.jpg) King with the Los Angeles Sparks in 2025 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 10, 2002 Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Bishop McNamara (Forestville, Maryland) |
| College |
|
| WNBA draft | 2025: 3rd round, 28th overall pick |
| Drafted by | Los Angeles Sparks |
| Position | Guard / power forward |
| Career history | |
| 2025 | Los Angeles Sparks |
| 2025 | Dallas Wings |
| Career highlights | |
| |
| Stats at WNBA.com | |
| Stats at Basketball Reference | |
Liatu King (born February 10, 2002) is an American professional basketball player who is a free agent. She played college basketball for the Pittsburgh Panthers and Notre Dame Fighting Irish. King was selected by the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) in the third round of the 2025 WNBA draft.
Early life
[edit]King was born on February 10, 2002 in Washington, D.C.[1][2] She and her younger sister were born to deaf parents; King began learning American Sign Language (ASL) at nine months old. As a child, she played American football as a linebacker.[3]
King attended Bishop McNamara High School in Forestville, Maryland,[4] where as a senior in 2020, she led the school's basketball team to a Washington Catholic Athletic Conference championship, the school's first since 2008; she scored a team-high 13 points in the championship game.[1][5] She was named to the All-WCAC second team as a junior and the conference's first team as a senior, tallying 1,024 points, 1,018 rebounds, and a 28–5 record in her high school career.[6]
College career
[edit]King began her college basketball career with the Pittsburgh Panthers. She played in all 19 games of her freshman year, averaging 5.0 points and 4.6 rebounds per game, including a season-high 15 points in a win against the Clemson Tigers. She played in 26 games during her sophomore year, averaging 7.5 points and 7.1 rebounds per game and recording double-doubles in consecutive games on two occasions; during the Paradise Jam tournament, she followed a 10-point, 19-rebound performance against the Texas A&M Aggies with 23 points and 19 rebounds in a victory against the Northwestern Wildcats. In her junior year, King played in all 30 games, averaging 9.4 points, 7.6 rebounds, 1.4 blocks, and 1.2 assists per game and recording five more double-doubles, with standout performances in wins against the North Alabama Lions (26 points, 16 rebounds) and Duquesne Dukes (25 points, 11 rebounds, 3 blocks). In her senior year, she started in all 32 games and averaged 18.7 points, 10.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.8 steals, and 1.5 blocks per game[1][2] on her way to securing 18 more double-doubles and first-team All-ACC honors.[7][8] She was also named the ACC's most-improved player for 2024 – the first Pittsburgh player to win a major individual ACC award[9] – and was one of three players in the conference that season to average a double-double.[8] She scored 30 points against the Northern Kentucky Norse and a career-high 34 points against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, the most points that Notre Dame allowed to an individual player that season.[1]
King's 18 double-doubles, 598 points, 329 rebounds, and 58 blocks as a senior ranked first, third, second, and first, respectively, in a season in Pittsburgh program history. Granted an extra year of NCAA eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic, she chose to play college basketball for a fifth season, transferring to Notre Dame to do so.[9]
In her fifth-year senior season at Notre Dame, starting in all 33 games,[2][10] King averaged 11.5 points and 2.0 steals per game.[1] She also averaged 10.4 rebounds per game, a Notre Dame program record.[11] King recorded 14 double-doubles on the season;[10] CBS Sports called her Notre Dame's "X-factor".[12] Notre Dame qualified for the 2025 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament, advancing as far as the Sweet Sixteen. She recorded ten points and six points in a round of 64 win over the Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks, added 18 points and 15 rebounds in a round of 32 victory against the Michigan Wolverines, and ended her college career with 17 points and ten rebounds in Notre Dame's Sweet Sixteen loss to the TCU Horned Frogs.[1] She was named second-team All-ACC for her season at Notre Dame.[11][13]
Professional career
[edit]Los Angeles Sparks
[edit]King was selected in the third round (28th overall) of the 2025 WNBA draft by the Los Angeles Sparks.[10] She played in the Sparks' preseason game on May 6, 2025, recording six points and four rebounds in five minutes.[14] The Sparks waived King on May 11[15] but re-signed her to a hardship contract on May 20.[16] In her first three regular-season games with the Sparks, her 12.7 minutes per game was the second-most among the team's bench players; she averaged 2.0 points and 3.3 rebounds per game in that span.[17] On June 28, she was released by the Sparks after averaging 3.0 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 0.3 assists in 12 games.[18]
Dallas Wings
[edit]On July 2, 2025, the Dallas Wings announced that they had signed King for a rest-of-season contract.[19] She was waived by the Wings on July 8 after appearing in two games.[20]
Career statistics
[edit]| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game | RPG | Rebounds per game |
| APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game | BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
| TO | Turnovers per game | FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| Bold | Career best | ° | League leader |
WNBA
[edit]| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Los Angeles | 12 | 0 | 10.0 | .500 | .167 | .733 | 2.1 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.9 | 3.0 |
| Dallas | 2 | 0 | 8.0 | .333 | — | — | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | |
| Career | 1 year, 2 teams | 14 | 0 | 9.7 | .481 | .167 | .733 | 2.1 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.8 | 2.7 |
College
[edit]| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020–21 | Pittsburgh | 19 | 0 | 14.3 | .461 | — | .591 | 4.6 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.9 | 5.0 |
| 2021–22 | Pittsburgh | 26 | 16 | 19.8 | .443 | — | .571 | 7.1 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 1.7 | 7.5 |
| 2022–23 | Pittsburgh | 30 | 22 | 23.4 | .394 | — | .670 | 7.6 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 9.4 |
| 2023–24 | Pittsburgh | 32 | 32 | 35.4 | .523 | — | .711 | 10.3 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 1.5 | 3.4 | 18.7 |
| 2024–25 | Notre Dame | 33 | 33 | 29.8 | .563 | .000 | .500 | 10.4 | 1.4 | 2.0 | 0.9 | 2.0 | 11.5 |
| Career | 140 | 103 | 25.8 | .491 | .000 | .637 | 8.4 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 11.1 | |
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f "Liatu King". University of Notre Dame athletics. Archived from the original on April 16, 2025. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
- ^ a b c d "Liatu King College Stats". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on January 14, 2025. Retrieved June 17, 2025.
