Lynetta Kizer

{{Short description|American-Bosnian basketball player (born 1990)}}

{{Infobox basketball biography

| name = Lynetta Kizer

| image = Kizer-20180520.jpg

| image_size = 200px

| caption = Kizer with the Minnesota Lynx in 2018

| league =

| team = Free agent

| number =

| position = Center

| height_ft = 6

| height_in = 4

| weight_lbs = 230

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|mf=yes|1990|04|04}}

| birth_place =

| nationality = American / Bosnian

| high_school = Potomac (Dumfries, Virginia)

| college = Maryland (2008–2012)

| draft_league = WNBA

| draft_year = 2012

| draft_round = 3

| draft_pick = 29

| draft_team = Tulsa Shock

| career_start = 2012

| career_end =

| years1 = {{WNBA Year|2012}}

| team1 = Tulsa Shock

| years2 = {{WNBA Year|2012}}–{{WNBA Year|2013}}

| team2 = Phoenix Mercury

| years3 = 2012–2013

| team3 = KB Stars

| years4 = 2014

| team4 = Good Angels Košice

| years5 = {{WNBA Year|2014}}–{{WNBA Year|2016}}

| team5 = Indiana Fever

| years6 = 2014–2015

| team6 = Hatay Bsb

| years7 = 2015–2016

| team7 = Galatasaray

| years8 = 2016–2017

| team8 = Olympiacos

| years9 = {{WNBA Year|2017}}

| team9 = Connecticut Sun

| years10 = 2017–2018

| team10 = Shandong Six Stars

| years11 = 2018

| team11 = Fenerbahçe

| years12 = {{WNBA Year|2018}}

| team12 = Minnesota Lynx

| years13 = 2018

| team13 = Shandong Six Stars

| years14 = 2018–2019

| team14 = CCC Polkowice

| years15 = 2020

| team15 = Della Fiore Broni

| years16 = 2021

| team16 = Çankaya University Sports Club

| years17 = 2021–2022

| team17 = Panathinaikos

| years18 = 2023

| team18 = Rojas

| years19 = 2024

| team19 = CB Islas Canarias

| years20 = 2024

| team20 = Geelong United

| highlights = * Polish BLK champion (2019)

Polish Cup winner (2019)
Greek League champion (2017)
Greek Cup winner (2017)
Slovakian Extraliga champion (2014)
Middle European League champion (2014)
ACC Sixth Player of the Year (2012)
Second-team All-ACC (2011)
Third-team All-ACC (2010)
ACC Rookie of the Year (2009)
ACC All-Freshman Team (2009)
McDonald's All-American (2008)

| medaltemplates = {{MedalSport | Women's Basketball}}

{{MedalCountry | {{USA}} }} {{MedalCompetition|World University Games}}

| wnba_profile = lynetta_kizer

}}

Lynetta Kizer (born April 4, 1990) is an American-Bosnian professional basketball player who last played for Geelong United of the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). She played college basketball for the University of Maryland.

Early life

Kizer's hometown is Woodbridge, Virginia. She grew up with an older brother and a younger sister.{{cite web|url=https://umterps.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/lynetta-kizer/4842|title=Lynetta Kizer's University of Maryland Terrapin Basketball Team Profile|access-date=March 30, 2022}}

Kizer attended Potomac Senior High School in Dumfries, Virginia, where she played all four years as a starting center. She was also a three-time team captain. By her senior year, Kizer was rated the fifth overall prospect and the top center in the nation in the 2008 class, according to HoopGurlz.com. Her high school exploits earned her a scholarship from the Anne & Bob Strahota Director's Circle.

College career

Kizer played four years of college basketball at the University of Maryland for the Terrapin's women's basketball team between 2008 and 2012. She earned ACC Freshman of the Year and ACC All-Freshman Team in 2008–09. She went on to earn third-team All-ACC in 2010, second-team All-ACC in 2011, and ACC Sixth Player of the Year in 2012. She was also All-ACC Honorable Mention as a senior.{{cite web |title=Lynetta Kizer, Basketball Player, News, Stats - australiabasket |url=https://basketball.australiabasket.com/player/Lynetta-Kizer/156511?Women=1 |website=Eurobasket LLC |access-date=31 October 2024 |url-access=subscription}} While at Maryland, Kizer was a family science major.

