Odyssey Celeste Sims (born July 13, 1992) 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 court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player for the

Connecticut Sun The Connecticut Sun are an American professional basketball team based in Uncasville, Connecticut that competes in the Eastern Conference (WNBA), Eastern Conference of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was established ...

of the

Women's National Basketball Association The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is an American professional basketball league. It is composed of twelve teams, all based in the United States. The league was founded on April 22, 1996, as the women's counterpart to the Natio ...

(WNBA). An AP and WBCA All-American, Sims was born in

Irving, Texas Irving is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. Located in Dallas County, it is also an inner ring suburb of Dallas. The city of Irving is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. According to a 2019 estimate from the United States Census Bur ...

and graduated from MacArthur High School.

High school

Sims was a 2010 graduate of MacArthur High School in

. She was rated the number one point guard in the class of 2010, earned the WBCA/State Farm National High School Player of the Year award and had her jersey retired.

College career

Sims attended

Baylor University Baylor University is a private Baptist Christian research university in Waco, Texas. Baylor was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Texas and one of the ...

for four seasons. As a freshman, Sims was Named National Freshman of the Year, was named Big 12 Freshman of the Year and also to the All-Big 12 first team. In her sophomore season, Sims earned team Co-MVP honors with teammate

Brittney Griner Brittney Yevette Griner (; born October 18, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She is a two-time Olympic gold medalist with the U.S. women's natio ...

, scored in double-digits in 30 of 40 games and won an NCAA Championship after Baylor defeated

Notre Dame Notre Dame, French for "Our Lady", a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, most commonly refers to: * Notre-Dame de Paris, a cathedral in Paris, France * University of Notre Dame, a university in Indiana, United States ** Notre Dame Fighting Irish, th ...

80–69 to win their second title in school history after a perfect 40–0 record during the season, making it the first time ever in college basketball history that a team has achieved such a record, they defeated

80–69 in the championship game to win their second title in school history. In her junior year, Sims was earned Co-MVP honors for the second straight year with Griner. In Big 12 statistics, she was ranked number 1 in assist/turnover ratio (2.7), number 3 in steals (2.8), number 4 in assists (5.8), and number 5 in free throw percentage (.832). In her senior year, Sims would statistically have the best season of her college career. She scored a career-high 48 points along with 10 rebounds in a 78–62 victory against

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the ...

. She finished the season averaging 28.5 points per game.

Baylor statistics

Source

Professional career

WNBA

Sims was drafted 2nd overall by the

Tulsa Shock The Tulsa Shock were a professional basketball team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded in Detroit, Michigan before the 1998 WNBA season began ...

in the 2014 WNBA draft. In her rookie season, Sims immediately entered the starting line-up for the Shock at the shooting guard position. Sims would instantly become a scoring sensation in the league; she scored a career-high 39 points in a 95–93 loss to the

San Antonio Stars The San Antonio Stars were a professional basketball team based in San Antonio, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded in Salt Lake City, Utah, as the Utah Starzz before th ...

. She finished her rookie season, averaging a career-high 16.7 points per game along with a career-high 4.2 assists per game in 34 games with 31 starts and was named to the WNBA All-Rookie Team. The Shock finished fifth place in the Western Conference with a 12–22 record, missing out on the playoffs. Sims2 20171004

In 2015, Sims would have an injury-riddled season, she missed 10 games with a knee injury. She finished the season, with 23 games played along with 19 starts and averaged 16.0 points per game and 3.8 assists per game. The Shock would make the playoffs with the number 3 seed in the Western Conference, posting an 18–16 record, but were eliminated in a 2-game sweep by the

Phoenix Mercury The Phoenix Mercury are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded before the league's inaugural 1997 season ...

in the first round. In 2016, the Tulsa Shock relocated to

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County wi ...

(which is approximately 15 miles away from Sims's hometown of

) and were renamed the

Dallas Wings The Dallas Wings are an American basketball team based in Arlington, Texas. The Wings play in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team is owned by a group which is led by chairman Bill Cameron. Gre ...

. In the 2016 season, Sims would be healthy; she played in 34 games with 30 starts and averaged 14.0 points per game along with 3.9 assists per game at shooting guard. The Wings missed out on playoff contention with an 11–23 record. In 2017, Sims was traded to the

Los Angeles Sparks The Los Angeles Sparks (LA Sparks) are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Sparks compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team was foun ...

along with the number 11 overall pick in the 2017 WNBA Draft in exchange for two first round picks in the 2017 WNBA Draft. She initially came off the bench, but would be inserted into the starting lineup at the shooting guard spot after Essence Carson suffered a right elbow sprain. On August 24, 2017, Sims scored a season-high 28 points along with 8 assists and 6 rebounds as a starter in an 82–67 victory over the Phoenix Mercury. The Sparks would finish with a 26–8 record as the number 2 seed in the league with a double-bye to the semi-finals, following last season's new playoff format. Heading into the playoffs, Sims remained the starting shooting guard for the Sparks. The Sparks would go on to advance to the Finals after defeating the Mercury in a 3-game sweep of the semi-finals, making it Sims’s first Finals appearance. Sims tied her playoff career-high of 22 points in Game 3 with the Sparks winning 89–87 to clinch their second consecutive berth to the Finals. However, the Sparks would lose in the Finals to the

