Candice Dupree (born August 16, 1984) is an American professional basketball coach and former player. She was selected sixth in the 2006 WNBA draft by the Chicago Sky.[1] Dupree has won a WNBA Championship (2014) with the Phoenix Mercury.[2] She has also played professional basketball in Europe and Asia. Dupree has two world cup gold medals with Team USA.

Candice Dupree
Dupree in 2013
Personal information
Born (1984-08-16) August 16, 1984 (age 39)
Midwest City, Oklahoma, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Listed weight178 lb (81 kg)
Career information
High schoolPaul R. Wharton (Tampa, Florida)
CollegeTemple (2002–2006)
WNBA draft2006: 1st round, 6th overall pick
Selected by the Chicago Sky
Playing career2006–present
PositionPower forward
Career history
20062009Chicago Sky
2007–2009WBC Wisła Kraków
2009–2011Good Angels Košice
20102016Phoenix Mercury
2011–2013WBC Spartak Moscow Region
2013–2014Dynamo Kursk
2014–2015Zhejiang Golden Bulls
2015Nadezhda Orenburg
2016–2017ZVVZ USK Praha
20172020Indiana Fever
2018–2020Sopron Basket
2021–presentZVVZ USK Praha
2021Seattle Storm
2021Atlanta Dream
Career highlights and awards
Stats at WNBA.com
Medals
Representing the  United States
FIBA World Championship for Women
Gold medal – first place 2010 Czech Republic National team
Gold medal – first place 2014 Turkey National team
World University Games
Gold medal – first place 2005 Turkey National team

Dupree was hired by the San Antonio Spurs as a Player Development coach in 2022.[3]

Personal life edit

Dupree grew up in Tampa, Florida. She played basketball and volleyball at Paul R. Wharton High School and has two sisters; one is her twin, while the other is several years younger. Dupree played basketball at Temple University from 2002 to 2006. She won numerous awards and accolades as a college basketball player, drawing comparisons to the NBA's Tim Duncan.[4]

Dupree was married to former Mercury teammate DeWanna Bonner and in 2017 Bonner gave birth to twins.[5]

College statistics edit

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
Year Team GP Points FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2002–03 Temple 18 188 .432 .522 7.6 1.3 1.9 1.4 10.4
2003–04 Temple 31 431 .547 .529 7.6 0.8 1.4 1.9 13.9
2004–05 Temple 32 521 .539 .669 9.1 1.7 2.2 2.1 16.3
2005–06 Temple 32 558 .506 .176 .723 8.7 2.1 1.6 2.2 17.4
Career 113 1,698 .515 .158 .630 8.3 1.5 1.7 1.9 15.0

Source[6]

WNBA career edit

 
Dupree playing for the Indiana Fever in 2019

Dupree was selected 6th overall in the 2006 WNBA draft by the Chicago Sky, an expansion team that year. As a rookie, she was named to the Eastern Conference WNBA All Star team. In her first All-Star game, she competed against her former college coach Dawn Staley. Dupree was also named to the Eastern Conference WNBA All-Star Team in 2007 and 2009 in the WNBA (there was no WNBA All Star game in 2008 due to the Olympics). For the 2009 season, Dupree tied for second place in the WNBA with 268 total rebounds.[7]

In March 2010, Dupree was traded to the Phoenix Mercury as part of a multi-player, three-team deal.[8] Dupree requested the trade.[9]

Dupree would win her first WNBA championship with the Mercury in 2014 as they swept her former team, the Chicago Sky 3–0 in the finals. Dupree had 24 points and 6 assists in the final game of the series. During the 2014 season, Dupree was playing alongside Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner while the Mercury had a record-breaking regular season record of 29–5 en route to the title.

In the 2015 season, Dupree was named a WNBA All-Star for the fifth time in her career as she averaged 14.1 ppg. The Mercury would make it to the playoffs in an attempt to defend their title but were swept in the second round by the Minnesota Lynx who won the championship that year.

In 2017, Dupree was traded to the Indiana Fever along with the Mercury's 2017 first round pick in a three-team deal that sent Camille Little and Jillian Alleyne to the Mercury and the Connecticut Sun receiving the 8th overall pick in the 2017 WNBA draft along with Lynetta Kizer from the Fever.[10] During the 2017 season, Dupree would be voted into the 2017 WNBA All-Star Game, making it her sixth career all-star game appearance. Dupree averaged 15 points per game, but the Fever finished with league's second worst record of 9–25.