=Maryland statistics=

Source

class="wikitable"

!Year

!Team

!GP

!Points

!FG%

!3P%

!FT%

!RPG

!APG

!SPG

!BPG

!PPG

2008–09

|Maryland

|36

|401

|49.8

| –

|68.2

|7.3

|0.8

|1.1

|0.9

|11.1

2009–10

|Maryland

|34

|437

|52.8

|55.0

|75.0

|7.8

|0.8

|0.9

|0.4

|12.9

2010–11

|Maryland

|32

|423

|45.5

|37.5

|68.3

|7.8

|0.9

|1.1

|0.8

|13.2

2011–12

|Maryland

|33

|360

|43.7

|31.3

|69.2

|5.5

|1.0

|0.8

|0.2

|10.9

Career

|Maryland

|135

|1621

|47.9

|38.1

|70.0

|7.1

|0.9

|1.0

|0.6

|12.0

Professional career

=WNBA=

Kizer was the 29th overall pick, in the third round of the 2012 WNBA draft, selected by the Tulsa Shock. She played seven games for the Shock to start the 2012 WNBA season before joining the Phoenix Mercury, where she played 15 games to finish the season. She re-joined the Mercury for the 2013 WNBA season, playing 32 games.

Kizer joined the Indiana Fever for the 2014 WNBA season. She continued with the Fever in 2015 and 2016. She helped the Fever reach the WNBA Finals in 2015 and tallied a career-best 9.6 points (55.6%) with 3.2 rebounds in 33 games in 2016.{{cite news |title=Lynx Re-Sign Cecilia Zandalasini, Add Lynetta Kizer And Endy Miyem - WNBA |url=https://www.wnba.com/news/lynx-re-sign-cecilia-zandalasini-add-lynetta-kizer-endy-miyem |access-date=31 October 2024 |work=www.wnba.com |date=8 February 2018}}

On February 21, 2017, Kizer was acquired by the Connecticut Sun in a three-team trade.{{cite news |title=Sun Acquire Kizer, 8th Pick In 2017 WNBA Draft – Connecticut Sun |url=https://sun.wnba.com/news/sun-acquire-kizer-8th-pick-2017-wnba-draft/ |access-date=31 October 2024 |work=sun.wnba.com |date=21 February 2017}}{{cite news |title=Connecticut, Indiana, Phoenix Complete Three-Team Trade - WNBA |url=https://www.wnba.com/news/connecticut-sun-indiana-fever-phoenix-mercury-trade-candice-dupree-camille-little-lynetta-kizer |access-date=31 October 2024 |work=www.wnba.com |date=21 February 2017}} She played in 20 games for Connecticut during the 2017 WNBA season, averaging 6.0 points and 2.9 rebounds in 11.9 minutes per game while shooting 48.0% from the field.

On February 8, 2018, Kizer signed with the Minnesota Lynx. On June 30, 2018, she was waived by the Lynx. She averaged 1.8 points (25.0%) and 1.6 rebounds in 12 games during the 2018 WNBA season.{{cite news |title=Lynx Waive Forward Lynetta Kizer |url=https://lynx.wnba.com/news/lynx-waive-forward-lynetta-kizer |access-date=31 October 2024 |work=lynx.wnba.com |date=30 June 2018 |language=en}}

Kizer spent training camp and preseason with the Atlanta Dream prior to the 2019 WNBA season.{{cite news |title=Atlanta Dream Waive Lynetta Kizer |url=https://dream.wnba.com/news/atlanta-dream-waive-lynetta-kizer |access-date=31 October 2024 |work=dream.wnba.com |date=21 May 2019 |language=en}}

=Overseas=

Kizer played 17 games for KB Stars in Korea in the 2012–13 season.{{cite web|url=https://basketball.asia-basket.com/team/South-Korea/KB-Stars-Seoul/8591?Women=1&Page=3&Stats=2013|title=Lynetta Kizer's South Korean Basketball Statistics|access-date=March 30, 2022}}

In February 2014, Kizer joined Good Angels Košice in Slovakia for the rest of the 2013-14 season. She played in 11 Extraliga games and helped the team win the championship.

