Shyla Heal (born 19 September 2001) 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 court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player for the

Townsville Fire The Townsville Fire are an Australian professional female basketball team competing in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). They are the only female professional sporting team of any discipline in the northern half of Australia. The ...

of the

Women's National Basketball League The Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) is the pre-eminent professional women's basketball league in Australia. It is currently composed of eight teams. The league was founded in 1981 and is the women's counterpart to the National Ba ...

(WNBL).

Early life

Heal attended

Brisbane State High School , motto_translation = Knowledge is Power , city = South Brisbane , state = Queensland , country = Australia , coordinates = , type = Public, selective, co-educational, secondary, ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, and Lake Ginninderra College in Canberra.

Professional career

After a season in the Queensland Basketball League (QBL) for the South West Metro Pirates in 2015, Heal debuted in the

(WNBL) in the 2015–16 season with the South East Queensland Stars as a 14-year-old. Her father, Shane Heal, was coach of the team. Heal continued in the QBL in 2016 with the

Ipswich Force Ipswich Force is a NBL1 North club based in Ipswich, Queensland. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 North. The club is a division of Ipswich Basketball Association (IBA), the major administrative basketball organisation i ...

and then had a short stint with the Sutherland Sharks in the

Waratah League The NBL1 East, formerly the Waratah League, is a semi-professional basketball league in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, comprising both a men's and women's competition. In 2021, Basketball New South Wales and the Nationa ...

in 2017. In 2018, she split her year playing for the Sharks in the Waratah League and the BA Centre of Excellence in the SEABL. For the 2018–19 WNBL season, Heal joined the

Perth Lynx The Perth Lynx are an Australian professional basketball team based in Perth, Western Australia. The Lynx compete in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) and play their home games at Bendat Basketball Centre. For sponsorship reasons, t ...

. She was injured in the first half of the season after sustaining a stress reaction in her left foot just days before round one. After splitting 2019 with the Sutherland Sharks in the Waratah League and the Rockhampton Cyclones in the QBL, Heal joined the

Bendigo Spirit Bendigo Spirit is one of three Victorian basketball teams in the Australian Women's National Basketball League. The team, based in the regional city of Bendigo, Victoria, joined the competition from the 2007/08 season. History The Bendigo Spirit ...

for the 2019–20 WNBL season. In her debut season with the Spirit, Heal was awarded the Most Consistent Player for her showings, averaging 12.1 points and 4.1 rebounds. In 2020, Heal played for the

in the WNBL Hub season. She went on to earn WNBL Youth Player of the Year and All-WNBL Second Team. Heal was selected by the

Chicago Sky The Chicago Sky are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Sky compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Eastern Conference. The franchise was founded prior to the ...

in the first round of the

2021 WNBA draft The 2021 WNBA draft was the WNBA's draft for the 2021 WNBA season. A draft lottery was held on December 4, 2020, and the New York Liberty were awarded the first overall pick once again in the draft. The draft was held on April 15, and televised o ...

. She was unable to participate in the Sky's training camp due to a delay with her visa application, and after playing just 31 minutes in four games, she was traded to 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 ...

who then immediately waived her. For the

2021–22 WNBL season The 2021–22 WNBL season is 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 ...

, Heal joined the Sydney Flames. She then played for the

Northside Wizards Northside Wizards is a NBL1 North club based in Brisbane, Queensland. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 North. The club is a division of Northside Basketball Inc., the major administrative basketball organisation in nort ...

in the 2022 NBL1 North season. Heal returned to the Flames for the

2022–23 WNBL season The 2022–23 WNBL season is the 43rd season of the competition since its establishment in 1981. The Melbourne Boomers are the defending champions. Cygnett was named as the WNBL's naming rights partner for this season, after signing a three-year ...

, but in January 2023, she and her father, coach Shane Heal, parted ways with the Flames. The reasons for their departure were unspecified and coincided with an independent firm's investigation. On 1 February 2023, Heal signed with the Townsville Fire for the rest of the 2022–23 WNBL season. She went on to help the Fire win the

championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

National team career

Heal made her international debut for the

Sapphires Sapphire is a precious gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum, consisting of aluminium oxide () with trace amounts of elements such as iron, titanium, chromium, vanadium, or magnesium. The name sapphire is derived via the Latin "sa ...

at the 2017 FIBA Under-17 Oceania Championship in

Hagåtña, Guam Hagåtña (; ; formerly in English: Agana , in Spanish: Agaña) is the capital village of the United States territory of Guam. From the 18th through mid-20th century, it was Guam's population center, but today it is the second smallest of the ...

, where Australia would take home the gold. Heal was named MVP to the Championship game. In 2017, Heal also helped lead the Sapphires to gold at the FIBA Under-16 Asian Championship in

Bengaluru Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

. Heal would then go on to represent the Sapphires at the Under-17 World Cup in

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

the following year, where they finished in third place, taking home the bronze medal. Heal also earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team, awarded to the five strongest players of the tournament, after averaging 16.0 points per game. Heal then made her debut for the

Gems Gems, or gemstones, are polished, cut stones or minerals. Gems or GEMS may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Gems'' (Aerosmith album), 1988 * ''Gems'' (Patti LaBelle album), 1994 * ''Gems'' (Michael Bolton album), 2011 *Gems TV, a ...

at the 2019 Under-19 World Cup in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populatio ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

, where the Gems took home silver after returning to the final for the first time since 1997. Heal made her senior debut for the

Opals Optical Payload for Lasercomm Science (OPALS) is a spacecraft communication instrument developed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory that was tested on the International Space Station (ISS) from 18 April 2014 to 17 July 2014 to demonstrate the t ...

in 2022 at the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers in Belgrade, Serbia.

Personal life

Shyla is the daughter of former Australian Boomer and

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United ...

player, Shane Heal.

Career statistics

WNBA

Regular season

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References

External links

Shyla Heal
at Instagram * {{DEFAULTSORT:Heal, Shyla 2001 births Living people Australian women's basketball players Bendigo Spirit players Chicago Sky draft picks Chicago Sky players Guards (basketball) People educated at Brisbane State High School Perth Lynx players South East Queensland Stars players Townsville Fire players Sydney Uni Flames players