Damiris Dantas do Amaral (born November 17, 1992) is a Brazilian

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player for the

Indiana Fever The Indiana Fever are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Fever compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) a member of the Eastern Conference (WNBA), Eastern Conference. The team was founded for ...

of the

Women's National Basketball Association The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is a women's professional basketball league in the United States. The league comprises 13 teams (scheduled to expand to 15 in 2026). The WNBA is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan. The WNBA w ...

(WNBA). Together with the junior Brazilian team, she won the bronze medal at the Under-19 World Championship in 2011, Chile, and was named

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

at that tournament. That same year, Dantas was also champion of the

2011 FIBA Americas Championship for Women The 2011 FIBA Americas Championship for Women was the qualifying tournament for FIBA Americas at the women's basketball tournament at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. The tournament was held at Coliseo Álvaro Sánchez Silva in Neiva, Colombi ...

with the senior national team, and won a bronze medal at the

2011 Pan American Games The 2011 Pan American Games, officially the XVI Pan American Games () and commonly known as Guadalajara 2011, were an international multi-sport event held from October 14–30, 2011, in Guadalajara, Mexico. Some events were held in the nearby c ...

. Dantas began to play basketball at

Janeth Arcain Janeth dos Santos Arcain (, born April 11, 1969) is a Brazilian former professional women's basketball player. She played in the United States for the Houston Comets in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) from 1997 to 2005. Arc ...

's basketball institute at the age of 13. Within four years, she had become a professional. Dantas played for Ourinhos in 2012, Maranhão in 2013, and Americana in 2013–2015.

WNBA

Minnesota Lynx (2014–2015)

Dantas was drafted by the

Minnesota Lynx The Minnesota Lynx are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Lynx compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference (WNBA), Western Conference. The team won the WNBA ...

in the First Round of the

2012 WNBA draft The 2012 WNBA draft was the league's annual process for determining which teams receive the rights to negotiate with players entering the league. The draft was held on April 16, 2012, at the ESPN studios in Bristol, Connecticut. The first round ...

- 12th Overall. Dantas was not expected to play in the WNBA until after the

2012 Olympic Games The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. She was signed by the Lynx on April 2, 2014. Dantas made her WNBA debut on May 16, 2014, gathering 12 rebounds in a win against

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

. Dantas became the second rookie in league history to debut with 10 rebounds and 5 assists. With

Rebekkah Brunson Rebekkah Brunson (born December 11, 1981) is an American basketball coach and broadcast analyst. She is currently an assistant coach with the Minnesota Lynx of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Brunson is a former forward for t ...

being sidelined with tendinitis, Dantas became the starter, and soon led the WNBA rookies in rebounds. On August 9, 2015, she made 18 points.

Atlanta Dream (2015 and 2017)

On July 27, 2015, Dantas was traded to the Atlanta Dream as part of the three-team deal. She was suspended for the 2016 WNBA season after she failed to report to training camp, instead using the time to train with the Brazilian National team for the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

that the country would host in Rio de Janeiro. Atlanta retained Dantas's rights and they expected her to play with the team during the 2017 season.

Minnesota Lynx (2019–2023)

On February 8, 2019, Dantas signed with the Minnesota Lynx as a free agent. Dantas missed several games in 2019 due to a calf injury. In 2019, Dantas started all 26 games she played in and recorded career-highs in minutes, points, and assists per game. She continued to expand her game and make herself valuable for the Lynx as she improved her outside shooting to open up the inside play for

Sylvia Fowles Sylvia Shaqueria Fowles (born October 6, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player. Fowles played for the Chicago Sky and Minnesota Lynx during her WNBA career. She won the WNBA Most Valuable Player Award, WNBA MVP Award in 2017 ...

. Dantas showed up in 2020 for the Lynx as they played in the WNBA Bubble. Over the 22-game campaign, Dantas shot 44.3% from three-point on just over four attempts beyond the arc per game, cementing her spot as one of the WNBA's elite-shooting bigs. She finished the season with averages of 12.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game. Dantas and the Lynx agreed to a multi-year extension in September 2020 after she completed one of her best years in the WNBA. Coach

Cheryl Reeve Cheryl Reeve (born September 20, 1966) is an American basketball head coach and President of Basketball Operations for the Minnesota Lynx of the Women's National Basketball Association, WNBA. Reeve has coached the Lynx to four league championshi ...

stated that, “Damiris has been such an important part of the Lynx culture since she first became a member of our organization in 2014...She has made great strides as a player over the last couple of years and remains an important element in our path forward.” In one of the final games of the 2021 season, Dantas suffered a

Lisfranc injury A Lisfranc injury, also known as Lisfranc fracture, is an injury of the foot in which one or more of the metatarsal bones are displaced from the tarsus. The injury is named after Jacques Lisfranc de St. Martin, a French surgeon and gynecolog ...

in her right foot, forcing her to end her season early and undergo surgery. The extensive recovery time led to her developing a depression that led to lesser results and ultimately a nervous breakdown at the fifteenth game of the 2022 season. After discussing with Reeve, the coach agreed Dantas was not mentally well to continue playing, sidelining her to spend time with rest and psychological treatment. Dantas attended the Lynx training camp in 2023, ending up waived. To compensate her absence in the WNBA, Dantas led the Brazilian team to the

2023 FIBA Women's AmeriCup The 2023 FIBA Women's AmeriCup was the 17th edition of the FIBA Women's AmeriCup, which is the main tournament for senior women's basketball national teams of the FIBA Americas. It was held from 1 to 9 July 2023 in León, Mexico. Brazil won thei ...

title and played in both Mexico for

Fuerza Regia The Fuerza Regia de Monterrey (''Monterrey Royal Force'' in English) is a Mexican professional basketball team based in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico playing in the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional (LNBP). They currently play their home g ...

and Turkey for

Ormanspor OGM Ormanspor is a Turkish professional basketball club based in Ankara. Currently, the team plays in the Turkish Basketball First League. Established in 1971, the team played in the lower divisions of Turkish basketball for decades. In 2019, Orma ...

