Vanessa L'asonya Hayden-Johnson (born June 5, 1982), née Vanessa L'asonya Hayden, is an American former college and 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 was a

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

in 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) for five seasons in the 2000s. Hayden 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

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

, and she played professionally for the

Minnesota Lynx The Minnesota Lynx are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Lynx compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference (WNBA), Western Conference. The team won the WNBA ...

and

Los Angeles Sparks The Los Angeles 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 of the Western Conference. The team plays its home games at Crypto.co ...

of the WNBA.

Early years

Hayden was born in

Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...

. She attended

William R. Boone High School William Rennick Boone High School is a Public school (government funded), public high school in Orlando, Florida. Built in 1952, the school is one of twenty-two high schools in the Orange County Public Schools system. History Two new high sch ...

in Orlando, and played high school basketball for the Boone Braves.

College career

Hayden accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the

in Gainesville, Florida, where she played for the

Florida Gators women's basketball The Florida Gators women's basketball team represents the University of Florida in the sport of basketball. The Gators compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The Gator ...

team from 2000 to 2004. As a senior in 2004, she was a first-team All-

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

(SEC) selection, SEC Defensive Player of the year, and a second-team

All-American 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 ...

. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in 2004.

Florida statistics

Source

Professional career

Following her collegiate career, she was selected 7th overall in the

2004 WNBA draft The 2004 in sports, 2004 WNBA draft was the eighth draft in the WNBA's history. It took place on April 17, 2004, at the NBA Entertainment Studios in Secaucus, NJ. Additionally, on January 6, 2004, the WBNA held a 2004 WNBA dispersal draft, disp ...

. As a rookie in 2004, Hayden-Johnson averaged 5.3 points and 2.9

rebounds 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

per game. In 2005, she improved, averaging 7.9 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. The 2006 season was a struggle for the third-year center. After reporting to the pre-season training camp 20 pounds overweight, Hayden-Johnson lost her starting job early on and remained prone to foul trouble. With her minutes cut, she averaged 5.4 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. Hayden-Johnson missed the entire 2007 WNBA season to give birth to her first child. She returned to action in 2008 as a reserve for the Lynx. On January 30, 2009, Hayden-Johnson was traded to the

for

Christi Thomas Christi Michelle Thomas (born August 14, 1982) played professional basketball in the WNBA. She attended the University of Georgia where she played under coach Andy Landers. She has been a professional player since 2004. Christi also played baske ...

WNBA career statistics

Regular season

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2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

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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 ...

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2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

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2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

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2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

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2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

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Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

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Playoffs

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European career

* 2004–06: CB Halcón Viajes (Spain) * 2007–08:

Beşiktaş Cola Turka Beşiktaş () is a district and municipality of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 18 km2 and its population is 175,190 (2022). It is located on the European shore of the Bosphorus strait. It is bordered on the north by Sarıyer and ...

(Turkey) * 2008–09:

Umana Reyer Venezia S.S.P. Reyer Venezia Mestre, commonly known as Reyer Venezia or simply Reyer, is an Italian professional basketball club that is based in Venice, Veneto. The club currently plays in the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA), the Italian basketball league sys ...

(Italy)

Personal life

Hayden was a contestant on Season 16 of the reality competition ''

The Biggest Loser ''The Biggest Loser'' is a reality television format which started with the American TV show ''The Biggest Loser (American TV series), The Biggest Loser'' in 2004. The show centers on overweight and Obesity, obese contestants attempting to lose ...

'', titled '' The Biggest Loser: Glory Days'', which premiered on September 11, 2014, on NBC.

References

External links

WNBA Player Profile

Vanessa Hayden Seeks a New Beginning (Minnesota Public Radio)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hayden, Vanessa 1982 births Living people All-American college women's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in China American expatriate basketball people in Turkey American women's basketball players Basketball players from Orlando, Florida Beijing Great Wall players Beşiktaş women's basketball players Centers (basketball) Florida Gators women's basketball players Minnesota Lynx draft picks Minnesota Lynx players

Early years

College career

Florida statistics

Professional career

WNBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

European career

Personal life

See also

References

External links