Naz Hillmon selected by Atlanta Dream in 2022 WNBA Draft
Naz Hillmon will go down as one of the best Michigan basketball players in the storied history of both the men’s and women’s programs. Now, the next step of her basketball career has been revealed.
Hillmon , a star forward, was selected with the No. 15 overall pick by the Atlanta Dream in Monday night’s 2022 WNBA Draft. She declared for the draft on March 29 with one year of college eligibility remaining.
Hillmon’s Michigan accolades put her in the conversation with some of the all-time greats. She is the first Wolverine to earn All-America honors in women’s program history, which she did in both 2021 and 2022. Hillmon is the only player – male or female – in the Michigan record books with 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds.
Hillmon averaged 21 points, 9.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game this season and tallied 18 double-doubles.
Naz Hillmon leaves lasting legacy at Michigan
Head coach Kim Barnes Arico often pumped up her star player during her time in Ann Arbor, but it went beyond what she did on the basketball court. Hillmon was a leader in the community and her impact on the program will be sorely missed.
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“We speak about it non-stop because it’s on the court, but it’s off the court as well,” Barnes Arico said. “What she’s done in the community, what she’s done inside our athletic department, what she’s done for the Big Ten — it’s never-ending, the mark that she is leaving across the board.”
Plenty of legends and numbers hang in the rafters at Crisler Center in Ann Arbor. None of them are 00, and none of them are Naz Hillmon.
Barnes Arico is a vocal supporter of Hillmon’s number being retired. Hillmon wants everyone to know that would be a team accomplishment.
“What my coach said about my jersey, knowing how many great players that she’s coached and has been around, for her to say that means the world,” Hillmon said. “That’s someone who took a chance on me when I was 18 years old. I’ll continue to say that I’m not the player I am without my teammates and my coaches surrounding me. In terms of the jersey retirement, if that happens, you put the years of all my teammates on there, too.”
