Deja Kelly
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Deja Kelly (born September 8, 2001) is an American 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 who is currently a free agent. She played
college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...
for the
Oregon Ducks The Oregon Ducks are the College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Oregon, located in Eugene, Oregon, Eugene. The Ducks compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCA ...
and the
North Carolina Tar Heels The North Carolina Tar Heels (also Carolina Tar Heels) are the college sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to ...
, where she was a three-time first-team All-
Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...
(ACC) selection. Kelly graduated from
Duncanville High School Duncanville High School is a secondary school located in Duncanville, Texas, Duncanville, Texas, United States, in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The school is a part of Duncanville Independent School District. The school includes grades 9 through 12 ...
in
Duncanville, Texas Duncanville is a city in southwestern Dallas County, Texas, United States. Duncanville's population was 40,706 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The city is part of the Best Southwest area, which includes Duncanville, Cedar Hill, T ...
, where she was named a
McDonald's All-American McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American multinational fast food chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese chain Mixue Ice Cream & Tea. Brothers ...
.


Early life and high school career

Kelly developed an interest in basketball at age five, playing on courts in
San Antonio, Texas San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...
. She trained under the guidance of her mother, Theresa Nunn, who also coached her on the
Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It h ...
circuit. Kelly drew inspiration from
Skylar Diggins-Smith Skylar Kierra Diggins (born August 2, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Seattle Storm of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Diggins was drafted third overall by the Tulsa Shock in the 2013 WNBA draft. I ...
. She began playing varsity basketball as a freshman at
Lady Bird Johnson High School Claudia Taylor "Lady Bird" Johnson High School is a public high school in San Antonio, Texas named after U.S. First Lady Lady Bird Johnson. It is part of the North East Independent School District and classified as a 6A school by the University ...
in San Antonio. In her first year with the team, Kelly averaged 19.2 points, 3.4 steals and 3.1 assists per game and was named ''
San Antonio Express-News The ''San Antonio Express-News'' is a daily newspaper in San Antonio, Texas, founded in 1865. It is owned by the Hearst Corporation and has offices in San Antonio and Austin, Texas. The ''Express-News'' is the third largest newspaper in the sta ...
'' Newcomer of the Year. As a sophomore, she averaged 27.7 points and 7.6 rebounds per game, making the ''San Antonio Express-News'' Super Team. Kelly transferred to
Duncanville High School Duncanville High School is a secondary school located in Duncanville, Texas, Duncanville, Texas, United States, in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The school is a part of Duncanville Independent School District. The school includes grades 9 through 12 ...
in
Duncanville, Texas Duncanville is a city in southwestern Dallas County, Texas, United States. Duncanville's population was 40,706 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The city is part of the Best Southwest area, which includes Duncanville, Cedar Hill, T ...
for her junior season. She hoped to gain more national attention by playing at a larger school. Kelly averaged 16 points per game as a junior. She was named District 8-6A Offensive MVP and received SportsDayHS All-Area third team honors from ''
The Dallas Morning News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation in 2022 of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885, by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ' ...
''. In her senior season, Kelly averaged 23.5 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 3.7 steals per game, leading Duncanville to the Class 6A state championship. She earned SportsDayHS Player of the Year and Texas
Gatorade Player of the Year The Gatorade Player of the Year awards are given annually to up and coming high school student-athletes in the United States. They are given for boys baseball, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls cross country, boys football, boys and girl ...
recognition. Kelly was selected to play in the
McDonald's All-American Game The McDonald's All-American Game is an American all-star basketball game played each year for boys' and girls' high school basketball graduates. Consisting of the top players, each team plays a single exhibition game after the conclusion of the hi ...
and
Jordan Brand Classic The Jordan Brand Classic is a high school all star basketball game played annually in April. The game's rosters feature the best and most highly recruited high school boys and girls in the senior class. In 2015, a girl's game was introduced. Th ...
, which were canceled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
.


Recruiting

Kelly was considered a five-star recruit and the number 10 player in the 2020 class by
ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
. In seventh grade, she committed to play college basketball for
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
, her father's alma mater, before reopening her recruitment four years later. On November 18, 2019, Kelly committed to
North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
over offers from
Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...
,
Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...
and
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 ...
.


