Kristi Toliver’s biography, net worth, fact, career, awards and life story

Kristi Renee Toliver (born January 27, 1987) is an American-Slovak professional basketball player for the Washington Mystics of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). Toliver was born in Harrisonburg, Virginia, United States and possesses a dual American-Slovak citizenzhip. She is the daughter of former NBA referee, George Toliver and Peggy Toliver. During her rookie season in the WNBA, Toliver signed an endorsement deal with Nike.

High school

Toliver attended Harrisonburg High School, where she graduated from in 2005. Toliver received many accolades during her high school basketball career, including being honored as a McDonald’s All-American, Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) All-American, Parade All-American, EA Sports All-American, and USA Today All-USA Basketball Team member. In addition, she was named Virginia State Gatorade Player of the Year and Virginia Ms. Basketball. She participated in the 2005 WBCA High School All-America Game and 2005 McDonald’s All-American Game.

College

A standout player from the University of Maryland, Toliver was known for her ability to perform under pressure. In the 2006 National Championship game, Toliver, then a freshman, hit a game-tying three-pointer with only seconds remaining to force overtime against favored Duke, leading to a Maryland win and the school’s first national championship in women’s basketball.

Statistics

WNBA career

In the 2009 WNBA draft, the Chicago Sky selected point guard Kristi Toliver with the 3rd pick. In her rookie season with the Sky, she came off the bench while averaging 7.6 points per game in 27 games.

Toliver was traded to the Los Angeles Sparks just before the start of the 2010 season in exchange for a 2011 second round draft pick.

In her first season with the Sparks, Toliver was the back-up point guard on the roster behind Ticha Penicheiro who was the starting point guard. She averaged 8.6 points per game in 34 games.

In the 2012 season with the departure of Penicheiro, Toliver became the starting point guard for the Sparks and had a breakout season. In the month of May, Toliver hit a game winning 3-pointer at the buzzer against the Tulsa Shock. She was the Western Conference Player of the Month for August, averaged a career-high 17.5 points per game through out the year, was ranked 9th in 3-point field goal percentage, was named to the All-WNBA Second Team and won the WNBA Most Improved Player Award. Her stellar offensive performance would continue into the playoffs, where she averaged 20 points per game in 4 games, but the Sparks were eliminated in a 2-game sweep by the Minnesota Lynx in the Conference Finals.

In 2013, Toliver re-signed with the Sparks to a multi-year deal once her rookie contract with the Sky expired. With the acquisition of Lindsey Harding, Toliver was the starting shooting guard for the Sparks. During the season, Toliver was named a WNBA All-Star for the first time in her career, while averaging 14.1 points per game in all 34 games.

During the 2015 season, Toliver was assigned back to the point guard position after the waiving of Harding. In a regular season game win against the Tulsa Shock, Toliver set a Sparks scoring franchise record with 43 points, surpassing Lisa Leslie’s 41 points. She finished the season averaging 12.4 points per game.

In the 2016 season, the Sparks finished 26-8 with the number 2 seed in the league. Toliver was ranked 4th in 3-point field goal percentage while averaging 13.2 points per game. On June 24, Toliver scored a season-high 25 points along with a career-high seven 3-pointers in a regular season game win against the Minnesota Lynx. With a supporting cast of Candace Parker and Nneka Ogwumike, Toliver won her first WNBA championship with the Sparks as they defeated the Minnesota Lynx 3-2 in the Finals.

Toliver is currently the Sparks franchise leader in 3-point field goal percentage and free-throw percentage.

In February 2017, Toliver signed with the Washington Mystics in free agency.

Overseas career

In the 2009-10 off-season, Toliver spent the first portion of the off-season in Israel playing for Raanana Hertzeliya. In the second portion of the off-season, Toliver played in Hungary for MKB Euroleasing Sopron. In the 2010-11 off-season, Toliver played in Turkey for Samsun Canik Belediyesi. From 2011-2014, Toliver played three off-seasons in Russia for Dynamo Moscow, winning back-to-back championships with the team in 2013 and 2014. From 2014-2016, Toliver has played for UMMC Ekaterinburg in Russia for two off-seasons and had won a championship with the team in 2016. Toliver played with teammate, Candace Parker in her first-offseason with the team. As of August 2016, Toliver had re-signed with UMMC Ekaterinburg for the 2016-17 off-season.

International

Toliver was a member of the Slovakian women’s national basketball team in the EuroBasket Women 2015 qualification tournament in 2014 after receiving her Slovak citizenship. The team finished first place in Group A to qualify for the EuroBasket Women 2015 tournament, where they finished 9th place with a 3-4 record, missing out on a spot in the Olympic qualifying tournament for the 2016 Summer Olympics.

WNBA career statistics

Regular season

Postseason

Honors