Denique Graves
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 16, 1975 |
| Listed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Listed weight | 212 lb (96 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | University City (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) |
| College | Howard (1993–1997) |
| WNBA draft | 1997: 2nd round, 15th overall pick |
| Drafted by | Sacramento Monarchs |
| Position | Center |
| Number | 33 |
| Career history | |
Playing | |
| 1997 | Sacramento Monarchs |
Coaching | |
| 2008–2009 | Binghamton (assistant) |
| 2010–2011 | CC of Philadelphia |
| 2012 | Keystone College |
| Career highlights | |
| |
| Stats at Basketball Reference | |
Denique Monai Graves (born September 16, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player. She played for the Sacramento Monarchs in the Women's National Basketball Association's first season.
College career
[edit]Graves left Howard as its fifth all-time leading scorer and fourth all-time leading rebounder.[1][2]
Professional career
[edit]Graves was selected with the 14th overall pick (2nd round, 7th pick) by the Sacramento Monarchs on April 28, 1997. This made her the first player in the WNBA to be drafted from a HBCU (Historically Black College or University). Her debut game was played on June 21, 1997 in a 73–61 win over the Utah Starzz where she recorded two points, three rebounds and two blocks in three minutes of playing time.[3] In her 22nd and final career WNBA game, on August 24, 1997, when the Monarchs defeated the Houston Comets 68–58, Graves recording one rebound and one missed field goal in five minutes and 28 seconds of playing time.[4]
Graves' rookie season was her only season in the WNBA, in which she played 22 games and averaging 4.9 minutes a game. Graves was waived by the Monarchs on May 25, 1998, preceding the 1998 WNBA season. After missing out on the 1998 and 1999 seasons entirely, Graves was signed as a free agent to the Washington Mystics on May 2, 2000. She was waived nine days later on May 11, inevitably not playing in the 2000 season.[5]
Attempting another WNBA comeback, Graves signed a contract with the Orlando Miracle on April 30, 2001. She did not make it past the final round of cuts, being released on May 27, the day before the 2001 WNBA season started.[6] This was her last attempt at returning to the WNBA.
Graves finished her career with totals of 16 points (.7 ppg), 15 rebounds (.7 rpg), and six blocks (.3 bpg).[7]
Personal life
[edit]At Howard Graves made the Dean's List three years and earned a bachelor's degree in Science. She graduated in 2008. She joined Keystone College's women's basketball coaching staff in 2012.[8]
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]Source[7]
Regular season
[edit]| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Sacramento | 22 | 0 | 3.9 | .222 | – | .500 | .7 | .0 | .0 | .3 | .5 | .7 |
College
[edit]| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993–94 | Howard | 29 | - | - | 54.0 | 0.0 | 51.9 | 8.8 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 1.1 | - | 15.1 |
| 1994–95 | Howard | 24 | - | - | 50.8 | 0.0 | 44.9 | 8.4 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 2.3 | - | 14.0 |
| 1995–96 | Howard | 28 | - | - | 46.7 | 0.0 | 57.7 | 8.9 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 2.6 | - | 14.4 |
| 1996–97 | Howard | 27 | - | - | 43.4 | 0.0 | 52.0 | 8.2 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 2.4 | - | 12.1 |
| Career | 108 | - | - | 48.7 | 0.0 | 52.2 | 8.6 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 2.1 | - | 13.9 | |
| Statistics retrieved from Sports-Reference.[9] | |||||||||||||
References
[edit]- ^ GRAVES IS DRAFTED BY WNBA - The Washington Post
- ^ "Too Much Of A Presence - tribunedigital-thecourant".
- ^ "Sacramento Monarchs at Utah Starzz, June 21, 1997". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
- ^ "Sacramento Monarchs at Houston Comets, August 24, 1997". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
- ^ "2000 Washington Mystics Transactions". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
- ^ Staff Reports (1 June 2001). "Miracle Fired Up to Snuff Sparks". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
- ^ a b "Denique Graves WNBA Stats". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
- ^ "Keystone Athletics Former WNBA Player Graves Joins Keystone's Coaching Staff".
- ^ "Denique Graves College Stats". Sports-Reference. Retrieved April 11, 2024.