- ^ Meyer, Craig (December 1, 2021). "How being raised in a deaf household shaped Pitt's Liatu King". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Archived from the original on January 27, 2022. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
- ^ a b "Liatu King WNBA stats". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on July 8, 2025. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
- ^ Steinbacher, David (February 28, 2020). "Bishop McNamara's Lady Mustangs top Paul VI for WCAC basketball crown". Catholic Standard. Archived from the original on August 4, 2025. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
- ^ Simms, Brandy (April 19, 2025). "A pair of Bishop McNamara grads selected in WNBA Draft". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on April 30, 2025. Retrieved June 17, 2025.
- ^ "Notre Dame women's hoops adds 2 big-time transfers". WNDU-TV. May 6, 2024. Archived from the original on May 10, 2024. Retrieved June 23, 2025.
- ^ a b Byrne, Pete (May 6, 2024). "Top women's basketball transfers King, Karlen commit to Notre Dame". South Bend Tribune. Archived from the original on May 12, 2024. Retrieved June 23, 2025.
- ^ a b Campbell, Dominic (May 6, 2024). "Pitt F Liatu King Finds New Home". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on May 10, 2024. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
- ^ a b c Bell, Gayle (April 14, 2025). "What are the Los Angeles Sparks getting in Liatu King after drafting the Notre Dame guard". South Bend Tribune. Archived from the original on April 16, 2025. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
- ^ a b Wise, Bennett (April 14, 2025). "Sonia Citron taken No. 3 overall in WNBA Draft, Westbeld & King selected in 2nd and 3rd". WSBT-TV. Archived from the original on April 16, 2025. Retrieved June 23, 2025.
- ^ Gonzalez, Isabel (February 20, 2025). "Hannah Hidalgo, Olivia Miles are Notre Dame's headliners, but here's the X-factor for No. 1 Fighting Irish". CBS Sports. Archived from the original on April 27, 2025. Retrieved June 17, 2025.
- ^ "Notre Dame's Liatu King selected 28th overall in WNBA Draft by Los Angeles Sparks". WNDU-TV. April 14, 2025. Archived from the original on April 15, 2025. Retrieved June 17, 2025.
- ^ Shlensky, Jared (May 8, 2025). "Notre Dame's King plays well in WNBA Debut with Los Angeles Sparks". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on May 14, 2025. Retrieved June 17, 2025.
- ^ Geffner, Ben (May 13, 2025). "Sparks Waive Rookie Ahead of 2025 Roster Deadline". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on May 15, 2025. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
- ^ Neill, Jackson (May 20, 2025). "Former Notre Dame forward Liatu King signs hardship deal with Los Angeles Sparks". WNDU-TV. Archived from the original on July 22, 2025. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
- ^ Davis, John W. (May 26, 2025). "Sparks rookie Liatu King is making the most of her hardship contract". The Orange County Register. Archived from the original on July 20, 2025. Retrieved June 17, 2025.
- ^ Nacach, Eric (June 29, 2025). "WNBA Team Releases Rookie After Indiana Fever Game". Athlon Sports. Archived from the original on June 30, 2025. Retrieved July 1, 2025.
- ^ "Dallas Wings sign forward Liatu King to rest-of-season contract". The Dallas Morning News. July 2, 2025. Archived from the original on August 4, 2025. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
- ^ Brown, Briauna (July 8, 2025). "Dallas Wings fell to Phoenix Mercury behind Sami Whitcomb's career-high 36 points, losing 72-102". CBS News. Archived from the original on July 25, 2025. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
External links
[edit]- Living people
- 2002 births
- American women's basketball players
- Basketball players from Washington, D.C.
- Guards (basketball)
- Power forwards
- Los Angeles Sparks draft picks
- Los Angeles Sparks players
- Pittsburgh Panthers women's basketball players
- Notre Dame Fighting Irish women's basketball players
- 21st-century American sportswomen
- Dallas Wings players