Rebekkah Brunson

Rebekkah Brunson (born December 11, 1981) is an American basketball coach and broadcast analyst.

She is currently an assistant coach with the Minnesota Lynx of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).

Brunson is a former forward for the Lynx and is the only player to win five WNBA championships.

She also played on the U.S. team in the 2003 Pan American Games.

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Brunson was named to the team representing the US at the 2003 Pan American Games.

The team lost the opening game to Cuba, then rebounded to win their next five games, including an overtime win against Brazil.

They then faced Cuba for the gold medal, falling short 75–64 to take home the silver medal.

Brunson shot 57% from the field, and ended up as the leading scorer as well as the leading rebounder for the USA team.

Brunson graduated from Georgetown University in 2004 as its women's basketball program's all-time leading rebounder.

The Sacramento Monarchs chose Brunson in the 1st round of the 2004 WNBA draft as the tenth overall pick.

She played in Sacramento for six seasons and contributed to the Monarchs' 2005 WNBA Championship victory.

She led the league in offensive rebounds per game (3.9) and total offensive rebounds (130) for the 2007 regular season.

After the Monarchs suspended operations in the fall of 2009, the Minnesota Lynx acquired Brunson in a dispersal draft.

In 2011, Brunson tied a WNBA record with six consecutive double-doubles, and was named WNBA Player of the Month for June, the first member of the Lynx to be so honored.

She was later named to the 2011 WNBA All-Star game, and started in place of an injured Candace Parker.

Brunson led the Lynx in field goal percentage and rebounds in a year where the team had the best record in the WNBA.

She was honored with her first appearance on the WNBA All-Defensive First Team; she had earned second-team honors three previous times.

The Lynx would go on to win the 2011 WNBA Championship.

Brunson was one of 21 finalists for the 2012 U.S. Women's Olympic Basketball Team Roster.

Brunson won her third league title in 2013.

Brunson again made the All-Star Game, starting in place of the injured Brittney Griner.

Brunson set the career mark for rebounds in the Finals, with 130, breaking the record held by former teammate Taj McWilliams-Franklin.

She also broke McWilliams-Franklin's record for Finals games played, with 19.

She played with Dynamo Kursk, along with Lynx teammate Seimone Augustus from 2013 to 2016.

In 2015, Brunson would win her fourth WNBA championship with the Lynx as they defeated the Indiana Fever in five games.

Following a finals loss in 2016 to the Los Angeles Sparks, Brunson would be selected into the 2017 WNBA All-Star Game, replacing an injured Brittney Griner, making it her fourth career all-star game appearance.

As of 2017, Brunson also became the all-time league leader in career offensive rebounds.

Later on in the 2017 season, Brunson became the first player in league history to win 5 WNBA championships, as the Lynx defeated the Los Angeles Sparks in five games, avenging the previous year's Finals loss.

In 2018, Brunson passed Tamika Catchings, who had 3,317 career rebounds, to become the league's all-time rebounding leader.

She was also announced as an all-star replacement for Nneka Ogwumike in the 2018 WNBA All-Star Game, making it her fifth all-star appearance.

Brunson however missed the playoffs due to injury.

The Lynx finished 18–16 with the number 7 seed and lost in the first round elimination game to the Los Angeles Sparks, ending their streak of three consecutive finals appearances.

She held the WNBA record for rebounding, which she ceded to Lynx center Sylvia Fowles in 2020.

Brunson was born in Washington, D.C., and attended Oxon Hill High School in Maryland.

Brunson officially retired in February 2020, when she was hired as assistant coach of the Lynx.

The Lynx retired her jersey on July 3, 2022.

In 2023, Brunson was named to the Lynx All-25 Team as one of the best 25 players in the team's history.

During WNBA offseasons, Brunson has played for Taranto, an Italian professional basketball team, for the Dynamo team based in Russia, and Dexia Namur, a professional club in Belgium, and for Nadezhda team based in Orenburg, Russia.

She then played for USK Prague, with which she won the Czech League title (4–2 vs BK Brno) and reached the Women's Euroleague Top 16.