Seimone Augustus

Seimone Delicia Augustus (born April 30, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player who is one of the most recognizable faces in the WNBA.

She participated in the 2002 WBCA High School All-America Game where she scored fourteen points, and earned MVP honors.

During her collegiate career with the LSU Lady Tigers, the two-time All-American won the Naismith College Player of the Year, Wooden Award and Wade Trophy in 2005 and 2006 while leading the LSU to three straight Final Four appearances.

The Lady Tigers however, never advanced beyond the semi-final round.

She averaged 19.3 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2 assists per game in her collegiate career.

During her final year, she won the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, recognizing her as the nation's top senior women's basketball player.

She was drafted first overall by the Minnesota Lynx in the 2006 draft; and played for the Lynx for most of her WNBA career except for her final season in 2020 with the Los Angeles Sparks.

Augustus graduated from Louisiana State University in 2006.

Augustus was drafted No. 1 overall in 2006 WNBA draft by the Minnesota Lynx.

Selected as a reserve for the 2006 WNBA All Star Game at Madison Square Garden, Augustus led the West squad with 16 points and won the Skills Competition the previous evening.

Augustus finished 2006 second to the Mercury's Diana Taurasi in scoring at 21.9 points per game, a rookie record.

Only one player (Taurasi 2006), scored more points in a single season.

In addition, she finished sixth in free throw percentage (.897).

On August 20, Augustus was named the 2006 WNBA Rookie of the Year.

The former LSU star improved to a career-high 22.6 points per game in 2007, while shooting nearly 51% from the field.

An All Star for the second straight year, Augustus finished second to Seattle's Lauren Jackson in scoring average and played in all 34 games.

The Lynx however, finished 10–24 tied with Los Angeles Sparks for the league's worst record.

Augustus also made her first all-star game since 2007.

She finished eighth in MVP voting, and was named Second Team All-WNBA for the third time in her career, and the first since 2007.

Augustus elevated her game in the playoffs.

In June 2009, Seimone suffered a season-ending injury, a torn ACL, against the Phoenix Mercury.

Her uniform number (33) was retired by LSU on January 9, 2010, making her the first female athlete in school history to receive that honor.

In January 2023, she became the first female athlete in school history to have a statue of her on the school campus; that statue is in front of the school’s basketball training center next to statues of Bob Pettit, Shaquille O'Neal, and Pete Maravich, who also played for LSU.

Augustus also played with future WNBA teammate Sylvia Fowles during her collegiate career at LSU.

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Augustus's return in 2010 was derailed by medical issues as well, as she was forced to undergo surgery to remove fibroid tumors, including one the size of a golf ball.

Augustus had attempted to postpone surgery until after the season, but the pain was too difficult to play through.

Despite the setback, Augustus returned to play the final 25 games of the season.

An eight-time All-Star and the 2011 finals MVP, Augustus led the Lynx to four WNBA championships.

She also won three gold medals in the Olympics on the U.S. national team.

In addition to the WNBA and the national team, she played for overseas for different teams, ending with the Dynamo Kursk.

Augustus was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; she is the daughter of Seymore and Kim Augustus.

Before her freshman year in high school, Augustus was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated for Women, with a headline that asked, "Is She the Next Michael Jordan?"

Augustus played for Capitol High School in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where she was named a WBCA All-American.

Augustus was finally back to full strength in 2011, and a part of a potent Lynx team that included a supporting cast of Lindsay Whalen, Rebekkah Brunson and newly acquired rookie Maya Moore.

Augustus led the team in scoring and served as the team's lead defender as the Lynx rolled to a league best 27–7 record.

She led the Lynx in scoring in five of their eight games, and scored the second-highest number of points in WNBA Finals history – 36 – in game two of the 2011 WNBA Finals.

The Lynx swept the Atlanta Dream in the title round, with Augustus being unanimously named Finals MVP.

The Lynx were not a flash in the pan; they would return to the finals the next two seasons, losing to the Indiana Fever in 2012, and defeating Atlanta again in 2013.

After retiring as a player in 2020, she was an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) for two seasons.