Asjha Jones’ journey from playing in the WNBA to coaching in the WNBA.
Asjha Jones from Piscataway, New Jersey, has played basketball at every level. After high school, she played college basketball at the University of Connecticut, and then went on to play and coach in the WNBA, and is currently coaching in the NBA. Let’s take a look at Jones’ career.
Jones attended Piscataway High School, where she set the record for most points and rebounds in the school’s history. While there, Jones was a McDonald’s All-American, the Star-Ledger New Jersey Girls Basketball Player of the Year and was a Women’s Basketball Coaches Association All-American.
At the University of Connecticut, Jones had a great career. Out of her four years there, UConn won the National Championship twice. During that time, Jones and the Huskies had a record of 136-9. At UConn, Jones won eight different awards and honors. Some of those included being named to the 1999 All-Big East Rookie Team, the 2000 NCAA Final Four All-Tournament Team, and the 2002 Big East Women’s Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player.
In 2002, Jones was drafted into the WNBA. She was selected fourth overall by the Washington Mystics. After two seasons with the Mystics. She spent the majority of her career with the Connecticut Sun from 2004 to 2012. During the offseason, Jones would play for international leagues in Russia.
While with the Sun, Jones was a two-time WNBA All- Star, once in 2007 and again in 2009. In 2008, she was named to the All-WNBA Second team. Jones spent the last season of her playing career with the Minnesota Lynx in 2015. The Lynx went on to win the WNBA Championship that year.
In addition to her success in her collegiate and WNBA career, she also played for Team USA. In 2010, Jones won gold in the FIBA World Championship. She also won gold in the 2012 Olympics.
After retiring from the WNBA, Jones joined the Washington Mystics, working as a player development coach from 2018 to 2019. In 2018, the Mystics won the WNBA title. This made Jones the first ever to win a title as a WNBA player and a coach. In 2020, Jones was promoted to Assistant Coach. In 2021, Jones became the Director of Basketball Strategy and Planning with the NBA team, the Portland Trail Blazers. Jones was with the team until 2025.