Ariel Atkins

Personal: Ariel Atkins is the daughter of Byron and LaShonda Atkins, and she is one of three children in her family. She graduated from Texas with a bachelor’s degree in sport management. She led her high school to two Texas UIL Class 5A state titles, compiling a 148-10 career record. She also piloted Duncanville High School to a 105-game win streak during her scholastic career.

Other Professional Experience: Ariel Atkins is an eight-year WNBA veteran who has started 246 of her 251 career games. She was the No. 7 overall selection by the Washington Mystics in the 2018 WNBA Draft. A two-time WNBA All-Star selection, she spent her first seven seasons with Washington before being acquired by Chicago prior to the 2025 campaign. She is the first player in WNBA history to earn All-Defensive Team status in each of her first five seasons, including four All-Defensive Second Team honors and First-Team WNBA All-Defensive recognition in 2022. Atkins helped Washington win the 2019 WNBA title. She owns a 13.4 career scoring average while grabbing 3.0 rebounds per outing. As a rookie in 2018 with Washington, she started 24 of 29 games and contributed 11.3 points and 2.4 rebounds per contest. She scored 25 points to lead Washington to victory over Chicago on July 13, 2018, and netted a season-high 26 points in a triumph over Dallas on August 12, 2018. During the 2019 WNBA championship season, she earned a starting assignment in 33 games and averaged 10.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per contest. She started all 22 games in the 2020 season, posting a 14.8 scoring average while securing 2.9 rebounds per outing. That season, she posted five double-digit scoring efforts, including a season-high 26 points against Atlanta in the season finale victory. She enjoyed her best offensive season in 2021 after averaging 16.2 points per game in 30 total appearances. She logged 32 points in a victory over Atlanta on June 17, 2021, and registered a double-digit scoring effort in 26 of 30 contests en route to securing her first All-Star berth. She received a WNBA All-Star invitation for the second straight season in 2022 after scoring 14.6 points per game while earning a starting nod in all 36 fixtures. She averaged 11.5 points per game in 27 outings during the 2023 season before posting a 14.9 scoring clip in 2024. On July 14, 2024, she registered a career-high 36-point outburst against Las Vegas, shooting 13-for-25 from the field, including 6-of-9 from three-point range, and converting 4-of-5 free throws. In her first season with Chicago in 2025, she earned a start in 34 games, scored 13.1 points per game while shooting a career-best 44.4 percent from the field, and closed the season with five double-digit scoring efforts in the final eight games, including a 30-point performance against Las Vegas on August 25, 2025.

International Experience: Ariel Atkins is a three-time Gold medalist with Team USA. She helped the United States win the Gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics by appearing in five games as a reserve. She also guided Team USA to a perfect 8-0 record and a Gold medal at the 2022 World Cup, averaging 5.5 points and 2.6 assists per game. She was a member of the 2014 United States U-18 National Team that authored a 5-0 mark en route to securing the Gold medal at the FIBA Americas U-18 Championship. Additionally, she was a member of the 2022 FIBA World Cup Qualifying Tournament All-Star Five and helped the United States capture the inaugural U-24 Four Nations Tournament title in 2017 with victories over Australia, Canada, and Japan.

At Texas: Ariel Atkins was a four-year letter winner at Texas, where she started 100 of 121 games from 2014-2018. She is one of only five players in program history to be selected in the first round of the WNBA Draft. As a three-time All-Conference performer, she tallied 1,497 career points, 523 rebounds, and 233 assists. She also earned two Big 12 Conference All-Defensive Team certificates. As a junior, she claimed Associated Press Honorable Mention All-America recognition, and she was also named to the WBCA Honorable Mention All-America Team following her senior season. She stands sixth on the Longhorns’ career free throw percentage chart (.831) and ranks seventh in program history by converting 37.3 percent of her three-point field goal attempts. She led the Longhorns in scoring as a senior with a 14.9 average and was a finalist for the 2018 Senior CLASS Award. As a senior, she ranked second in the Big 12 in steals per game (3.5) and three-point field goal percentage (.420), scoring in double figures in 29 of 35 outings, including her final 11 contests in a row. She was a First-Team All-Big 12 honoree as a junior, pacing the conference by averaging 2.0 steals per game. That season, she logged 22 double-digit scoring outputs, including four games with 20 or more points. During her sophomore season, she collected Second-Team All-Big 12 plaudits after leading the Longhorns in field goal percentage (.536) and free throw percentage (.819). She was a member of the 2014-2015 Big 12 All-Freshman Team after starting 19 of 27 contests. She paced the Longhorns in scoring during Big 12 play with a 10.4 average and was named USBWA National Freshman of the Week on February 3, 2015.