DeMya Chakheia Walker (born November 28, 1977) is a professional

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 from the United States.

High school

Walker was born and grew up in

Mount Holly, New Jersey Mount Holly is a Township (New Jersey), township that is the county seat of Burlington County, New Jersey, Burlington County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is an eastern suburb of Philadelphia, the nation's sixth largest city as of 2020. As ...

, where she attended Rancocas Valley Regional High School and she set school records for career rebounds (851), rebound average per game (14.2 rpg), most rebounds in a game (29), most points in a season (675), and most career points (1,546). In her senior year, she was named to the 1995

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

n first team by ''

Street & Smith Street & Smith or Street & Smith Publications, Inc., was a New York City publisher specializing in inexpensive paperbacks and magazines referred to as dime novels and pulp magazine, pulp fiction. They also published comic books and sporting year ...

's''

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

High School "Female Athlete of the Year", and ''

Parade Magazine ''Parade'' was an American nationwide Sunday newspaper magazine, distributed in more than 700 newspapers nationwide in the United States until 2022. The most widely read magazine in the U.S., ''Parade'' had a circulation of 32 million and a read ...

Second Team as a

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

senior.

University of Virginia

Walker attended the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

and played on the women's basketball team (known as ''The Cavaliers'') from 1995 to 1999. By the time she graduated, she became Virginia's all-time leader in field goal percentage, as well as 332 career blocked shots which at the time was ranked 12th in the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

record books. She averaged 13.0 points per game and 6.9 rebounds per game during her career. Her 1,583 points ranks her ninth in school history. She was named the "Cavalier of the Year", and was an Honorable Mention All-America selection in her senior year (1998-99 season) after leading the team in scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage and blocked shots. She is also a member of the

Zeta Phi Beta Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. () is a historically African American sorority. In 1920, five women from Howard University envisioned a sorority that would raise the consciousness of their people, encourage the highest standards of scholastic achi ...

Sorority In North America, fraternities and sororities ( and ) are social clubs at colleges and universities. They are sometimes collectively referred to as Greek life or Greek-letter organizations, as well as collegiate fraternities or collegiate sorori ...

USA Basketball

Walker was selected to play with the USA team at the

1999 Pan American Games The 1999 Pan American Games, officially the XIII Pan American Games () or the 13th Pan American Games and commonly known as Winnipeg 1999, were a major international multi-sport event that was held from July 23 to August 8, 1999, in Winnipeg, Ma ...

. The team finished with a record of 4–3, but won the bronze medal with an 85–59 victory over Brazil. Walker averaged 1.6 points per game.

WNBA career

Despite her impressive career in college, Walker was not selected by any of the WNBA teams during the

1999 WNBA draft 1999 WNBA draft *On September 15, 1998, two more players were assigned prior to the expansion draft. *On April 6, 1999, a WNBA expansion draft took place. *On May 3, 1999, another round of player allocation took place. *On May 4, 1999, the regu ...

, mainly due to the influx of former players from the just-disbanded American Basketball League (ABL), a rival professional women's league. Several of the ABL's star players were selected in that year's draft. However, prior to the start of the

1999 WNBA season The 1999 WNBA season was the Women's National Basketball Association's third season. The 1999 season saw two expansion teams join the league, the Minnesota Lynx and Orlando Miracle. The schedule was increased from 30 to 32 games per team. The se ...

, Walker was assigned to 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 ...

for its pre-season training camp, but was cut from the team final roster shortly afterwards. Walker spent that summer playing overseas on a professional women's league team in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. In 2000, she signed a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

contract with the

Portland Fire The Portland Fire were a professional basketball team in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) based in Portland, Oregon that joined the league in 2000 as the counterpart to the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers and played their games a ...

, and played with them for three seasons until the team was disbanded due to financial difficulties at the end of the 2002 season. On April 24, 2003, the WNBA held a

dispersal draft A dispersal draft is a process in professional sports for assigning players to a new team when an existing team folds or is merged into another team. Like most other sports drafts, most dispersal drafts are conducted in closed leagues and are in ...