College career

On November 25, 2020, Kelly made her debut for North Carolina, recording 19 points, four rebounds and three assists in a 90–61 win over Radford. On December 17, she posted a season-high 22 points, eight assists and five rebounds in a 92–68 victory against AP No. 18
Syracuse Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...
. She matched her season-high in points twice in consecutive wins over
Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1885, it has the lar ...
and
Virginia Tech The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...
in February 2021. As a freshman, Kelly averaged 11 points, 2.9 assists and 2.3 rebounds per game, shooting 32.9 percent from the field. She was a two-time
Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...
(ACC) Freshman of the Week selection and made the ACC All-Freshman Team. As a sophomore, Kelly had a career-high 31 points along with four rebounds and four assists in an 81–62 win against Clemson on January 2, 2022. One week later, she recorded her first
double-double In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the ter ...
with 15 points and 10 rebounds in a 71–46 win over Virginia Tech. At the 2022 NCAA tournament, Kelly helped North Carolina make its first Sweet 16 appearance in seven years. She averaged 16.5 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game and shot 85.8 percent from the free throw line, which led the ACC. Kelly earned first-team All-ACC accolades and received
Women's Basketball Coaches Association The Women's Basketball Coaches Association is an association of coaches of women's basketball teams at all levels. The organization was formed in 1981, with the goal of addressing the needs of women's basketball coaches. The mission of the WBC ...
(WBCA) All-American honorable mention. In her junior season, Kelly cemented herself as one of the top women's basketball players in the ACC. Once again earning first-team all-ACC honors, Kelly started every game in which she played, despite missing one contest due to injury. She set a new career high with 32 points in a 75–67 loss against
Syracuse Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...
, and on the season led the team in points and assists, averaging 16.3 points and 3.2 assists per game.


Professional career

Kelly went undrafted in the
2025 WNBA draft The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)'s draft for the 2025 WNBA season, 2025 season was held following the 2024–25 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. It marked the first draft for the newest expansion team for the league, ...
. On April 18, 2025, she signed a training camp contract with the
Las Vegas Aces The Las Vegas Aces are an American professional basketball team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Aces compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference. The team plays its home game ...
, joining draftees
Aaliyah Nye Aaliyah Nye (born August 14, 2002) is an American professional basketball player for the Las Vegas Aces of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played college basketball at Illinois and Alabama. High school career Nye attended ...
and
Harmoni Turner Harmoni Turner (born October 4, 2001) is an American professional basketball player who is currently a free agent. She played college basketball at Harvard Crimson women's basketball, Harvard. She was selected 35th overall by the Las Vegas Aces in ...
on a crowded Aces roster. Kelly made her professional debut on May 2, 2025 in a preseason game against the
Dallas Wings The Dallas Wings are an American professional basketball team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Wings compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference. The team is owned by a group ...
. She tallied nine points on 4-5 shooting in just seven minutes. Four days later, Kelly followed up her debut with a game-high 15 points against the
Phoenix Mercury The Phoenix Mercury are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Mercury compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference. One of eight original franchises, it wa ...
, including a game-winning shot with just 4.9 seconds left on the clock. On May 12, just 10 days after her preseason debut, Kelly was waived by the Aces.


National team career

Kelly represented the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
at 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 ...
in Mexico. She averaged 5.9 points, 2.9 assists and 2.6 rebounds per game, helping her team win the silver medal.


Career statistics

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2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...
, style="text-align:left;",
North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
, 24 , , 22 , , 28.8 , , .329 , , .307 , , .810 , , 2.3 , , 2.9 , , .8 , , 0 , , 1.9, , 11.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2021–22 , style="text-align:left;",
North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
, 32, , 32 , , 30.7 , , .366 , , .361 , , .858 , , 3.6 , , 2.6 , , 1.4, , .2 , , 2.2, , 16.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",
2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...
, style="text-align:left;",
North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
, 32 , , 32 , , 35.4 , , .373 , , .281 , , .721 , , 3.9, , 3.2, , 1.3 , , .2 , , 2.4, , 16.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2023–24 , style="text-align:left;",
North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
, 33, , 33, , 36.1 , , .346 , , .286 , , .694 , , 3.9, , 3.2, , 1.4 , , .3 , , 2.7, , 16.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2024–25 , style="text-align:left;",
Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...
, 32, , 32, , 31.8, , .386, , .238, , .714, , 4.3, , 3.3, , 1.5, , 0.1, , 1.9, , 12.2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 153, , 152, , 33.0, , 36.2, , 30.3, , 74.9, , 3.7, , 3.0, , 1.3, , 0.2, , 2.2, , 14.7