Minnesota Lynx The Minnesota Lynx are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team won the WNBA title in 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017. Founded ...

in five games. Sims4-20180520

In February 2018, Sims re-signed with the Sparks in free agency. On May 20, 2018, in the Sparks' season opener, Sims scored a season-high 21 points in a 77–76 victory over the Minnesota Lynx. As the season went on, Sims would struggle and eventually would lose her starting position going into the playoffs. The Sparks finished as the number 6 seed in the league with a 19–15 record. In the first round elimination game, the Sparks defeated the Minnesota Lynx 75–68 to advance. In the second round elimination game, the Sparks would lose 96–64 to the Washington Mystics. In 2019, Sims again re-signed with the Sparks after they matched an offer sheet made by the Phoenix Mercury. On April 22, 2019, Sims was traded to the Minnesota Lynx in exchange for Alexis Jones. Sims would be the starting point guard for the Lynx, her role enabled her to average a new career-high in assists. She would also end up being named an All-Star for the first time in her career after being voted into the 2019 WNBA All-Star Game and would make the All-WNBA Second Team. The Lynx finished the season 18–16 with the number 7 seed, but were eliminated by the

Seattle Storm The Seattle Storm are an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The Storm competes in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team was founded by Ginger Ackerl ...

in the first round elimination game. In 2020, the season was delayed and shortened to 22 games in a bubble at

IMG Academy IMG Academy is a preparatory boarding school and sports training destination in Bradenton, Florida, United States. IMG Academy is set across over 600 acres and features programs consisting of sport camps for youth athletes, adult camps, a boar ...

due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

. Sims was suspended for the first two regular season games without pay stemming from a DUI charge in October 2019 to which she pleaded guilty. She would end up missing more time after giving birth to her first child in April and eventually made her return in August. For the remainder of the team schedule, she started in 7 of the 13 games played, working her way back into the starting the lineup. The Lynx finished 14–8 with the number 4 seed, receiving a bye to the second round. In the second round elimination game, the Lynx edged out the

80–79, advancing the franchise back to the semi-finals. However, in the semi-finals, they would get swept by the

who would end up being the eventual champions. Sims signed a one-year contract with the Atlanta Dream for the 2021 season on 1 March 2021. She appeared in 30 games for the Dream, averaging 25.1 minutes and 8.7 points per game. The team went 8-24, missing the playoffs. On 3 May 2022, Sims re-signed with the Minnesota Lynx on an undisclosed contract. On 13 May 2022, after the Lynx began the season 0-3, Sims left the team via "mutual separation" as one of six roster moves made by the team. On August 3, 2022, Sims signed a 7-day contract with the

Overseas

In the 2014–15 WNBA off-season, Sims played for

Bucheon KEB-Hana Bank Bucheon Hana 1Q ( ko, 부천 하나원큐) is a South Korean women's professional basketball club based in Bucheon. They play in the Women's Korean Basketball League. Honours Women's Korean Basketball League *WKBL Championship :: Winners (4) ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. In the 2015–16 WNBA off-season, Sims played for Abdullah Gül Üniversitesi B.K. in

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

. As of August 2016, Sims signed with

Botaş SK Botaş SK is a sports club based in Ankara. The major branch of the club is the women's basketball, currently performing at the Turkish Women's Basketball Super League. The club also competes in athletics. Botaş is the first Turkish club t ...

of the Turkish League for the 2016–17 WNBA off-season. In 2017, Sims signed with

Adana ASKİ SK Adana ASKİ SK is a sports club in Adana. Its principal branch is the women's basketball, currently performing at the top flight of the Turkish Women’s Basketball Super League (KBSL). The venue of the basketball team is Menderes Sports Hall. ...

of the Turkish League for the 2017–18 WNBA off-season. In 2018, Sims signed with

Kayseri Basketbol Kayseri Basketbol, for sponsorship reasons Bellona Kayseri Basketbol, is a Turkish women's basketball club based in Kayseri, Turkey. The club was founded in 1986. History *2005–2007: TED Kayseri Koleji *2007–2011: Panküp TED Kayseri Koleji ...

of the Turkish League during the 2018–19 WNBA off-season.

USA Basketball

Sims played on the team representing the US at the

2011 Summer Universiade The 2011 Summer Universiade ( zh, c=2011年夏季世界大学生运动会, p=Èr líng yī yī Nián xiàjì shìjiè dàxuéshēng yùndònghuì), the XXVI Summer Universiade ( zh, c=第二十六届夏季世界大学生运动会, p=Dì Èrshíl ...

held in

Shenzhen, China Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major sub-provincial city and one of the special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern province ...

. The team, coached by

Bill Fennelly William Michael Fennelly (born May 14, 1957) is an American basketball coach who is currently the head women's basketball coach at Iowa State University. Coaching career Assistant coach (1977–1986) While a student at William Penn College, Fen ...