Indiana Fever (2024–present)

On February 1, 2024 Dantas signed a multi-year contract with the Indiana Fever. Dantas had to miss the opening week of training camp due to an issue with her visa and a family emergency. She returned to Indianapolis for the second week of camp, but a knee injury prevented her from training with the team. The Fever suspended her contract while she recovered from her injury. On June 25, 2024, the Fever activated Dantas.

WNBA career statistics

Regular season

''Stats current through end of 2024 regular season'' , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:left;", ''2012'' , colspan=13 style="text-align:center;", ''Did not play (Olympic commitment)'' , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:left;", ''2013'' , colspan=13 style="text-align:center;", ''Did not play'' , - , style="text-align:left;",

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

, style="text-align:left;",

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, 30 , , 23 , , 21.8 , , .511 , , 1.000 , , .760 , , 5.1 , , 1.2 , , 0.5 , , 0.3 , , 0.8 , , 6.0 , - , rowspan=2 style="text-align:left;",

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 16 , , 4 , , 16.7 , , .581 , , .667 , , .789 , , 3.3 , , 1.2 , , 0.2 , , 0.3 , , 1.1 , , 5.6 , - , style="text-align:left;",

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, 16 , , 16 , , 24.8 , , .383 , , .333 , , .973 , , 5.4 , , 0.7 , , 0.9 , , 0.6 , , 1.1 , , 8.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:left;", ''2016'' , colspan=13 style="text-align:center;", ''Did not play (Olympic commitment)'' , - , style="text-align:left;",

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 34 , , 2 , , 18.0 , , .392 , , .265 , , .767 , , 3.6 , , 0.7 , , 0.5 , , 0.5 , , 0.8 , , 7.7 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 19 , , 0 , , 13.4 , , .433 , , .238 , , .722 , , 2.4 , , 0.8 , , 0.4 , , 0.0 , , 0.5 , , 5.4 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 26 , , 26 , , 25.6 , , .432 , , .393 , , .731 , , 4.5 , , 3.2 , , 0.7 , , 0.5 , , 1.7 , , 9.2 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 22 , , 22 , , 26.6 , , .464 , , .433 , , .727 , , 6.1 , , 2.6 , , 1.1 , , 0.2 , , 1.8 , , 12.9 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 24 , , 20 , , 23.8 , , .377 , , .333 , , .650 , , 4.0 , , 2.3 , , 0.4 , , 0.3 , , 1.8 , , 7.7 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 15 , , 15 , , 17.5 , , .304 , , .262 , , .833 , , 3.8 , , 1.9 , , 0.2 , , 0.1 , , 1.1 , , 5.1 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:left;", ''2023'' , colspan=13 style="text-align:center;", ''Did not play'' , - , style="text-align:left;",

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

, style="text-align:left;",

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

, 20 , , 0 , , 10.5 , , .459 , , .394 , , .667 , , 2.2 , , 0.6 , , 0.3 , , 0.3 , , 0.6 , , 4.5 , - class="sortbottom" , align="left" , Career , align="left" , 9 years, 3 teams , 222 , , 128 , , 20.2 , , .426 , , .345 , , .776 , , 4.1 , , 1.5 , , 0.5 , , 0.3 , , 1.1 , , 7.4

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;",

, 3 , , 0 , , 8.4 , , .500 , , — , , — , , 0.7 , , 0.3 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.3 , , 0.7 , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;",

, 1 , , 1 , , 28.0 , , .615 , , .333 , , 1.000 , , 6.0 , , 1.0 , , 2.0 , , 0.0 , , style="background:#d3d3d3;", 5.0° , , 20.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;",

, 4 , , 4 , , 34.3 , , .471 , , .519 , , .833 , , 7.5 , , 2.8 , , 1.5 , , 0.0 , , 2.5 , , 18.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;",

, 2 , , 0 , , 16.0 , , .500 , , .400 , , 1.000 , , 1.0 , , 0.5 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.5 , , 8.0 , - class="sortbottom" , align="left" , Career , align="left" , 4 years, 2 teams , 10 , , 5 , , 22.2 , , .500 , , .474 , , .875 , , 4.0 , , 1.4 , , 0.8 , , 0.0 , , 1.7 , , 11.0

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dantas, Damiris 1992 births Living people Atlanta Dream players Basketball players at the 2011 Pan American Games Basketball players at the 2012 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 2016 Summer Olympics Brazilian expatriate basketball people in Spain Brazilian expatriate basketball people in the United States Brazilian women's basketball players Centers (basketball) Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games Minnesota Lynx draft picks Minnesota Lynx players Olympic basketball players for Brazil Pan American Games bronze medalists for Brazil Pan American Games basketball players for Brazil Pan American Games bronze medalists in basketball Basketball players from São Paulo (state) People from Ferraz de Vasconcelos 21st-century Brazilian sportswomen