Jennifer Lynn Azzi ( ; born August 31, 1968), is an American business development officer and former basketball player and coach. Since 2021, she has been the chief business development officer for 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 ...

. Azzi played collegiate basketball at

Stanford Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and th ...

, where she was national player of the year and won the NCAA national championship in 1990. She played professional basketball from 1990-2003, including five seasons in the WNBA. She was the coach of the

University of San Francisco The University of San Francisco (USF) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit university in San Francisco, California, United States. Founded in 1855, it has nearly 9,000 students pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees ...

women's basketball team from 2010-2016. Azzi was inducted into the

Women's Basketball Hall of Fame The Women's Basketball Hall of Fame honors those who have contributed to the sport of women's basketball. The Hall of Fame opened in 1999 in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. It is the only facility of its kind dedicated to all levels of women's bask ...

in 2009.

Early life and education

Azzi was born on August 31, 1968, in

Oak Ridge, Tennessee Oak Ridge is a city in Anderson County, Tennessee, Anderson and Roane County, Tennessee, Roane counties in the East Tennessee, eastern part of the U.S. state of Tennessee, about west of downtown Knoxville, Tennessee, Knoxville. Oak Ridge's po ...

. After receiving a scholarship, Azzi attended

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

in 1986 to study economics and graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1990.

Basketball career

College

Azzi played

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...

for

's women's basketball team from 1986 to 1990. During her four years at Stanford, the

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

compiled a 101–23 win–loss record, and captured two

Pac-10 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level for all sports, and its football teams compete in the Football Bowl ...

titles. During her senior year (

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

), Azzi helped lead the Cardinal to the

NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship The NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament, sometimes referred to as Women's March Madness, is a single-elimination tournament played each spring in the United States, currently featuring 68 women's college basketball teams from the Div ...

, defeating Auburn. Azzi was named the Most Outstanding Player in the tournament. For the season, Azzi won the

Honda Sports Award The Honda Sports Award is an annual award in the United States, given to the best collegiate female athlete in each of twelve sports. There are four nominees for each sport, and the twelve winners of the Honda Sports Award are automatically in t ...

, the

Wade Trophy The Wade Trophy is an award presented annually to the best upperclass women's basketball player in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I competition. It is named after three–time national champion Delta State ...

, and was the

Naismith College Player of the Year The Naismith College Player of the Year is "the most prestigious national award presented annually to the men's and women's college basketball players of the year," as chosen by the Atlanta Tipoff Club's Board of Selectors. It is named in honor o ...

and the USBWA Women's National Player of the Year.

ABL

Azzi began her professional basketball career in Europe, where she played for teams in Italy, France, and Sweden. When she returned in 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 ...

, she joined the San Jose Lasers of the American Basketball League (ABL) from 1996 to 1999. She was one of the cofounders of the league. Her participation in the league ended when the ABL declared bankruptcy on December 22, 1998.

WNBA

In 1999, Azzi was selected by the

Detroit Shock The Detroit Shock were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. They were the 2003, 2006, and 2008 WNBA champions. Debuting in 1998, the Shock were one of the league's first expansion franchises. Th ...

in the first round (fifth overall) in the

WNBA draft The WNBA draft is an annual draft (sports), draft held by the Women's National Basketball Association, WNBA through which WNBA teams can select new players from a talent pool of college and List of WNBA players, professional women's basketball p ...

. She helped lead the Shock into the playoffs that year. Just before the 2000 season, Azzi was traded to the

Utah Starzz The Utah Starzz were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Salt Lake City. They began play in the 1997 WNBA season as one of the league's eight original teams. History One of the eight original WNBA teams, the Starzz ...

. She remained with the team when the franchise relocated to

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 ...

and changed its name to the San Antonio Silver Stars in 2003. She led the WNBA twice in three-point percentage, in both 1999 and 2001, and led the league in free-throw percentage in 2000. In February 2004, Azzi announced her retirement from professional basketball.

International career

In 1988, Azzi was named to the Jones Cup team. The USA team ended the competition with a 3–2 record, winning the silver medal. Azzi averaged 5.4 points per game. Azzi was a member of the US national team at the 1990 World Championships, held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The team won their opening round games easily, with the closest of the first three games a 27-point victory over Czechoslovakia. Then they faced Cuba, a team that had beaten the US in exhibition matches only a few weeks earlier. The USA team was losing at halftime, but came back to win 87–78. The USA team was behind at halftime to Canada in their next game, but came back to win 95–70. After an easy match against Bulgaria, in which Azzi hit three of four three-pointers, and scored a team high 13 points, the USA team faced Czechoslovakia again, end achieved an almost identical result, winning 87–59. In the title match, the USA team won the gold medal with a score of 88–78. Azzi averaged 4.6 points per game, and recorded 15 assists, second highest on the team. Azzi played with the USA at the

1991 Pan American Games The 1991 Pan American Games, officially known as the XI Pan American Games () and commonly known as Havana 1991 (), were held in Havana, Cuba from 2 to 18 August 1991. There were 4,519 athletes from 39 countries of the Pan American Sports Organi ...

. The team finished with a record of 4–2, winning the bronze medal. The US team lost a three-point game to Brazil, then responded with wins over Argentina and Cuba, earning a spot in the medal round. The next game was a rematch against Cuba, and this time the Cubans won by five points. The USA beat Canada easily to win the bronze. Azzi averaged 6.7 points per game. Azzi was a member of the

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

-winning U.S. women's basketball team at the 1994

Goodwill Games The Goodwill Games were an international sports competition created by Ted Turner in reaction to the political troubles surrounding the Olympic Games of the 1980s. In 1979, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan caused the United States and other ...

