29, 2003. Brondello opted to train with the Australian National Team rather than play with the Storm in 2004, missing out on the team's WNBA Championship run in the process. She retired from the WNBA shortly thereafter, and was hired by the San Antonio Silver Stars on March 25, 2005 as an assistant coach.
Internationally, in addition to her appearances in the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games where Australia took home the silver both years, Brondello was a member of her country's 1988 and 1992 Olympic teams, and its 1994, 1998 (bronze) and 2002 (silver) World Championship teams.
Brondello Bio and Statistics
Brown, Cindy (1998-1999)
Brown |
Cindy Brown graduated from
Long Beach State and was selected by the
Seattle Reign in the second round of the
ABL Draft on June 19, 1996. Brown earned
Second Team All-ABL honors following the 1996-97 season and was assigned to the expansion Long Beach Sting Rays on April 26, 1997. Before she could report to Long Beach, though, Brown signed with the rival WNBA.
The league allocated Brown, along with Razija Mujanovic, to the Detroit Shock prior to the 1998 season. She spent a season and a half with the Shock and finished second in the WNBA in rebounding in 1998 before being traded on July 29, 1999, along with Korie Hlede, to Utah for Wendy Palmer and Olympia Scott-Richardson. Brown retired from the WNBA following the 1999 season.
Brown Bio and Statistics
Brown, Edwina (2000-2002)
Brown |
A
University of Texas graduate, Brown was drafted by the Detroit Shock in the first round (No. 3 Overall) in the
2000 WNBA Draft. She played three seasons with the Shock before being traded on April 28, 2003 along with
Lenae Williams to
Phoenix for
Telisha Quarles and
Petra Ujhelyi. The Mercury waived her on July 6, 2004. The
Washington Mystics signed her as a free agent on April 25, 2005, but waived her on May 3 of that year.
Brown Bio and Statistics
Brown, Lesley (1999)
Lesley Brown, a University of Virginia graduate, was assigned to the Detroit Shock by the WNBA on May 6, 1999. She was selected by the Miami Sol in the 2000 WNBA Expansion Draft in the fifth round. Brown was waived by Miami on May 19, 2000. She was then picked up by the Indiana Fever, who waived her on May 18, 2001.
Brown Bio and Statistics
Byrd, Laurie (2003-2005)
Byrd |
Years before Laurie Byrd joined
Bill Laimbeer�s staff as an assistant coach she made her name as a player at
Eastern Michigan University. As a pro, Byrd had the distinction of being drafted three times by the same league: in 1996, she was selected by the ABL's
Atlanta Glory; in 1997, the
San Jose Lasers made her a fifth round selection after Atlanta folded; and in 1998, the
New England Blizzard selected her in the third round. After her playing career ended, Byrd joined the
University of Detroit coaching staff as an assistant coach for three seasons before joining the Shock staff on October 17, 2002. She remained with the Shock for three years including the
2003 WNBA Championship campaign.
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