For the 2014–15 season, Kizer joined Hatay Bsb in Turkey. She continued in Turkey for the 2015–16 season with Galatasaray.{{cite web|url=https://basketball.eurobasket.com/team/Turkey/Galatasaray-MP-Istanbul/7721?Women=1&page=1&Year=2015-2016|title=Lynetta Kizer's EuroLeague Turkish Basketball Statistics|access-date=March 30, 2022}}

Kizer played 24 games for Olympiacos Pireus during the 2016-17 season.{{cite web|url=https://basketball.eurobasket.com/team/Greece/Olympiacos-Pireus/11696?Women=1&Page=3&Stats=2017|title=Lynetta Kizer's Greek Basketball and EuroLeague Statistics|access-date=}}

For the 2017–18 season, Kizer joined Shandong Six Stars of the Women's Chinese Basketball Association. She played 17 games for the team{{cite web|url=https://basketball.asia-basket.com/team/China/Shandong-Sports-Lottery/9618?Women=1&Page=3&Stats=2018|title=Lynetta Kizer's WCBA Statistics|access-date=March 30, 2022}} before returning to Turkey in February 2018, where she played three games for Fenerbahçe.{{cite web|url=https://basketball.eurobasket.com/team/Turkey/Fenerbahce-Spor-Kulubu-Istanbul/7712?Women=1&page=1&Year=2017-2018|title=Lynetta Kizer's Turkish Basketball Team Statistics|access-date=March 30, 2022}}

Kizer started the 2018–19 season with Shandong Six Stars, playing one game before joining CCC Polkowice in Poland in November 2018. He played 23 games for Polkowice.{{cite web|url=https://basketball.eurobasket.com/team/Poland/MKS-Polkowice/7597?Women=1&Page=3&Stats=2019|title=Lynetta Kizer's Polish Basketball League Statistics|access-date=March 30, 2022}}

For the 2020–21 season, Kizer joined Della Fiore Broni of the Italian Women's Basketball League. She played four games in October 2020 and then left the team.{{cite web|url=https://basketball.eurobasket.com/team/Italy/Della-Fiore-Broni/8048?Women=1&Page=3&Stats=2021|title=Lynetta Kizer's Italian Women's Basketball League Statistics|access-date=March 30, 2022}}

Kizer played four games for the Çankaya University Sports Club to begin the 2021–22 season before joining Panathinaikos women's basketball team of the Greek women's basketball league in November 2021. She was waived by the team on 4 May 2022.{{cite news |title=Λύση της συνεργασίας με την Κάιζερ |url=https://www.pao1908.com/nea/63223_lysi-ti-synergasias-me-tin-kaizer |access-date=4 May 2022 |publisher=Παναθηναϊκός Αθλητικός Όμιλος |date=4 May 2022 |language=Greek}}

In 2023, Kizer played for Mexican team Rojas of the LNBPF. In 20 games, she averaged 11.4 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game.

In January 2024, Kizer joined Spanish team CB Islas Canarias. In seven games, she averaged 6.0 points and 4.1 rebounds per game.

In September 2024, Kizer signed with Geelong United of the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) for the 2024–25 season.{{cite news |title=LYNETTA KIZER IS UNITED {{!}} Geelong United |url=https://wnbl.basketball/geelong/2024/09/12/lynetta-kizer-is-united/ |access-date=31 October 2024 |work=Geelong United |date=12 September 2024}} She was released by Geelong on November 17, 2024.{{cite news |title=Lynetta Kizer Released From WNBL Contract {{!}} Geelong United |url=https://wnbl.basketball/geelong/2024/11/17/lynetta-kizer-released-from-wnbl-contract/ |access-date=12 January 2025 |work=Geelong United |date=17 November 2024}}

WNBA career statistics

=Regular season=

| align="left" | 2012

| align="left" | Tulsa

| 7 || 0 || 9.4 || .176 || .000 || .929 || 2.1 || 0.0 || 0.6 || 0.0 || 0.4 || 2.7

| align="left" | 2012

| align="left" | Phoenix

| 15 || 0 || 15.6 || .444 || .750 || .941 || 3.4 || 0.5 || 0.4 || 0.1 || 1.1 || 7.1

| align="left" | 2013

| align="left" | Phoenix

| 27 || 0 || 9.9 || .449 || .000 || .643 || 2.1 || 0.2 || 0.4 || 0.2 || 0.8 || 2.6

| align="left" | 2014

| align="left" | Indiana

| 31 || 1 || 9.0 || .431 || .000 || .619 || 2.4 || 0.1 || 0.3 || 0.3 || 0.8 || 3.8

| align="left" | 2015

| align="left" | Indiana

| 33 || 14 || 17.9 || .491 || .000 || .879 || 3.5 || 0.4 || 0.6 || 0.2 || 1.4 || 8.3

