Azura Stevens: Deserving an All-Star spot but...omitted, A Lovely Article

[BlueSkyGLW]

Setbacks slowed Azurá Stevens’ ascent, but now she’s enjoying a breakthrough season

For much of her WNBA career, Los Angeles Sparks forward Azurá Stevens has been in search of consistency on and off the court. In her previous seven WNBA seasons…

andscape.com

[Gabby is her best friend!]

Best to read the whole article....it is really lovely.

“Consistency has always been a big thing, just for me to kind of be that player that people on the team can rely on, and it’s not like, oh, what are we going to get from her?” said Stevens, who narrowly missed out on making her first All-Star team this season. “This year I’ve been proud that I’ve been able to display that as much as I can.”

“I’ve been thrown a lot of different things … and had to adjust to that,” Stevens said. “I’m proud of myself for just continuing to show up in each opportunity that I’ve been given.”

“I was excited to coach her because I felt like what we wanted to do was kind of five out. She would play really well into that,” Roberts said of the Sparks’ offense, which incorporates all five players on the perimeter. “I think she’s performing as I was hoping, that she could kind of be a linchpin for us in that, and she’s done a tremendous job."

Perhaps what has stood out most about Stevens’ game this season has been her level of efficiency.

Stevens has an effective field goal percentage of 59.0%, the highest in her career. That ranks fourth among players averaging 25 minutes per game. Her true shooting percentage is a career-best 62.3%, also ranking fourth in the league.

“Azurá has always been this unicorn of a player, able to do everything. I’m excited to see her step into a leadership role,” said Seattle Storm forward Gabby Williams, Stevens’ best friend. “She’s always been really talented, but I can see her being the one that’s, like, angry when they lose. I can see her getting on her teammates now. … I think it’s putting pressure on her to be consistent every day. I think we’re seeing that.”

Roberts said Stevens’ positive presence and attitude around her teammates is unwavering.

“She shows up the same way every day. She’s just low maintenance, you know? Just a total pro,” Roberts said. “I think that’s how you breed the culture of consistency, and I think she personifies that.”

When asked what motivates her when she steps onto the court, Stevens’ answer didn’t allude to accolades or accomplishments. It wasn’t to be an All-Star or to make an All-WNBA team, and she already can call herself a champion.

Instead, Stevens said she is fueled by gratitude – to be healthy when she takes the court each night; to get the opportunity to play in a league that so few get to compete in; and to make her family proud. She has learned to enjoy every moment of her career.

More than most, she knows those moments can be fleeting.

“Our careers go by fast,” Stevens said. “Every opportunity is an opportunity just to go out and play and have fun.”

 

[JellyBean]

Awesome article. Azura is having a solid season. Wishing her all the best the rest of the season.

 

[WiseWillie]

Although her playing time at UConn was brief and while not ias impactful as Maya or Stewie or DT, Azura was a solid player and producer. She was named Sixth Player of the year and Newcomer of the Year in the AAC. Very nice article. She is a great athlete and wish her the best.

 

[Bone Dog]

I was impressed by how much her skills had developed when I saw her in the Unrivaled 1v1 tournament.

 

[EricLA]

I don't see where Azura was "deserving" of an all star spot - which implies she was snubbed. Having a great season, but on her own team, Hamby has better numbers by a decent margin almost across the board. Not to mention both Tina Charles and Brittany Sykes - both with better numbers as well.

I do agree that Citron and Iriafen don't have the numbers to support being an all star, but I suspect being high profile rookies, got many more fan votes than Sykes, Hamby, Charles, or Stevens.

IMHO if you were going to replace Citron and Iriafen, Sykes and Hamby deserved the honor. Charles and Stevens would have been next.

Having said that, she is a great "kid" and obviously a terrific teammate AND talented. I suspect the reason more UConn fans haven't enthusiastically embraced her is because she apparently promised Geno 2 years, and left after 1, because she wasn't keen on playing in the post.

 

[BlueSkyGLW]

I don't see where Azura was "deserving" of an all star spot - which implies she was snubbed. Having a great season, but on her own team, Hamby has better numbers by a decent margin almost across the board. Not to mention both Tina Charles and Brittany Sykes - both with better numbers as well.

I do agree that Citron and Iriafen don't have the numbers to support being an all star, but I suspect being high profile rookies, got many more fan votes than Sykes, Hamby, Charles, or Stevens.

IMHO if you were going to replace Citron and Iriafen, Sykes and Hamby deserved the honor. Charles and Stevens would have been next.

Having said that, she is a great "kid" and obviously a terrific teammate AND talented. I suspect the reason more UConn fans haven't enthusiastically embraced her is because she apparently promised Geno 2 years, and left after 1, because she wasn't keen on playing in the post.

If you read it carefully, beyond all her high ranking in a number of scoring and defensive metrics, her efficiency has been up there as well:

Stevens, who ranks seventh in the WNBA’s efficiency metric, was the only player in the top nine not selected as an All-Star.

Take that for what its worth.....despite being in LA, the noise about her performance this season has been relatively muted - it is not as attention-getting as the Mystics rookies doing what they have done. But has Iriafen done more? Nope.

You should also take a look at the complete performance stats that WNBA and ESPN publishes. Across the board, she is superior to Iriafen except for 0.4% in FTM percentage and overall is comparable to Reese in contributions to the team wherein they take turns in who is higher for a stat category.

I would consider her and Gabby close in stats comparison with Gabby leading in assists, steals and FTM (by 2%) but Azura is better in all the rest: Pts, FG%, Rebounds, blocks, etc., with a significant margin in scoring efficiency and rebounds offsetting Gabby's margins in assists and steals. Their defensive contributions are different: Gabby's in primarily perimeter and Azura's is interior.

And, in terms of vocal leadership, Gabby herself said it best, quoted in the article.

I do understand that the reserves are chosen by the coaches and they cannot overload players into positions. And they have to consider the player's role in the team which should include intangibles. If somebody complains about Briona Jones not chosen, they have a point. Dearica Hamby, too but it is NOT true that she is superior to Azura across the board; Azura leads in: rebounds, blocks and 3PM, 3P% but I can't find the Efficieny Rankings wherein Azura is supposed to be ranked 7th. In WNBA stats tables, there is a category named PIE (Player Impact Estimate) where Azura is ranked 11th and Dearica is 23, with a margin of 2.3 Azura. If you take only those who played 15 or more games, Azura is 8th and Dearica is 20th.

Finally, the Efficiency they are talking about is the last column in another WNBA table. It now shows Azura 8th and Dearica 10th. As for the intangibles, I believe what her coach has asked her to do - no restrictions on things she does on court as well as being encouraged to take more 3P shots is testament enough to her value as the coach sees it.

So, take that for what you will.....I had seen enough earlier before posting to say she is deserving and seeing all these now, I say repeat she is deserving.

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