In March 2018, Dupree re-signed with the Fever to a multi-year deal.[11] In 2018, the Fever would have yet another disappointing season, finishing last place with a 6–28 record.

In 2019, Dupree was voted into the 2019 WNBA All-Star Game, making it her seventh all-star appearance due to her performance during the season, however the Fever once again fell short of a playoff spot with a 13–21 record.

In 2020, the season was delayed and shortened to 22 games in a bubble at IMG Academy due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Dupree played all 22 games and averaged 12.5 ppg, but the Fever finished as the second worst team in the league with a 6–16 record.

In 2021, Dupree signed a one-year deal with the Seattle Storm who were the defending champions.[12]

Shooting Stars edit

Dupree, along with then-Chicago Bulls guard Ben Gordon and ex-Bulls star Scottie Pippen, participated in the Shooting Stars competition at the 2007 NBA All-Star Game Weekend. In 2008, Dupree again represented Chicago at the Shooting Stars competition, along with Chris Duhon and B. J. Armstrong.[13]

Overseas career edit

Dupree played professional basketball in Poland, for the TS Wisła Can-Pack Kraków club, during the 2007–08[14] and 2008–09 WNBA off-seasons.[15] In 2008, Wisla Can Pack won the PLKK league championship, and Dupree was named Most Valuable Player of the championship series. In 2009, Dupree was named to the "Rest of the World" (non-European) squad for the EuroLeague Women All Star Game.[16] Dupree played two consecutive off-seasons for Good Angels Košice in Slovakia from 2009 to 2011, winning a national championship with the team.[17][18] From 2011 to 2015, Dupree played four off-seasons in Russia for WBC Spartak Moscow Region, Dynamo Kursk and Nadezhda Orenburg. Dupree also spent the first portion of the 2014–15 off-season playing in China for the Zhejiang Golden Bulls of the WCBA[19] As of August 2016, Dupree signed with ZVVZ USK Praha for the 2016-17 off-season.[20] In September 2018, Dupree signed with Sopron Basket of the Hungarian league for the 2018-19 off-season, she would return to the team for the following year.[21][22] In January 2021, Dupree made her second stint with ZVVZ USK Praha for the 2020-21 off-season.[23]

USA Basketball edit

Dupree was a member of the team representing the US at the 2005 World University Games Team in Izmir, Turkey. In the quarterfinals against Taiwan, she led her team in scoring with 16 points. Dupree averaged 7.6 points per game, helping the team to a 7–0 record, and a gold medal at the event.[24]

Dupree was invited to the USA Basketball Women's National Team training camp in the fall of 2009.[25] Dupree was one of twenty players named to the national team pool. Twelve of this group will be chosen to represent the US in the 2010 World Championships and the 2012 Summer Olympics.[26]

Dupree was named as one of the National team members to represent the USA Basketball team in the WNBA versus USA Basketball.[27] This game replaces the normal WNBA All-Star game with WNBA All-Stars versus USA Basketball, as part of the preparation for the FIBA World Championship for Women to be held in the Czech Republic during September and October 2010. Dupree was selected to be a member of the National team representing the US at the World Championships held in September and October 2010. The team was coached by Geno Auriemma. Because many team members were still playing in the WNBA until just prior to the event, the team had only one day of practice with the entire team before leaving for Ostrava and Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic. Even with limited practice, the team managed to win its first games against Greece by 26 points. The team continued to dominate with victory margins exceeding 20 points in the first five games. Several players shared scoring honors, with Swin Cash, Angel McCoughtry, Maya Moore, Diana Taurasi, Lindsay Whalen, and Sylvia Fowles all ending as high scorer in the first few games. The sixth game was against undefeated Australia — the USA jumped out to a 24-point lead and the USA prevailed 83–75. The USA won its next two games by over 30 points, then faced the host team, the Czech Republic, in the championship game. The USA team had only a five-point lead at halftime, which was cut to three points, but the Czechs never got closer. Team USA went on to win the championship and gold medal. Dupree averaged 9.2 points per game while hitting 75% of her field goal attempts. She led the team in rebounds with 6.0 per game.[28]

