Nia Coffey
American basketball player (born 1995)
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Nia Coffey (born June 11, 1995) is an American professional basketball player with the Minnesota Lynx of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). A small forward, she was drafted with the fifth overall pick in the 2017 WNBA draft, which is the highest of any Northwestern basketball player in school history.[1]
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Coffey with the Atlanta Dream in 2023 | |||||||||||||||
| Minnesota Lynx | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Small forward | ||||||||||||||
| League | WNBA | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | June 11, 1995 Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 182 lb (83 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school | Hopkins (Minnetonka, Minnesota) | ||||||||||||||
| College | Northwestern (2013–2017) | ||||||||||||||
| WNBA draft | 2017: 1st round, 5th overall pick | ||||||||||||||
| Drafted by | San Antonio Stars | ||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 2017–present | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
| 2017–2018 | San Antonio Stars / Las Vegas Aces | ||||||||||||||
| 2017–2018 | Maccabi Ramat Gan | ||||||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | Adelaide Lightning | ||||||||||||||
| 2019 | Arka Gdynia | ||||||||||||||
| 2019 | Atlanta Dream | ||||||||||||||
| 2019 | Çukurova Basketbol | ||||||||||||||
| 2020 | Phoenix Mercury | ||||||||||||||
| 2021 | Maccabi Haifa | ||||||||||||||
| 2021 | Los Angeles Sparks | ||||||||||||||
| 2021–2022 | Flammes Carolo Basket Ardennes | ||||||||||||||
| 2022–present | Atlanta Dream | ||||||||||||||
| 2025 | Townsville Fire | ||||||||||||||
| Career highlights | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Stats at WNBA.com | |||||||||||||||
| Stats at Basketball Reference | |||||||||||||||
Medals
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Coffey attended Hopkins High School in Minnetonka, Minnesota where she was a McDonald's All-American.[2]
She is the daughter of former NBA player, Richard Coffey, and the sister of current NBA player, Amir Coffey.[3]
College career
Nia Coffey Entered her first year at Northwestern as the starting power forward. On November 5, 2013, she made her collegiate debut recording 14 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks in a 98–57 win over Lewis University.[4] At the end of her freshman season she was the first player in Northwestern History to be named first-team all-Big Ten as a freshman.[5]
On January 29, 2015, Coffey registered her career high of 35 points in a 102–99 loss against Iowa.[6]
In her junior season she broke the Northwestern Wildcats women's basketball record for most rebounds in a season with 344. Which she held until the 2017–18 season.[7] She ended that season as an Honorable Mention for a spot on the WBCA All American Team and on the AP All-American Team.[5]
In her senior season Coffey broke the NU records for most consecutive games scoring in double figures, total rebounds, free throws made, free throw attempts and field goal attempts in a career. She received another Honorable Mention for the AP All American Team.[8]
Nia Coffey ended her career as the first Player in NU history to make the All Big Ten First Team (Coaches) in all four years of playing. She also made All Big Ten First Team (Media) in her final three seasons. Coffey Led NU in scoring and rebounding for all 4 years of her career.[8]
Professional career
WNBA
San Antonio Stars / Las Vegas Aces
On April 13, 2017, Coffey was drafted by the San Antonio Stars with the 5th pick of the 2017 WNBA draft.[9] This was the highest any NU basketball player had ever been drafted.
She made her debut on May 13, 2017, in the season-opener against the New York Liberty.[10]
On May 27, 2018, she scored her career high of 23 points in a 98–103 loss against the Seattle Storm.[11]
Atlanta Dream (first stint)
on April 11, 2019, she was traded to the Atlanta Dream in a three-team trade where the Aces received Sugar Rodgers.[12]
Phoenix Mercury
On February 19, 2020, Coffey was traded to the Phoenix Mercury as part of a three-team trade.[13]
On February 10, 2021, Coffey was waived.[14]
Los Angeles Sparks
On March 4, 2021, Coffey was signed to the Los Angeles Sparks.[15]
On June 1, 2021, she recorded a career-high 6 blocks in a game against the Dallas Wings.[16]
This season Coffey scored a career-high 8.3 PPG and also played a career high in minutes.
Atlanta Dream (second stint)
On February 1, 2022, Coffey signed a one-year deal with the Dream.[17]
On February 1, 2023, Coffey re-signed a second one-year deal with the dream.[18]
On February 1, 2024, Coffey re-signed with the dream on a two-year contract.[19]
Overseas
Coffey played for Maccabi Ramat Gan of the Israeli Female Basketball Premier League in the 2017–2018 season.[20]
Coffey played for the Adelaide Lightning of the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) in the 2018–19 WNBL season.[21]
Coffey joined Arka Gdynia of the Basket Liga Kobiet in February 2019.[22]
Coffey played for Çukurova Basketbol of the Women's Basketball Super League from October to November 2019.[23]
In January 2021, Coffey signed with Maccabi Haifa of the Israeli Premier League.[24]
Coffey played for Flammes Carolo Basket Ardennes of the Ligue Féminine de Basketball in the 2021–2022 season.[25]
In January 2025, Coffey signed with the Townsville Fire of the WNBL.[26]
National career
Coffey played for Team USA in the 2013 FIBA Under-19 World Championship for Women. She broke the Team USA record for most free throws without a miss in the U19 tournament with 11.[27]
Career statistics
WNBA
| 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 |
Regular season
Stats current through end of 2025 season
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | San Antonio | 27 | 1 | 7.8 | .271 | .000 | .727 | 1.9 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 1.8 |
| 2018 | Las Vegas | 28 | 10 | 13.8 | .380 | .400 | .618 | 2.4 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 1.4 | 5.3 |
| 2019 | Atlanta | 28 | 6 | 13.9 | .338 | .379 | .548 | 2.8 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 5.0 |
| 2020 | Phoenix | 15 | 1 | 15.3 | .421 | .333 | .167 | 2.5 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 2.7 |
| 2021 | Los Angeles | 32° | 17 | 25.2 | .421 | .417 | .778 | 3.8 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 1.2 | 1.4 | 8.3 |
| 2022 | Atlanta | 16 | 16 | 21.0 | .347 | .290 | .742 | 5.2 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 2.2 | 6.4 |
| 2023 | Atlanta | 31 | 31 | 21.9 | .432 | .402 | .625 | 4.8 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 1.2 | 1.5 | 6.9 |
| 2024 | Atlanta | 40 | 11 | 13.3 | .324 | .273 | .762 | 2.4 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 1.0 | 3.3 |
| 2025 | Atlanta | 44 | 2 | 10.3 | .374 | .293 | .720 | 2.6 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 3.9 |
| Career | 9 years, 4 teams | 261 | 95 | 15.4 | .376 | .352 | .667 | 3.0 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 1.0 | 4.8 |
Playoffs
College
| Year | Team | GP | Points | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-14 | Northwestern | 32 | 490 | 46.4% | 31.3% | 66.9% | 8.1 | 2.1 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 15.3 |
| 2014–15 | Northwestern | 32 | 505 | 44.0% | 32.8% | 62.1% | 8.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 15.8 |
| 2015–16 | Northwestern | 35 | 711 | 43.2% | 31.4% | 62.5% | 9.8 | 2.1 | 1.1 | 2.1 | 20.3 |
| 2016–17 | Northwestern | 29 | 581 | 42.9% | 28.0% | 71.2% | 10.4 | 2.7 | 1.2 | 1.4 | 20.0 |
| Career | 128 | 2287 | 44.0% | 30.7% | 65.9% | 9.2 | 2.1 | 1.4 | 1.8 | 17.9 | |
