Nikki Blue
Personal information
Born (1984-03-29) March 29, 1984
Bakersfield, California
NationalityAmerican
Listed height5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Listed weight163 lb (74 kg)
Career information
High schoolWest (Bakersfield, California)
CollegeUCLA (2002–2006)
WNBA draft2006: 2nd round, 19th overall pick
Selected by the Washington Mystics
Playing career2006–2010
PositionPoint guard
Number32, 1
Coaching career2008–present
Career history
As player:
2006–2009Washington Mystics
2010New York Liberty
As coach:
2008–2014UNLV (assistant)
2014–2017Cal State Bakersfield (assistant)
2017-2019Grand Canyon (assistant)
2019–2022Arizona State (assistant)
2022–2023Phoenix Mercury (assistant)
2023Phoenix Mercury (interim head coach)
Career highlights and awards
  • 4× First-team All-Pac-10 (2003–2006)
Stats at WNBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Anitra Necole "Nikki" Blue (born March 29, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player.

High school

Born and raised in Bakersfield, California, Blue played her high school career at West High School. Blue set the CIF Central Section record for points scored in a single season (913 in the 2000–01 season) and career (2,934 points). Blue averaged 29 points per game her senior year at West and lead Kern County in assists per game as well. Blue is regarded as the best player to ever come out of the CIF Central Section. However, due to the lack of talent around her, West High never won a section championship during Blue's career. The closest West came was in 2002 when West lost to crosstown rival Stockdale 82–55 in the CIF Central Section Division II championship game. Blue was named a WBCA All-American. She participated in the 2001 WBCA High School All-America Game, where she scored two points.[1]

College

Blue was regarded as one of the best point guards in the country, and was offered a full-ride scholarship to the University of Connecticut, the nations top ranked team in 2002. However, Blue turned the offer down and instead opted to go to UCLA, which went 10–20 during the 2002 season. Blue stated that UCLA was closer to home and she liked the idea of rebuilding a program.

At UCLA, Blue was a four-year starting point guard. She was named first-team All-Pacific-10 Conference and to the All-Freshmen team. She averaged 16.6 points per game, 5.5 rebounds per game, 3.6 assist per game, and 2.7 steals per game her freshman year. As a sophomore, she was named first-team All-Pac-10 for the second straight year. As a junior, she joined Ann Meyers as the second Bruin to record over 1,300 points and 400 assists. She was one of the finalists for the Nancy Lieberman Award her senior year. Her career averages at UCLA were 15.2 points per game, 5.1 assist per game, 5.2 rebounds per game, and 2.8 steals per game.

UCLA statistics

Source[2]

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
Year Team GP Points FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2002-03 UCLA 29 481 40.5 27.9 70.4 5.5 3.6 2.7 0.3 16.6
2003-04 UCLA  30 457 39.6 37.5 72.5 5.6 4.9 3.0 0.1 15.2
2004-05 UCLA  27 458 41.6 35.0 72.0 5.0 6.0 3.4 0.2 17.0
2005-06 UCLA  32 401 39.6 41.8 70.5 4.7 5.9 2.1 0.2 12.5
Career UCLA  118 1797 40.3 35.5 71.4 5.2 5.1 2.8 0.2 15.2

WNBA career

After her college career, Blue was selected in the second round of the 2006 WNBA draft by the Washington Mystics. She played 4 seasons with the Mystics before being traded on May 13, 2010 to the New York Liberty in exchange for rookie Ashley Houts.

Coaching career

Blue was hired by the Phoenix Mercury on March 31, 2022, as an Assistant Coach to be a part of new Head Coach Vanessa Nygaard's coaching staff.[3] Blue was named the interim head coach for the Mercury after they fired Nygaard on June 25, 2023.[4]

WNBA

Legend
Regular season G Games coached W Games won L Games lost W–L % Win–loss %
Playoffs PG Playoff games PW Playoff wins PL Playoff losses PW–L % Playoff win–loss %
Team Year G W L W–L% Finish PG PW PL PW–L% Result
PHO 2023 28721.2506th in Western———— Missed Playoffs
Career 28721.250000–

WNBA career statistics

Season Team Games Minutes Points Rebounds Assists Steals Blocks
2006Washington Mystics24181542036180
2007Washington Mystics304201076348225
2008Washington Mystics26537994173192
2009Washington Mystics169124101270
2010New York Liberty15771861340

Personal

Her full name is Anitra Necole Blue. She is the daughter to Sabrina Hunter and has one brother, Andre. She has served as an assistant coach in the UNLV women's basketball program for the past two years during her off-season from the WNBA. Her biggest thrill to date was being selected to play in the first McDonald's All-Star game in New York. She also lettered in volleyball (three years), softball (one year) and track and field (one year). She majored in history at UCLA.[6]

Notes

  1. ↑ "WBCA High School All-America Game Box Scores". Women's Basketball Coaches Association. Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
  2. ↑ "Women's Basketball Player stats". NCAA. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
  3. ↑ "PHOENIX MERCURY ADD NIKKI BLUE AND CINNAMON LISTER TO 2022 COACHING STAFF". mercury.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  4. ↑ Merchant, Sabreena. "Phoenix Mercury fire coach Vanessa Nygaard after 2-10 start to season: What went wrong?". theathletic.com. The Athletic. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
  5. "WNBA.com: Nikki Blue Playerfile". www.wnba.com. Archived from the original on January 21, 2008.
  6. ↑ "WNBA.com: Nikki Blue Playerfile". www.wnba.com. Archived from the original on January 21, 2008.
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