NaLyssa Smith

Personal: Smith majored in mass communications at Baylor. Her brother, Rodney, played college soccer at St. Mary’s (Kan.) and the University of Houston at Victoria. She owns two dogs named Sevyn and Three. She has stated she would be a model if not playing basketball. She enjoys listening to music, cooking, and gaming.

2023 Season: NaLyssa Smith compiled 6,811 leaderboard points to finish the season as the Athletes Unlimited Basketball champion. She ranked second in the league with 3,211 stat points, in addition to standing sixth in the circuit with 3,150 win points. She was the first champion in all of Athletes Unlimited’s sports who did not wear the Gold jersey at any point during the season. She also joined 2022 AUX Softball champion Danielle O’Toole as the only titlists not to wear the Gold jersey during the final segment of the season. She became the first champion in any Athletes Unlimited sport who was not in the top position of the leaderboard until the end of the season. She entered the season’s final day in third place on the leaderboard before surging ahead in the final game. She was the third champion in Athletes Unlimited history to win a title without pacing the league in win points, stat points, or MVP points, joining O’Toole and 2021 Lacrosse champion Taylor Cummings. She was the only player in the league to earn 1,000 or more leaderboard points in all five weeks and set a personal season high with 1,468 points during Week Five. She ranked third in the league with 450 MVP points, behind forward Naz Hillmon (540) and guard Kelsey Mitchell (510). She secured six Game MVP awards, including three MVP 1 commendations and three MVP 2 honors. She posted a 7-5 record in four weeks as a captain and spent the final three weeks as the Orange team captain after leading the Blue team in Week Two. She ranked second among the league’s nine captains with seven victories. She set Athletes Unlimited Basketball single-season records for double-doubles (12), total rebounds (184), and free throws attempted (114). She also established a new single-season standard by drawing 89 fouls. She secured the league title in the final game of the season with a record-setting effort against Team Sims, becoming the first player in league history to score 50 points after making 20-of-27 field goal attempts along with 10-of-13 free throws. She also grabbed 13 rebounds to earn a league-record 12th double-double of the season. She finished the season with a league single-game record 863 leaderboard points in the victory over Team Sims. She joined Hillmon as the only players in league history to accrue 800 or more leaderboard points in a game. She was the only player in the league to reach double figures in scoring in all 15 games. She scored 20 or more points in 12 of 15 games, which ranked second in the league. She led Athletes Unlimited Basketball by grabbing 10 or more rebounds in 12 of 15 outings. She matched single-game marks with 16 defensive rebounds and 18 total caroms against Team Bell on March 15. She started the season with six straight games with 20 or more points, including 28 points against Team Harrison in the Week Two opener. She set a league single-game record by drawing 11 fouls against Team Harrison on March 1.

Other Professional Experience: Smith is a four-year WNBA veteran who was selected with the No. 2 overall pick by Indiana in the 2022 WNBA Draft. She has started 138 of 148 career games while spending time with three different teams. She owns an 11.3 career scoring average while grabbing 7.1 rebounds per contest. She was a WNBA and Associated Press All-Rookie Team selection with the Fever in 2022 after averaging 13.5 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. She was a starter in all 32 games who also shot 41.9 percent from the field while finishing third in WNBA Rookie of the Year voting. She was one of seven players in the league to average at least 13.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 1.0 assist per game during the 2022 campaign. She ranked sixth in the WNBA in rebound average while leading all rookies. She posted the second-best scoring season by a rookie in Indiana history with 433 points. She also ranks third on the Fever’s rookie rebound (253) and double-doubles (8) list. She earned an invitation to the WNBA Skills Challenge during All-Star Weekend in Chicago. She started 28 of 31 games for Indiana in 2023 and enjoyed her best season after netting 15.5 points per game in addition to a 9.2 rebound average. She also registered 13 double-doubles in the 2023 campaign. She converted 12 of 18 shots from the floor en route to a 30-point performance against Dallas on September 3, 2023. She appeared in 40 games during the 2024 season with 37 starts, contributing 10.6 points and 7.1 rebounds per game for Indiana. She fashioned seven double-doubles, including a 23-point, 10-rebound effort against Seattle on May 30, 2024. She split the 2025 season between Dallas and Las Vegas, appearing in 45 total games with 41 starts. She opened the campaign by starting 15 of 18 games with Dallas before being traded to Las Vegas on June 30, 2025. She helped the Aces win the 2025 WNBA title after starting 26 of 27 games and contributing 8.2 points and 5.3 rebounds per outing. She closed the regular season by posting six double-digit scoring efforts in the final nine games. She received a starting assignment in 12 playoff games for Las Vegas, tallying 7.1 points and 5.0 rebounds per contest.

International Experience: Smith was a member of the Gold medal-winning Team USA at the 2022 3x3 AmeriCup, averaging 5.4 points per game. She shot 16-for-37 (.432) from the field over five games while going 11-of-15 at the free throw line. She competed on the 2018 USA Basketball Women’s U-18 National Team and helped the United States win a Gold medal at the FIBA World Championships by averaging 11.0 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. She was selected to the 2019 USA Basketball Women’s U-19 National Team but withdrew due to injury concerns.

At Baylor: Smith was a four-year letter winner at Baylor who appeared in 132 games from 2018-22, starting 94 contests, including all 35 games during her senior season. She is one of seven players in program history to register 2,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds. She was the 2021 Wade Trophy honoree as the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association’s National Player of the Year and was also named the Collegiate Women’s Sports Awards’ Honda Sport Award winner after her junior season. She was a two-time Big 12 Conference Player of the Year and earned All-Big 12 First Team recognition three times. She was a two-time recipient of the Katrina McClain Award as the nation’s top power forward. She garnered seven All-America commendations as a senior, including six First Team selections. She also claimed First-Team All-America recognition from the Associated Press, ESPN.com, WBCA, and John R. Wooden in her junior campaign, along with Second-Team All-America notice from the United States Basketball Writers Association. She set the Baylor single-season record with 26 double-doubles as a senior. She netted 30 points in a game six times, including a career-high 37 points against Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship semifinal. She secured Mayan Division MVP honors at the 2021 Cancun Challenge. She was honored as the 2021 Big 12 Championship Most Outstanding Player after averaging 18.7 points and 11.0 rebounds over three games. She was an Honorable Mention All-America pick by the WBCA and Associated Press after scoring a team-high 14.3 points per game as a sophomore. She was the only freshman on the Baylor roster to appear in all 38 games during the 2018-19 NCAA championship campaign.