Mercury Acquires All-Star Danielle Robinson

The three-time WNBA Champion Phoenix Mercury today acquired three-time All-Star point guard Danielle Robinson from the San Antonio Stars in exchange for reserve center Isabelle Harrison and the Mercury’s 2017 first-round pick (fifth overall).

“There are not a lot of players who immediately improve your team offensively and defensively, but Danielle Robinson is one of those players,” said Mercury General Manager Jim Pitman. “She is an elite point guard and legitimate All-Star in this league who can create for herself and others, and whose game really compliments Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner.  This is an acquisition that absolutely helps with our goal to win a championship in 2017.”

The 5-9, 125-pound Robinson is a three-time WNBA All-Star (2013, 2014, 2015), who is known for her game-changing speed at both ends of the floor.  A five-year pro, Robinson appeared in three-straight All-Star Games after ranking in the top four in the WNBA in assists from 2013-2015, including a league-leading and career-high 6.7 assists in 2013.  Her career 4.9-assist average ranks seventh in the history of the league, fourth among active players. She is a career 45.8-percent shooter from the field, in part because of her ability to get to the rim.

Robinson missed the 2016 season due to injury but is fully recovered and currently playing for Mersin in Turkey, where she is average 11.8 points, 5.2 assists and 3.5 rebounds through four games.

Robinson was named to the All-WNBA Second Team following what was her best season in 2014, after averaging a career-high 12.9 points, career-high 3.5 rebounds and team-best 5.3 assists per game.  That season, she ranked eighth in the league in steals, with a career-high 1.7 per game.

Originally the sixth overall pick of the 2011 WNBA Draft by San Antonio, Robinson was a four-year standout at Oklahoma, where she became just the fourth player in women’s NCAA history to cross the 2,000-point, 700-assist and 300-steal marks in a career (Nancy LiebermanDawn StaleyCourtney Vandersloot). She was a three-time First-Team All-Big 12 selection, a four-time member of the All-Big 12 Defensive Team and a finalist for the 2009, 2010 and 2011 Nancy Lieberman Award as the nation’s top point guard.

Harrison was the Mercury’s first-round selection (12th overall) in the 2015 WNBA Draft, but didn’t make her WNBA debut until 2016 after suffering a knee injury while in college. She appeared in 26 games Phoenix last season, averaging 3.1 points and 1.8 rebounds per contest.