Lauren Elizabeth Cox (born April 20, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for Virtus Bologna (Italy).[1] She played college basketball for the Baylor Lady Bears.[2] She was named a preseason All-American by Lindy's Sports, Athlon Sports, and Street & Smith prior to the 2019 season beginning. In November 2019, ESPN ranked Cox as the second-best collegiate women's basketball player in the country behind Sabrina Ionescu.[3] She would be named Big 12 Player of the Year that season.[4]
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | April 20, 1998 Flower Mound, Texas, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 205 lb (93 kg) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| High school | Flower Mound (Flower Mound, Texas) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| College | Baylor (2016–2020) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| WNBA draft | 2020: 1st round, 3rd overall pick | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Selected by the Indiana Fever | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 2020–present | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Power forward | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number | 13 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career history | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2020–2021 | Indiana Fever | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021 | Los Angeles Sparks | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022–2023 | Valencia Basket Club | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | Connecticut Sun | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023–2024 | Virtus Bologna | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024–present | Townsville Fire | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Stats at Basketball Reference | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medals
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Professional career
editCox was drafted by the Indiana Fever at the 2020 WNBA draft on April 17, 2020 with the 3rd overall pick. In her rookie season she played 14 games, averaging 3.6 points and 3.3 rebounds. During her sophomore season, she played in 11 games for the Fever before being abruptly waived on June 27, 2021. Three days later on June 30, 2021, she signed with the Los Angeles Sparks, finishing the season with them by playing in 15 games and averaging 3.5 points and 3.7 rebounds.
Cox was not signed after finishing the 2021 season with the Sparks. And thus, would miss the entire 2022 season. In June, 2022, it was announced she would be joining Valencia Basket Club for 2022-2023 season of the Liga Femenina de Baloncesto.[5] She also played in the FIBA World Cup 3x3 Basketball Tournament during the summer of 2022.
On February 7, 2023, the Connecticut Sun announced that they signed Cox and Kristine Anigwe (9th overall pick of the 2019 WNBA Draft) to training camp contracts.
WNBA 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 |
Regular season
edit| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Indiana | 14 | 1 | 13.1 | .419 | .500 | .733 | 3.3 | 1.4 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 3.6 |
| 2021 | Indiana | 11 | 0 | 8.6 | .316 | .333 | 1.000 | 2.0 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 1.4 |
| Los Angeles | 15 | 0 | 14.0 | .413 | .200 | .778 | 3.7 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 3.5 | |
| 2023 | Connecticut | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | — | — | — | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Career | 2 years, 2 teams | 41 | 1 | 11.9 | .398 | .357 | .771 | 3.0 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 2.9 |
High school
editCox was one of the top-rated high school basketball players in the country. She was the 2016 Women's Basketball Coaches Association High School Player of the Year.[2]
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 |
College
edit| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016–17 | Baylor | 37 | 1 | 13.4 | .433 | .412 | .747 | 4.1 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 1.4 | 1.1 | 7.6 |
| 2017–18 | Baylor | 34 | 34 | 30.2 | .516 | .304 | .748 | 9.7 | 2.9 | 1.1 | 2.7 | 1.7 | 15.3 |
| 2018–19 | Baylor | 38 | 38 | 29.5 | .522 | .306 | .734 | 8.3 | 3.7 | 0.8 | 2.6 | 1.5 | 13.0 |
| 2019–20* | Baylor | 22 | 22 | 30.2 | .463 | .333 | .614 | 8.4 | 3.6 | 1.3 | 2.7 | 1.6 | 12.5 |
| Career | 131 | 95 | 25.2 | .492 | .322 | .725 | 7.5 | 2.8 | 0.8 | 2.3 | 1.5 | 12.0 | |
* 2020 NCAA tournament canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic
Personal life
editCox was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of 7. She wears an insulin pump during games.[6] In each season of Cox's Baylor career, the Lady Bears played a preseason type 1 diabetes benefit game. The 2019 edition of the game, in Cox's final season at Baylor, was especially significant for her personally, as the opponent was defending NCAA Division II champion Lubbock Christian, which featured her younger sister Whitney—who had been diagnosed with the disease at age 17—as a freshman reserve. Near the end of the 2019–20 season, the United States Basketball Writers Association announced that both sisters would receive the Pat Summitt Most Courageous Award for their basketball and community involvement in the face of their condition.[7]
References
edit- ^ "Lauren Cox è una nuova giocatrice di Virtus Segafredo Bologna!" (in Italian). 2023-07-12. Retrieved 2024-01-25.
- ^ a b "Lauren Cox - Women's Basketball". Baylor University Athletics.
- ^ "The top 25 players in women's college basketball". ESPN.com. 4 November 2019. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
- ^ "2019-20 Phillips 66 All-Big 12 WBB Awards Announced" (Press release). Big 12 Conference. March 9, 2020. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
- ^ Calabuig, Pascu (2022-06-01). "El Valencia Basket ficha a la estadounidense Lauren Cox". Superdeporte (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-06-01.
- ^ Litman, Laken (7 November 2019). "Baylor Center Lauren Cox Going for Back-to-Back Titles". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
- ^ Greenberg, Mel (February 2020). "Most Courageous Cox sisters battle Type 1 diabetes". United States Basketball Writers Association. Archived from the original on July 20, 2021. Retrieved March 3, 2020.