Jade Melbourne (born 18 August 2002) is an Australian 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 for the

Washington Mystics The Washington Mystics are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Mystics compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Eastern Conference (WNBA), Eastern Conference. The team was ...

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) and the UC Capitals of the

Women's National Basketball League The Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) is a professional women's basketball list of basketball leagues, league in Australia composed of eight teams. The league was founded in 1981 and is the Women's sports, women's counterpart to the Na ...

(WNBL). Melbourne was selected in the third round of the

2022 WNBA Draft The 2022 WNBA Draft, the WNBA's draft for the 2022 WNBA season, was held on April 11, 2022, in New York City and aired live on WNBA on ESPN, ESPN in the United States and on The Sports Network, TSN1/4 in Canada at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time Zone, EDT ...

by the

Seattle Storm The Seattle Storm are an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The Storm compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference (WNBA), Western Conference. The team was founded by Gi ...

. Melbourne has played for the Australian national team since 2021, making her debut at the

2021 FIBA Women's Asia Cup The 2021 FIBA Women's Asia Cup Division A was the 29th edition of the tournament, held from 27 September to 3 October 2021 in Amman, Jordan. The tournament was originally set to be hosted by India. It served as the Asian and Oceanian qualificat ...

, where she won a bronze medal. She was also part of the squad for the

2024 Paris Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

, securing another bronze medal and being named the Rising Star of the tournament.

Professional career

WNBL

Melbourne signed with the UC Capitals of the

(WNBL) for the

2020 WNBL season The 2020 WNBL season was the 41st season of the competition since its establishment in 1981. The Canberra Capitals were the two-time defending champions, but were defeated in the semi-finals by Melbourne. The Southside Flyers won the Grand Final, ...

. She then continued with the Capitals for the

2021–22 WNBL season The 2021–22 WNBL season was the 42nd season of the competition since its establishment in 1981. The Southside Flyers were the defending champions, however they failed to qualify for finals. The Melbourne Boomers won their second championship, d ...

, turning down a full basketball scholarship from

Arizona State Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is one of the largest ...

. She re-signed with the Capitals in 2023, 2024, and 2025.

WNBA

Seattle Storm (2023)

Melbourne was selected in the third round of the

by the

. Melbourne, her agent, and the Storm agreed that Melbourne would stay over in Australia and play another season in the WNBL, and she did not participate in the

2022 WNBA season The 2022 WNBA season was the 26th season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The Chicago Sky were the defending champions. The WNBA's second Commissioner's Cup took place during the regular season, with the Las Vegas Aces w ...

. On 20 February 2023, Melbourne signed her rookie contract with the Storm and came over to participate in training camp. Melbourne made the opening day roster for the Storm and became the youngest player on a roster in the WNBA for the 2023 season. In her rookie season, she played in 29 games and averaged 2.8 points and 1.2 assists in 10.6 minutes per game.

Washington Mystics (2024–present)

On 11 May 2024, Melbourne was traded to the

in exchange for a 2025 third-round pick. Melbourne was once again the youngest player in the league. Melbourne's role increased in Washington, and in her first season with the Mystics, she played in 37 games, averaging 5.4 points and 1.6 assists in 14.1 minutes per game. On 9 June 2024, in an 88–93 loss to the

New York Liberty The New York Liberty are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Liberty compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Eastern Confer ...

, she scored a career-high 21 points in 14 minutes off the bench.

National team career

Melbourne was named to the U16 Australian squad (Sapphires) for the 2017 FIBA U16 Asian Championship, where Australia won all six games on their road to the gold medal. She played in the first five games, averaging 5.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.6 steals in 15.4 minutes per game. Melbourne was the youngest member of the Sapphires team at the 2018 FIBA Under 17 World Cup, where Australia won the bronze medal. She played in four games, averaging 1.5 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in 11.3 minutes per game. Melbourne was named the captain of the U19 Australian team (Gems) for the 2021 FIBA Under-19 World Cup, where Australia finished with the silver medal. She averaged 12.6 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.0 steals and 29.6 minutes per game and was named in the tournament’s All-Star Five. Melbourne made her debut for the senior Australian national team (Opals) at the

, where Australia won the bronze medal. She was originally not part of the 12-player squad but was called as an emergency replacement and was the youngest member of the team. She played in all six games, averaging 3.2 points, 0.8 assists, and 0.7 steals in 7.9 minutes per game. Melbourne was part of the squad for the 2024 Belém Olympic Qualifying Tournament and helped Australia qualify for the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

. She played in all three games, averaging 5.3 points, 2.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 0.7 steals in 13.4 minutes per game. At the 2024 Olympic tournament, Melbourne was the starting point guard of the Opals and helped the team win the bronze medal. In the quarterfinal win against

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, Melbourne recorded 18 points and 5 assists, becoming the first Australian to achieve 15+ points and 5+ assists in a knockout stage game at the Olympics. Overall, she averaged 7.0 points, 1.7 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.2 steals in 22.7 minutes per game and was named the Rising Star of the tournament.

Career statistics

WNBA

Regular season

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2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

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Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

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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 ...

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References

External links

Jade Melbourne instagram
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Melbourne, Jade 2002 births Living people Australian women's basketball players Basketball players from Melbourne Guards (basketball) Seattle Storm draft picks Seattle Storm players Sportswomen from Victoria (state) Washington Mystics players Basketball players at the 2024 Summer Olympics Olympic basketball players for Australia Medalists at the 2024 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for Australia Olympic medalists in basketball 21st-century Australian sportswomen Australian expatriate basketball people in the United States