, won all six games to earn the gold medal. Sims averaged 6.2 points per game. Sims was selected to be a member of the team representing the US at the

2013 Summer Universiade The 2013 Summer Universiade, officially known as the XXVII Summer Universiade (russian: XXVII Летняя Универсиада), was held in the city of Kazan, Russia, the most northerly city ever to host a Summer Universiade. Over 10,400 un ...

held in

Kazan, Russia Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: ɑzan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers, covering an ...

. The team, coached by

Sherri Coale Sherri Kay Coale (born January 19, 1965) is a retired college basketball coach. She was the head coach of the University of Oklahoma Sooners women's basketball team for 25 years, from 1996 to 2021. Coale was inducted into the Women's Basketball H ...

, won the opening four games easily, scoring in triple digits in each game, and winning by 30 or more points in each case. After winning the quarterfinal game against Sweden, they faced Australia in the semifinal. The USA team opened up as much as a 17 point in the fourth quarter of the game but the Australian team fought back and took a one-point lead in the final minute. Crystal Bradford scored a basket with 134 seconds left ant he game to secure a 79–78 victory. The gold medal opponent was

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

, but the USA team never trailed, and won 90–71 to win the gold medal and the World University games Championship. Sims was the third leading scorer for the team, averaging 12.7 points per game. She led the team in assists with 32, and steals with 12. She was named co-MVP of the tournament, along with Russia's Tatiana Grigoryeva.

WNBA career statistics

Regular season

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Tulsa Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

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Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

, 34 , , 30 , , 31.6 , , .353 , , .280 , , .883 , , 2.5 , , 3.9 , , 1.0 , , 0.2 , , 2.5 , , 14.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

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Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

, 31 , , 14 , , 24.3 , , .447 , , .190 , , .886 , , 1.9 , , 3.5 , , 1.4 , , 0.1 , , 1.4 , , 9.6 , - , style="text-align:left;",

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, 34 , , 24 , , 25.5 , , .388 , , .273 , , .722 , , 2.5 , , 2.8 , , 0.5 , , 0.0 , , 1.5 , , 8.2 , - , style="text-align:left;",

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Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minne ...

, 34 , , 34 , , 31.9 , , .415 , , .269 , , .795 , , 3.4 , , 5.4 , , 1.4 , , 0.1 , , 3.3 , , 14.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in ...

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, 13 , , 7 , , 18.5 , , .403 , , .333 , , .909 , , 2.0 , , 3.5 , , 0.5 , , 0.1 , , 1.9 , , 9.4 , - , style="text-align:left;",

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Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...

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Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

, 5 , , 0 , , 18.2 , , .333 , , .273 , , 1.000 , , 1.2 , , 2.6 , , 1.4 , , 0.0 , , 1.4 , , 5.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", Career , style="text-align:left;", 9 years, 5 teams , 240 , , 180 , , 28.4 , , .391 , , .271 , , .828 , , 2.6 , , 3.8 , , 1.1 , , 0.1 , , 2.1 , , 12.1

Playoffs

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, 2 , , 2 , , 33.6 , , .336 , , .333 , , .786 , , 4.0 , , 5.0 , , 2.0 , , 0.0 , , 2.0 , , 20.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

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, 8 , , 8 , , 34.8 , , .442 , , .346 , , .929 , , 2.4 , , 3.6 , , 1.3 , , 0.0 , , 3.1 , , 15.9 , - , style="text-align:left;",

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, 12 , , 0 , , 13.8 , , .436 , , .286 , , .875 , , 1.5 , , 1.3 , , 0.4 , , 0.0 , , 0.8 , , 3.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", Career , style="text-align:left;", 6 years, 4 teams , 29 , , 15 , , 23.8 , , .412 , , .305 , , .900 , , 2.2 , , 2.7 , , 1.0 , , 0.0 , , 1.8 , , 9.7

Awards and honors

* 2010—WBCA High School Coaches' All-America Team * 2014—ESPNW First Team All-American * 2014—USBWA All-American team * 2014—

Nancy Lieberman Award The Nancy Lieberman Award, named for Basketball Hall of Fame legend Nancy Lieberman, was given annually by the Rotary Club of Detroit in the Award's first 14 years to the nation's top collegiate point guard in women's Division I basketball. Sue Bi ...

* 2014—

Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award The Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award was an annual college basketball award in the United States intended to honor shorter-than-average players who excelled on the court despite their size. The award, named in honor of James Naismith's daughter-in-la ...

* 2014—

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

* 2014— Dawn Staley Award Odyssey Sims winning Lieberman Award

References

External links

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sims, Odyssey 1992 births Living people All-American college women's basketball players American women's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in South Korea Atlanta Dream players Basketball players from Texas Baylor Bears women's basketball players Connecticut Sun players Dallas Wings players Los Angeles Sparks players Medalists at the 2011 Summer Universiade Medalists at the 2013 Summer Universiade Minnesota Lynx players Parade High School All-Americans (girls' basketball) Point guards People from Irving, Texas Sportspeople from the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex Tulsa Shock draft picks Tulsa Shock players Universiade gold medalists for the United States Universiade medalists in basketball Women's Korean Basketball League players United States women's national basketball team players Women's National Basketball Association All-Stars