Vital statistics edit

Awards and achievements edit

  • Member of the Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team in 2003 and second team in 2004.
  • Named Atlantic 10 and Philadelphia Big Five Player of the Year in 2005.
  • Named the 2005 Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year.
  • Named 2005 Associated Press All-American Honorable Mention.
  • Member of the 2005 Atlantic 10 first team and two-time Big Five first team selection in 2004 and 2005.
  • Named Atlantic 10 and Philadelphia Big Five Player of the Year in 2006.
  • Named the 2006 Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year.
  • Named to 2006 Associated Press All-American Third Team.
  • Selected for Atlantic 10 All-Defensive Team in 2004, 2005, and 2006.
  • Named MVP of the Atlantic 10 Tournament in 2004, 2005, and 2006.
  • Named Philadelphia-area Player of the Decade by Philadelphia Inquirer in 2010.[29]
  • 2006, 2007, 2009, 2014, 2015 and 2017 WNBA All-Star Selection.
  • 2014 WNBA Championship.[2]

WNBA career statistics edit

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game  RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game  BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game
 TO  Turnovers per game  FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 Bold  Career best ° League leader
Denotes seasons in which Dupree won a WNBA championship

WNBA regular season edit

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2006 Chicago 34 31 30.4 .457 .000 .779 5.5 1.8 1.2 0.7 1.7 13.7
2007 Chicago 33 33 32.7 .446 .000 .775 7.7 1.4 0.8 1.2 2.4 16.5
2008 Chicago 34 34 32.9 .457 .143 .780 7.9 2.3 1.0 1.3 2.8 16.3
2009 Chicago 34 34 34.9 .429 .387 .785 7.9 2.2 1.0 1.2 2.3 15.7
2010 Phoenix 34 34 29.8 .664° .000 .936 7.6 1.3 1.0 0.8 1.9 15.7
2011 Phoenix 34 34 31.6 .548 .167 .852 8.2 1.8 0.5 0.7 1.9 14.6
2012 Phoenix 13 12 26.5 .483 .000 .811 4.8 1.3 0.6 0.5 2.0 13.2
2013 Phoenix 32 32 33.0 .515 .000 .897 6.4 1.9 1.0 0.4 2.0 15.2
2014 Phoenix 34 34 31.2 .533 .000 .849 7.6 2.4 0.8 0.5 1.4 14.5
2015 Phoenix 33 33 31.2 .512 .000 .802 5.1 1.7 1.0 0.3 1.4 14.1
2016 Phoenix 32 32 29.1 .541 .000 .792 5.3 1.9 0.8 0.1 1.0 11.3
2017 Indiana 33 33 31.8 .494 .000 .882 5.8 1.6 0.9 0.4 1.3 15.0
2018 Indiana 32 32 31.4 .488 .000 .819 6.4 1.7 0.9 0.3 1.6 14.2
2019 Indiana 34 34 30.7 .472 .000 .839 5.0 2.5 0.4 0.6 1.5 11.6
2020 Indiana 22 22 30.2 .462 .167 .854 5.7 2.5 0.7 0.4 1.3 12.5
Career 468 464 31.4 .497 .250 .821 6.6 1.9 0.9 0.7 1.8 14.4

WNBA Postseason edit

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2010 Phoenix 4 4 32.3 .630 .000 .938 8.3 1.3 1.5 0.7 0.5 20.8
2011 Phoenix 5 5 32.6 .603 .000 .875 5.6 0.6 0.6 0.8 2.0 15.4
2013 Phoenix 5 5 34.0 .493 .000 .833 6.4 2.0 0.4 0.2 2.0 15.0
2014 Phoenix 8 8 34.2 .663 .000 .900 5.5 1.1 1.5 0.5 2.1 16.4
2015 Phoenix 4 4 30.4 .452 .000 .750 5.3 1.5 1.2 0.0 1.0 11.0
2016 Phoenix 5 5 31.3 .488 .000 1.000 3.8 1.8 0.6 0.2 1.4 9.6
Career 31 31 32.7 .569 .000 .889 5.7 1.4 1.0 0.4 1.6 14.8