| align="left" | 2016

| align="left" | Indiana

| 33 || 12 || 17.2 || .556 || .000 || .8000 || 3.2 || 0.6 || 0.8 || 0.3 || 1.1 || 9.6

| align="left" | 2017

| align="left" | Connecticut

| 20 || 1 || 11.9 || .480 || .000 || .767 || 2.9 || 0.3 || 0.6 || 0.4 || 0.5 || 6.0

| align="left" | 2018

| align="left" | Minnesota

| 14 || 0 || 5.6 || .242 || .000 || .600 || 1.5 || 0.6 || 0.1 || 0.0 || 0.4 || 1.6

| align="left" | Career

| align="left" | 7 years, 5 teams

| 180 || 28 || 12.9 || .477 || .214 || .799 || 2.8 || 0.3 || 0.5 || 0.2 || 0.9 || 5.8

=Playoffs=

| align="left" | 2013

| align="left" | Phoenix

| 5 || 0 || 9.4 || .727 || .000 || .000 || 1.2 || 0.0 || 0.4 || 0.2 || 0.4 || 3.2

| align="left" | 2014

| align="left" | Indiana

| 5 || 0 || 6.0 || .429 || .000 || .750 || 1.2 || 0.6 || 0.2 || 0.4 || 0.0 || 3.0

| align="left" | 2015

| align="left" | Indiana

| 9 || 0 || 8.9 || .414 || .000 || .750 || 2.4 || 0.2 || 0.3 || 0.1 || 0.8 || 3.0

| align="left" | 2016

| align="left" | Indiana

| 1 || 0 || 13.0 || .667 || .000 || .000 || 2.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 4.0

| align="left" | Career

| align="left" | 4 years, 2 teams

| 20 || 0 || 8.5 || .491 || .000 || .667 || 1.8 || 0.3 || 0.3 || 0.2 || 0.5 || 3.1

National team career

Kizer was a member of the USA under-18 team which won the gold medal at the 2008 FIBA Americas Championship in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She helped the team win all five games, averaging 8.6 points per game.

Kizer played for Team USA at the 2011 World University Games in Shenzhen, China. The team, coached by Bill Fennelly, won all six games to earn the gold medal. Kizer averaged 7.0 points per game.

On May 14, 2015, it was announced that Kizer would be a member of the Bosnia and Herzegovina women's national basketball team. She played for Bosnia during 2015 FIBA EuroBasket Qualifiers and 2017 FIBA EuroBasket Qualifiers.{{cite web |title=Lynetta Kizer player in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BIH) |url=https://www.fiba.basketball/en/players/167533-lynetta-kizer |website=www.fiba.basketball |access-date=1 November 2024 |language=en |date=31 October 2024}}

References

{{Reflist|refs=

{{cite web|last1=|first1=|title=Women's Basketball Player stats|date=|url=http://web1.ncaa.org/stats/StatsSrv/careersearch|website=NCAA|accessdate=6 October 2015}}

{{cite web|url=http://www.usabasketball.com/news.php?news_page=08_wu18_game_05 |title=USA Women's U18 National Team Rolls Through FIBA Americas Championship Undefeated With 81–37 Victory Over Host Argentina |date=July 27, 2008 |publisher=USA Basketball |accessdate=10 Oct 2013 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100103165923/http://usabasketball.com/news.php?news_page=08_wu18_game_05 |archivedate=January 3, 2010 }}

{{cite web|url=http://www.usabasketball.com/women/2008/08_wu18_stats/USA.HTM |title=United States |date=July 27, 2008 |publisher=USA Basketball |accessdate=10 Oct 2013 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608064752/http://www.usabasketball.com/women/2008/08_wu18_stats/USA.HTM |archivedate=June 8, 2011 }}

{{cite web|title=Twenty-Sixth World University Games – 2011|url=http://www.usab.com/history/world-university-games-womens/twenty-sixth-world-university-games-2011.aspx|publisher=USA Basketball|accessdate=13 October 2015| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150907032048/http://www.usab.com/history/world-university-games-womens/twenty-sixth-world-university-games-2011.aspx| archive-date =7 September 2015|url-status=dead}}

{{cite web|title=Lynetta Kizer u reprezentaciji BiH|trans-title=Lynetta Kizer caps for National Team of Bosnia|url=http://www.bhbasket.ba/lynetta-kizer-u-reprezentaciji-bih/|publisher=Bhbasket.ba|accessdate=14 May 2015}}

}}