Personal life

Kelly's mother, Theresa Nunn, played basketball at
Valley City State University Valley City State University (VCSU) is a public university in Valley City, North Dakota, United States. It is part of the North Dakota University System. Founded in 1890 as Valley City State Normal School, a two-year teachers' college, it was aut ...
and raised her as a
single parent A single parent is a person who has a child or children but does not have a spouse or live-in partner to assist in the upbringing or support of the child. Reasons for becoming a single parent include death, divorce, break-up, abandonment, bec ...
. Her father, Darren Kelly, played college basketball for
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
from 1999 to 2001 and was an All-
Big 12 The Big 12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. It consists of 16 full-member universities (3 private universities and 13 public universities) in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Ohio, Okla ...
selection. Kelly has signed
name, image and likeness In college athletics in the United States, a student-athlete who participates in a varsity sport on any and all levels is eligible to profit from their name, image, and likeness (NIL). Historically, the National Association of Intercollegiate At ...
(NIL) deals with
Beats Electronics Beats Electronics, LLC (also known as Beats by Dr. Dre, Beats by Dre or simply Beats) is an American consumer audio products manufacturer headquartered in Culver City, California. The company was founded in 2006 by the music producer Dr. Dre and ...
,
Dunkin' Donuts DD IP Holder LLC, doing business as Dunkin', and originally Dunkin' Donuts, is an American multinational coffee and doughnut company, as well as a quick service restaurant. It was founded by Bill Rosenberg in Quincy, Massachusetts, in 19 ...
,
Forever 21 F21 OpCo LLC, trade name, doing business as Forever 21, was a multinational fast-fashion retailer. It was originally founded as Fashion 21 in Highland Park, Los Angeles, Highland Park, Los Angeles in 1984.Forever 21History & Facts, n.d. Retrieved ...
and
Outback Steakhouse Outback Steakhouse is an American chain of Australian-themed casual dining restaurants, serving American cuisine, based in Tampa, Florida. The chain has over 1,000 locations in 23 countries throughout North America, South America, Asia, and Aus ...
, among other companies. She has equity in the hydration company Drink Barcode as part of an NIL deal. At the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...
, Kelly majors in
broadcast journalism Broadcast journalism is the field of news and journals which are broadcast by electronic methods instead of the older methods, such as printed newspapers and posters. It works on radio (via air, cable, and Internet), television (via air, cable, ...
and aspires to become a
sports broadcaster In sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as a sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real-time live commentary of a game or event, traditionally delivered in the present tense. There are two main types of sports broadcast ...
after her playing career. She has served as an anchor for Sports Xtra, a student-run show at the
UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media The UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media is the undergraduate and graduate journalism school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The school, founded in 1950, is ranked competitively among the best journalism schools in the Un ...
. In 2023, Kelly attended
Kelsey Plum Kelsey Christine Plum (born August 24, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Nicknamed "Plum Dawg", she is a three-time WNBA All-Star Game, WNBA All- ...
's Dawg Class, an
Under Armour Under Armour, Inc. is an American sportswear company that manufactures footwear and clothing, apparel headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. History 20th century Under Armour was founded on September 25, 1996, by Kevin Plank, a ...
-sponsored camp to help top women college athletes transition from collegiate to professional basketball. In May 2024, Kelly graduated from the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...
with a bachelor's of arts degree in broadcast journalism. She then enrolled in the broadcast journalism master's program at the
University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...
.


References


External links


Oregon Ducks bio

North Carolina Tar Heels bio

USA Basketball bio

WNBA bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Deja 2001 births Living people 21st-century American sportswomen American women's basketball players Basketball players from San Antonio Duncanville High School alumni McDonald's High School All-Americans North Carolina Tar Heels women's basketball players Oregon Ducks women's basketball players Point guards Basketball players from Duncanville, Texas