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Nemchock, Eric (June 25, 2020). "2006's No. 6 pick Candice Dupree has been the WNBA's gold standard for consistency and longevity". Swish Appeal. Retrieved December 21, 2021.
  2. ^ a b P, Nate (September 13, 2014). "2014 WNBA Finals: The value of Candice Dupree and Penny Taylor's contributions to the Phoenix Mercury's title". Swish Appeal. Archived from the original on September 15, 2014. Retrieved December 21, 2021.
  3. ^ "SAN ANTONIO SPURS ANNOUNCE BASKETBALL OPERATIONS ADDITIONS AND PROMOTIONS". www.nba.com. Retrieved September 23, 2022.
  4. ^ Mowins, Beth, "Duncan-like Dupree turning heads," ESPN Women's Basketball, November 23, 2005.
  5. ^ Voepel, Mechelle (July 7, 2017). "DeWanna Bonner, Candice Dupree welcome twin daughters to their family". ESPN. Retrieved October 26, 2017.
  6. ^ "Women's Basketball Player stats". NCAA. Retrieved September 22, 2015.
  7. ^ 2009 Rebounding Leaders Archived January 8, 2010, at the Wayback Machine. Wnba.com (June 20, 2014). Retrieved on May 19, 2016.
  8. ^ "Sky deal Dupree for 2 players," ESPN.com, May 30, 2010.
  9. ^ McGraw, Patricia Babcock, "Dupree says it was time to move on from Sky," Chicago Daily Herald, March 30, 2010.
  10. ^ "Mercury Trade Candice Dupree to Indiana in Three-Team Deal". SLAM. June 25, 2017. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  11. ^ "Indiana Fever re-sign Candice Dupree to multi-year deal". High Post Hoops. March 6, 2018. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  12. ^ "Why seven-time All-Star Candice Dupree chose to sign with the Storm: 'I'm just trying to go out with a bang'". The Seattle Times. February 8, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  13. ^ Haier Shooting Stars 2005–2008. Nba.com. Retrieved on May 19, 2016.
  14. ^ Offseason 2007–08:Overseas Roster. Wnba.com (February 12, 2008). Retrieved on May 19, 2016.
  15. ^ Offseason 2008–09: Overseas Roster. Wnba.com (January 8, 2009). Retrieved on May 19, 2016.
  16. ^ Dupree:All-Star selection a pleasant surprise. Fibaeurope.com. Retrieved on May 19, 2016.
  17. ^ Offseason 2009–10: Overseas Roster. Wnba.com (March 31, 2010). Retrieved on May 19, 2016.
  18. ^ Reprezentantka USA Dupreeová do Košíc. deltabasket.sk (October 19, 2009)
  19. ^ "Candice Dupree".
  20. ^ "2016-2017 WNBA Overseas Signings - Women's Basketball 24.7". Archived from the original on September 30, 2017. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
  21. ^ TWO-TIME WORLD CHAMPION WITH A CLASS WINNING THE SOPRON BASKETBALL TEAM
  22. ^ EuroLeague Women: Dupree, McCoughtry highlight key winter break transactions
  23. ^ "Basketball News, Scores, Stats, Analysis, Standings".
  24. ^ "Twenty-Second World University Games – 2005". USA Basketball. Archived from the original on September 7, 2015. Retrieved October 13, 2015.
  25. ^ "USA Basketball Women's National Team To Tip-Off Training Tomorrow In D.C." USA Basketball. Archived from the original on July 16, 2012. Retrieved October 1, 2009.
  26. ^ "Charles, Moore lead U.S. pool additions". ESPN. March 3, 2010. Retrieved March 3, 2010.
  27. ^ "Six Olympic Gold Medalists Among 11-Member Team Set To Participate In WNBA vs. USA Basketball: The Stars at the Sun Game". USA Basketball. June 30, 2010. Archived from the original on July 7, 2010. Retrieved July 5, 2010.
  28. ^ "FIBA World Championship for Women". FIBA. Archived from the original on July 10, 2010. Retrieved July 5, 2010.
  29. ^ Current and Former Women's Basketball Players Honored by Philadelphia Inquirer. Owlsports.com (January 5, 2010). Retrieved on May 19, 2016.

External links edit