, where various former players from the newly-defunct

and

Miami Sol The Miami Sol were a professional women's basketball team that was based in Miami and entered the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) in 2000. They played their games at American Airlines Arena as the sister team to the Miami Heat of the ...

teams were chosen by the existing WNBA teams. Walker was selected by the

Sacramento Monarchs The Sacramento Monarchs were a professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. They played in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) from 1997 until folding on November 20, 2009. They played their home games at ARCO Aren ...

as the fifth overall pick in this draft. Walker played the 2003–08 seasons with the Monarchs, and even helped the team win the 2005 WNBA Finals by defeating the

Connecticut Sun The Connecticut Sun are an American professional basketball team based in Uncasville, Connecticut. The Sun compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Eastern Conference (WNBA), Eastern Conference. The team i ...

, three games to one. When the Monarchs folded prior to the

2010 WNBA season The 2010 WNBA season was the 14th season of the Women's National Basketball Association. The regular season began with a televised (ESPN2) meeting between the defending champion Phoenix Mercury and the Los Angeles Sparks in Phoenix, Arizona on M ...

, Walker was selected by the

in the 2010 dispersal draft.

Career statistics

WNBA

Regular season

, - , align="left" ,

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

, align="left" ,

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

, 30, , 1, , 10.4, , 39.8, , 0.0, , 46.8, , 1.6, , 0.6, , 0.6, , 0.2, , 1.2, , 3.1 , - , align="left" ,

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

, align="left" ,

, 21, , 0, , 14.1, , 44.0, , 66.7, , 57.5, , 2.8, , 0.5, , 0.3, , 0.6, , 1.7, , 5.4 , - , align="left" ,

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

, align="left" ,

, 31, , 29, , 27.4, , 48.4, , 16.7, , 62.1, , 5.0, , 1.6, , 0.8, , 1.1, , 2.9, , 10.9 , - , align="left" ,

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

, align="left" ,

Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

, 34, , 21, , 21.8, , 45.9, , 13.3, , 58.0, , 4.4, , 1.4, , 0.7, , 0.7, , 2.0, , 9.0 , - , align="left" ,

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, align="left" ,

, 34, , 34, , 26.0, , 41.6, , 0.0, , 60.2, , 4.2, , 2.5, , 0.8, , 0.4, , 2.5, , 8.4 , - , align="left" ,

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, align="left" ,

, 22, , 19, , 27.2, , 53.4, , 100.0, , 64.5, , 5.3, , 2.2, , 1.3, , 0.6, , 3.1, , 14.1 , - , align="left" ,

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, align="left" ,

, 23, , 8, , 18.9, , 43.6, , 0.0, , 65.5, , 4.0, , 1.4, , 0.7, , 0.3, , 1.6, , 9.3 , - , align="left" ,

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

, align="left" ,

, 5, , 5, , 21.0, , 40.5, , 0.0, , 71.4, , 5.0, , 1.2, , 0.6, , 0.6, , 3.0, , 8.8 , - , align="left" ,

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, align="left" ,

, 7, , 0, , 7.4, , 45.5, , 0.0, , 50.0, , 0.9, , 0.1, , 0.7, , 0.0, , 1.4, , 1.6 , - , align="left" ,

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, align="left" ,

, 34, , 30, , 24.1, , 47.6, , 0.0, , 72.6, , 4.6, , 1.9, , 0.8, , 0.5, , 2.7, , 8.6 , - , align="left" ,

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

, align="left" ,

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

, 31, , 2, , 11.0, , 41.9, , 0.0, , 82.6, , 2.1, , 0.8, , 0.5, , 0.2, , 1.3, , 4.1 , - , align="left" rowspan=2 ,

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

, align="left" ,

, 10, , 0, , 8.0, , 42.1, , 0.0, , 72.7, , 1.6, , 0.0, , 0.2, , 0.0, , 1.1, , 2.4 , - , align="left" ,

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 ...

, 20, , 5, , 20.5, , 39.2, , 0.0, , 73.7, , 4.0, , 1.2, , 0.4, , 0.4, , 1.7, , 6.3 , - , align="left" ,

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, align="left" ,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, 33, , 8, , 15.9, , 39.4, , 0.0, , 59.3, , 2.8, , 1.0, , 0.5, , 0.5, , 1.9, , 3.0 , - , align="left" , Career , align="left" , 13 years, 5 teams , 335, , 162, , 19.2, , 45.1, , 14.0, , 63.5, , 3.6, , 1.3, , 0.7, , 0.5, , 2.0, , 7.1

Playoffs

, - , align="left" ,

, align="left" ,

, 6, , 6, , 28.3, , 43.6, , 0.0, , 55.0, , 4.5, , 1.7, , 0.2, , 0.5, , 3.5, , 9.8 , - , align="left" ,