, which was held in

Saint Petersburg, Russia Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

. Azzi competed in the 1994 World Championships, held in June 1994 in

Sydney, Australia Sydney is the capital city of the state of New South Wales and the most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about 80 km (50 mi) from the Pacific Ocean ...

. The team was coached by Tara VanDerveer, and won their first six games. In a closely contested, high-scoring game in the semi-finals, Brazil hit ten of ten free throws in the final minute to secure a 110–107 victory. The USA won a close final game against Australia 100–95 to earn the bronze medal. Azzi averaged 4.9 points per game, while recording 16 assists, third highest on the team. Azzi played for the US in a five-game Australian tour event in 1998, as part of the Goldmark Cup team. The USA and Australian teams had qualified for the 2000 Olympics, and agreed to play five games in five cities in Australia. The Australians won the first three games and the USA team won the last two. She was one of six core players selected for the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, but withdrew herself from consideration to avoid the extensive touring.

Coaching career

Azzi became the head coach of the women's basketball team at the

in 2010. On March 8, 2016, Azzi lead the Dons to a 70–68 upset over the BYU Cougars in the WCC tournament championship game to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, which was the Dons' first appearance since the 1996–97 season. On September 15, 2016, Azzi stepped down as head coach of the Dons.

Business development

From 2005 to 2008, Azzi served on the Board of Directors of

USA Basketball USA Basketball (USAB) is a non-profit organization and the governing body for basketball in the United States. The organization represents the United States in FIBA, and the men's and women's national basketball teams in the United States ...

. Between 2010 and 2021, Azzi led Azzi Academy, a youth basketball program at Tamalpais High School. Azzi served as an associate vice president of development at the University of San Francisco (USF) and academy global director at the National Basketball Association (NBA) between 2017 and 2021. In 2019, she became a Golden State Warriors analyst at NBC Sports and served for two years. Since 2021, Azzi has been the chief business development officer for Las Vegas Aces.

Awards and recognition

* Named to the

Kodak The Eastman Kodak Company, referred to simply as Kodak (), is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in film photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorporated i ...

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 ...

First Team in 1989 and 1990. * 1990 recipient of the

and Naismith Award. * 1990—Winner of the

for basketball *

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. ...

Final Four In sports, the final four is the last four teams remaining in a playoffs, playoff tournament. Usually the final four compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final (penultimate) round. Of these teams, the two who win in ...

Most Outstanding Player, and the West Region MVP in 1990. *

Player of the Year award in 1989 and 1990. * Three time All-Pac 10 First Team selection * Inducted into the

in 2009 * One of the six recipients of the 2015 Silver Anniversary Awards

Career playing statistics

College

Source

WNBA

Source

Regular season

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

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

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Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

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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 ...

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Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

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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 ...

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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 ...

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

, style="background:#D3D3D3", 32° , , style="background:#D3D3D3", 32° , , 36.0 , , .460 , , .446 , , .798 , , 2.2 , , 4.9 , , 0.8 , , 0.4 , , 2.1 , , 9.6 , - , style="text-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 ...

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

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " 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 third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

, style="background:#D3D3D3", 34° , , style="background:#D3D3D3", 34° , , 33.4 , , .403 , , .402 , , .785 , , 2.7 , , 3.3 , , 0.8 , , 0.3 , , 1.8 , , 7.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", Career , style="text-align:left;", 5 years, 3 teams , 141 , , 132 , , 34.7 , , .445 , , bgcolor="EOCEF2" , .458 , , .845 , , 2.6 , , 4.5 , , 0.8 , , 0.3 , , 2.0 , , 9.1

Playoffs

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, 2 , , 2 , , 37.5 , , .250 , , .286 , , 1.000 , , 1.5 , , 5.0 , , 0.5 , , 0.5 , , 2.5 , , 4.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",

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, 5 , , 5 , , 37.2 , , .394 , , .368 , , .875 , , 2.6 , , 6.8 , , 0.8 , , 1.0 , , 1.6 , , 8.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", Career , style="text-align:left;", 3 years, 1 teams , 8 , , 8 , , 37.6 , , .310 , , .313 , , .889 , , 2.6 , , 5.9 , , 0.6 , , 0.9 , , 1.9 , , 6.8 , -

Head coaching record

Personal life

Azzi has been married to Blair Hardiek Azzi since 2015. Both reside in Henderson, Nevada with their two children: a son, Macklin and a daughter, Camden.

References

Sources

External links

University of San Francisco profileOctober 7, 2005 ''San Francisco Chronicle'' article on Azzi's life after basketballJuly 2007 "Marin Magazine" Article on Azzi's life in Marin
{{DEFAULTSORT:Azzi, Jennifer 1968 births Living people All-American college women's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Sweden American women's basketball coaches American women's basketball players Basketball coaches from Tennessee Basketball players at the 1991 Pan American Games Basketball players at the 1996 Summer Olympics Basketball players from Tennessee Detroit Shock players Goodwill Games medalists in basketball LGBTQ basketball players American LGBTQ businesspeople LGBTQ people from California LGBTQ people from Tennessee American lesbian sportswomen Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in basketball Parade High School All-Americans (girls' basketball) Sportspeople from Oak Ridge, Tennessee American people of Italian descent Point guards San Antonio Stars players San Francisco Dons women's basketball coaches San Jose Lasers players Stanford Cardinal women's basketball players Utah Starzz players Competitors at the 1994 Goodwill Games Medalists at the 1991 Pan American Games Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States in basketball United States women's national basketball team players Goodwill Games gold medalists Competitors at the 1990 Goodwill Games 20th-century American sportswomen