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Aziaha James
View on WikipediaAziaha James (born November 19, 2002) is an American professional basketball player for the Dallas Wings of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played college basketball at NC State. She was selected 12th overall by the Wings in the 2025 WNBA draft.
Key Information
High school career
[edit]James played basketball for Princess Anne High School in Virginia Beach, Virginia. As a junior, she repeated as the Daily Press All-Tidewater Player of the Year and was named Virginia High School League Class 5 Player of the Year.[1] Four days after the death of her brother, James scored a career-high 41 points in a quarterfinal win at the Class 5 state tournament.[2] She helped her team win the state title in each of her four seasons and its eighth straight as a senior.[3] Rated a four-star recruit by ESPN, she committed to play college basketball for NC State.[4][5]
College career
[edit]As a freshman at NC State, James averaged 4.2 points per game and was named to the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) All-Freshman Team.[6] In her sophomore season, she averaged 6.8 points and 2.3 assists per game, primarily coming off the bench.[7] As a junior, James entered a leading role and was named first-team All-ACC. She helped NC State reach the Final Four of the 2024 NCAA tournament, its first appearance since 1998, and earned most outstanding player honors for the Portland 4 Regional.[8] In her last season, James averaged 17,9 points and 4,9 rebounds per game, playing a key role in leading the Wolfpack to its 10th Sweet 16 appearance.[9]
Professional career
[edit]WNBA
[edit]Dallas Wings (2025–present)
[edit]On April 14, 2025, James was selected 12th overall by the Dallas Wings in the 2025 WNBA draft.[10] Despite falling to No. 12 in the draft, James quickly established herself as a key contributor to the Wings, making impact on both ends of the floor.[11] On June 20, 2025, James scored a career-high 17 points on a 86–83 win against the Connecticut Sun. At that point, she and teammate Paige Bueckers were the only rookies that season to record a 15-point, 5-rebound, 5-assist game.[12] She surpassed that mark on July 3, when she set a new career-high with 28 points, knocking down five three-pointers while adding six rebounds and six assists.[13] With that performance, James joined Caitlin Clark, Sabrina Ionescu, Breanna Stewart, and Diana Taurasi as the only rookies in WNBA history to record a game with at least 25 points, 5 assists, 5 rebounds, and 5 made threes.[14][15] James finished her rookie campaign averaging 7.5 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game while appearing in 38 of the team's 44 games.[16]
Personal life
[edit]James' older brother, Ashley "AJ" James, committed to play college basketball for Missouri State but died in an accidental shooting in 2020, before entering college.[17]
In April 2024, James attended Kelsey Plum's second annual Dawg Class, a 3-day camp with the purpose of helping top women college athletes transition from collegiate to professional basketball.[18] The 2024 camp was held at the IMG Academy and sponsored by Under Armour.[18]
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 |
WNBA
[edit]Regular season
[edit]Stats current through end of 2025 season
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Dallas | 38 | 8 | 17.7 | .373 | .286 | .745 | 2.9 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 1.0 | 7.5 |
| Career | 1 year, 1 team | 38 | 8 | 17.7 | .373 | .286 | .745 | 2.9 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 1.0 | 7.5 |
College
[edit]| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021–22 | NC State | 25 | 0 | 9.5 | 42.6 | 29.3 | 38.1 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 4.2 |
| 2022–23 | NC State | 32 | 6 | 18.8 | 40.7 | 28.8 | 63.6 | 2.9 | 2.3 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 1.3 | 6.8 |
| 2023–24 | NC State | 38 | 38 | 31.8 | 41.6 | 34.2 | 78.1 | 4.6 | 2.9 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 2.2 | 16.8 |
| 2024–25 | NC State | 35 | 34 | 31.1 | 44.5 | 33.3 | 75.0 | 4.9 | 2.6 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 2.0 | 17.9 |
| Career | 130 | 78 | 24.1 | 42.6 | 32.8 | 72.0 | 3.7 | 2.2 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 1.6 | 12.2 | |
| Statistics retrieved from Sports-Reference.[20] | |||||||||||||
References
[edit]- ^ "Princess Anne's Aziaha James adds VHSL state Class 5 Player of Year to many honors". The Virginian-Pilot. April 3, 2020. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
- ^ "Princess Anne's Aziaha James persevered, became the All-Tidewater Girls Basketball Player of the Year". Daily Press. March 20, 2020. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
- ^ "Princess Anne wins 8th consecutive girls basketball state championship". The Virginian-Pilot. February 20, 2021. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
- ^ "Aziaha James 2021 High School Girls' Basketball Profile". ESPN. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
- ^ Friedlander, Brett (May 30, 2020). "Women's Basketball Lands Another 5-Star Recruit". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
- ^ Rubama, Larry (December 19, 2023). "Former Princess Anne star Aziaha James returns to Hampton Roads to lead No. 3 N.C. State against ODU". The Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
- ^ Ellis, Ben; Trotter, Colby (March 9, 2024). "NC State women's basketball dominates Florida State, advances to ACC title game". Technician. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
- ^ Philppou, Alexa (March 31, 2024). "MOP Aziaha James, NC State rout Texas, reach Final Four". ESPN. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
- ^ "No. 2 Seed NC State Set for Rematch vs. No. 3 Seed LSU in NCAA Tournament Sweet 16". NC State University Athletics. Retrieved 2025-10-24.
- ^ Holland, Monica. "Pros and cons of Dallas Wings taking Aziaha James of NC State basketball in WNBA draft". The Fayetteville Observer. Retrieved 2025-04-28.
- ^ Graham, Arie (2025-06-24). "How rookie Aziaha James is finding her way with the Dallas Wings". The IX Basketball. Retrieved 2025-10-24.
- ^ "Paige Bueckers scores 21 points, Aziaha James posts career high as Dallas Wings beat Connecticut Sun 86-83 - CBS Texas". www.cbsnews.com. 2025-06-21. Retrieved 2025-10-24.
- ^ Edañol, Yasmin (2025-07-04). "How Paige Bueckers, Aziaha James made history vs. Mercury". ClutchPoints. Retrieved 2025-10-24.
- ^ "Dallas Wings rookie joined Caitlin Clark in WNBA history against Phoenix Mercury". Dallas Wings On SI. 2025-07-05. Retrieved 2025-10-24.
- ^ read, Ian CasselberryContributing writer·2 min (2025-07-04). "Aziaha James scores career-high 28 points, Paige Bueckers adds 23 as Wings upset Mercury". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved 2025-10-24.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Dallas Wings guard reflects on rookie season". Dallas Wings On SI. 2025-09-15. Retrieved 2025-10-24.
- ^ Pyrtle, Bryan (March 6, 2024). "NC State's Aziaha James fueled by tragedy, unfinished business in breakout season". 247Sports. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
- ^ a b "(Dawg) Class Is Back in Session". Under Armour. April 19, 2024. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
- ^ "Aziaha James WNBA Stats". Basketball Reference.
- ^ "Aziaha James College Stats". Sports-Reference. Retrieved April 11, 2024.