, align="left" ,

, 6, , 6, , 28.8, , 55.6, , 0.0, , 64.7, , 3.3, , 2.3, , 1.0, , 1.3, , 3.0, , 11.8 , - , align="left" ,

, align="left" ,

, 6, , 0, , 27.5, , 50.0, , 0.0, , 75.0, , 3.0, , 3.5, , 0.5, , 0.0, , 2.8, , 10.2 , - , align="left" ,

, align="left" ,

, 9, , 9, , 24.4, , 44.1, , 0.0, , 56.5, , 4.1, , 2.6, , 0.7, , 0.6, , 2.2, , 10.6 , - , align="left" ,

, align="left" ,

, 3, , 0, , 15.7, , 50.0, , 0.0, , 80.0, , 4.7, , 0.3, , 0.7, , 0.0, , 2.0, , 6.7 , - , align="left" ,

, align="left" ,

, 2, , 0, , 9.5, , 0.0, , 0.0, , 50.0, , 3.0, , 0.0, , 0.0, , 0.5, , 1.0, , 0.5 , - , align="left" , Career , align="left" , 6 years, 2 teams , 32, , 21, , 24.8, , 47.6, , 0.0, , 62.0, , 3.8, , 2.2, , 0.6, , 0.5, , 2.6, , 9.6

College

, - , style="text-align:left;" , 1995–96 , style="text-align:left;" ,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, 33, , -, , -, , 52.2, , 0.0, , 52.1, , 6.3, , 0.6, , 0.9, , 2.1, , -, , 7.6 , - , style="text-align:left;" , 1996–97 , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 31, , -, , -, , 59.8, , 0.0, , 72.7, , 7.5, , 1.4, , 1.5, , 2.7, , -, , 13.7 , - , style="text-align:left;" , 1997–98 , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 29, , -, , -, , 55.2, , 14.3, , 63.2, , 8.4, , 1.9, , 2.0, , 3.3, , -, , 16.3 , - , style="text-align:left;" , 1998–99 , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 29, , -, , -, , 54.9, , 28.6, , 66.0, , 4.6, , 2.8, , 1.9, , 2.9, , -, , 15.0 , - , style="text-align:center;" colspan=2 , Career , 122, , -, , -, , 55.7, , 21.7, , 64.9, , 6.7, , 1.6, , 1.6, , 2.7, , -, , 13.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="14", Statistics retrieved from

Sports-Reference Sports Reference, LLC is an American sports statistics company that operates databases of several sports. They include Pro Football Reference for American football, Baseball Reference for baseball, Basketball Reference for basketball, Hockey Ref ...

Personal

*Two months after the Monarchs won the title she announced her

pregnancy Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring gestation, gestates inside a woman's uterus. A multiple birth, multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Conception (biology), Conception usually occurs ...

. *In April 2006, after going through an intense four days of

labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

, Walker gave a

Caesarean section Caesarean section, also known as C-section, cesarean, or caesarean delivery, is the Surgery, surgical procedure by which one or more babies are Childbirth, delivered through an incision in the mother's abdomen. It is often performed because va ...

birth to her first child, a daughter named Zachara. She went on

maternity leave Parental leave, or family leave, is an employee benefit available in almost all countries. The term "parental leave" may include maternity, paternity, and adoption leave; or may be used distinctively from "maternity leave" and "paternity leave ...

and missed the first 11 games of the 2006 WNBA season, before returning to the Monarchs' player roster. *Earned her degree from Virginia in Government. *After playing days are over wants to be an attorney in mergers & acquisitions.

References

External links

WNBA Player Profile
* ttp://www.wnba.com/monarchs/news/DeMya_Walker_072108.html Walker returns to Sacramento {{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Demya 1977 births Living people American women's basketball players Basketball players at the 1999 Pan American Games Basketball players from Burlington County, New Jersey Connecticut Sun players New York Liberty players Parade High School All-Americans (girls' basketball) Sportspeople from Mount Holly, New Jersey Portland Fire players Power forwards Rancocas Valley Regional High School alumni Sacramento Monarchs players Virginia Cavaliers women's basketball players Washington Mystics players WNBA All-Stars Undrafted Women's National Basketball Association players Liaoning Flying Eagles players American expatriate basketball people in China Beijing Great Wall players Medalists at the 1999 Pan American Games Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States in basketball United States women's national basketball team players 20th-century American sportswomen