Skylar Diggins-smith’s husband(born August 2, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Mercury in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). Diggins was selected third overall by the Tulsa Shock in the 2013 WNBA draft. In high school, she was the National Gatorade Player of the Year, and the Gatorade Female Athlete of the Year. Diggins played point guard for Notre Dame, where he took Notre Dame to three straight Final Fours and two straight NCAA championship appearances. She finished her Notre Dame career ranked first in points and steals, second in assists, and a two-time winner of the Nancy Lieberman Award as the nation’s leading point guard.
Early life
high school career
During her time there, Diggins-Smith led the Panthers to state championship games, including Washington’s title-winning 2007 season. Diggins-Smith was named to the All-State First Team in 2007, 2008, and 2009. In addition to basketball, he participated in volleyball and did well academically, earning high academic honors his senior year and being a member of the National Honor Society . She received national honors including Naismith Prep Player of the Year, Gatorade National Player of the Year and Gatorade Athlete of the Year. [1] Diggins-Smith was named a WBCA All-American, and was a McDonald’s All-American selection. [3]He participated in the 2009 WBCA High School All-America game where he scored 24 points. [4] In the March 30, 2009 issue of Sports Illustrated , he was part of its Faces in the Crowd segment. [5] Diggins-Smith chose Notre Dame over Stanford, but was able to become friends with Stanford alumna Candice Wiggins after visiting the university.
College career
Our Lady (2009-2013)
freshman season
As a freshman, Diggins-Smith became the fourth Indiana native to join the Irish roster in 2009-10, and was one of three Miss Basketball winners on the 2009-10 Notre Dame roster. Diggins-Smith played in and started 30 of ND’s 35 games. He led the team in scoring (13.8 ppg), steals (2.6 ppg), and assists (tied – 3.2 ppg), and set freshman records for steals (90), free throws made (111), attempted free throws (142) and minutes. played (1,028). Diggins had a total of eight “5-5-5” games (including all three NCAA Tournament games) and at least one steal in 33 of 35 games (16 starts with 3 or more steals, including all six postseason games ).
Career
Diggins-Smith averaged 8.5 points per game, 1.9 rebounds per game, 26.4 minutes per game, and led the Shock in assists per game (3.8). She was named to the All-Rookie team. Diggins had a breakout year in the 2014 WNBA season and was named a first-time WNBA All-Star and she was also voted a starter. In a regular season loss to the San Antonio Stars, Diggins-Smith scored a career-high 34 points for her. [13]During the All-Star break, he had a team-high 27 points, including a layup that sent the game into overtime. She ranked second in the league in scoring with 20.1 points per game, fourth in assists with 5.0, and tenth in steals with 1.5. Diggins-Smith passed former guard Deanna Nolan for the most points in a Shock season with 683 points. [14] Diggins-Smith won the 2014 WNBA Most Improved Player Award. [fifteen]
On June 28, 2015, Diggins-Smith suffered a torn ACL with 44 seconds remaining in a regular season game win against the Seattle Storm, he would miss the remainder of the season, including the playoffs, as the Shock had a playoff berth finishing third in the western conference. They would be swept in the first round by the Phoenix Mercury. Diggins-Smith only played 9 games and averaged 17.8 points per game, she was named a WNBA All-Star starter for the second year in a row despite missing the All-Star game due to a torn ACL injury. [sixteen]
After recovering from a torn ACL, Diggins-Smith returned in time for the 2016 season, his first game back from the injury was on May 21, 2016. By then, the Tulsa Shock had moved to Dallas , Texas, and the franchise was renamed the Dallas Wings. Diggins-Smith had also signed a multi-year contract extension with the Wings. [17] He played in 27 games and averaged 13.1 points per game all season.
In the 2017 season, Diggins-Smith would play all 34 games of the season and return to his best form. He scored a season-high 30 points along with a franchise-record 7 3-pointers in an 81–69 win over the San Antonio Stars. [18] Diggins-Smith would later be voted into the 2017 WNBA All-Star Game. Diggins-Smith finished the season averaging 18.5 points per game, as well as career-highs in assists and rebounds, helping the Wings reach the playoffs as the No. 7 seed in the league. In the first playoff game of her career, Diggins-Smith scored 15 points in a losing effort against the Washington Mystics of the first-round elimination game.
On June 8, 2018, Diggins-Smith scored a new career-high 35 points along with 12 rebounds in an 89-83 win over the Indiana Fever. [19] Diggins-Smith would be voted into the 2018 WNBA All-Star Game for her fourth All-Star appearance. Diggin-Smith would average a new career high in assists. The Wings finished 15-19 with the number 8 seed in the league. They would lose in the first round elimination game once again by a score of 101–83 to the Phoenix Mercury.
In 2019, Diggins-Smith opted out of the entire season after giving birth to her first child in April. Without Diggins-Smith, the Wings missed the playoffs with a disappointing 10-24 record. Days after the 2019 season finale, Diggins-Smith confirmed on her Twitter account that she had played the entire 2018 season while she was pregnant without telling anyone in response to the backlash she received for not playing. She also mentioned that she had withdrawn from basketball due to postpartum depression and expressed her displeasure with the Dallas Wings organization for their lack of support during her absence. [20] [21]
In January 2020, Diggins-Smith announced that he would not be returning and would play for the Dallas Wings. [22] In February 2020, Diggins-Smith was acquired by the Phoenix Mercury in a sign-and-trade deal for 2020 draft picks and a future first-round pick. [23] [24] The 2020 season was delayed and he was shortened to 22 games in a bubble at IMG Academy due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Diggins-Smith made his return on July 25, 2020, scoring 14 points along with 6 assists in a 99-76 loss to the Las Vegas Aces. On September 9, 2020, Diggins-Smith scored a season-high 33 points in a 100-95 overtime win against the Connecticut Sun. [25]The Mercury finished 13-9 as the number 5 seed. In the first round elimination game, the Mercury won 85-84 against the defending champion Washington Mystics. In the second round elimination game, the Mercury were defeated by the Minnesota Lynx by a final score of 80-79.
