Elena Delle Donne
Elena Delle Donne is an American former professional basketball player. She was born on September 5, 1989, in Wilmington, Delaware, and is 6 feet 5 inches tall. She played college basketball for the Delaware Blue Hens from 2009 to 2013, where she led the nation in scoring in 2012 and helped the team reach the NCAA tournament. During college she also battled Lyme disease.
Delle Donne was drafted second overall in 2013 by the Chicago Sky. She won the WNBA Rookie of the Year in 2013 and helped the Sky reach the 2014 WNBA Finals. In 2017 she was traded to the Washington Mystics. With the Mystics, she won her first WNBA championship in 2019 and earned her second MVP award that same year. She has been a seven-time All-Star and joined the 50–40–90 club in 2019, while also setting the league record for career free-throw percentage (93.7%).
Her career highlights include leading the league in scoring in 2015, and she became known for her consistency, versatility, and shooting accuracy. She is also recognized for her charitable work, including efforts with Special Olympics and Lyme disease awareness, and she has cared for her sister Lizzie, who has disabilities.
Off the court, Delle Donne publicly shared her engagement to Amanda Clifton in 2016, and the couple married in 2017. She stepped away from basketball in 2024 and announced her retirement in 2025.
Delle Donne’s journey is marked by extraordinary height, star performance, resilience through illness, and a commitment to helping others.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 02:06 (CET).