ErlanaLarkins

Position
Forward
Height
6-2
Weight
200 lbs
Birthdate
Apr 2, 1986
College/Country
North Carolina/USA
Draft
2008 Rnd 1 Pick 14
EXP
10 years
2
Erlana Larkins headshot
PPG
5.9
RPG
5.4
APG
1.5

About Erlana

Position: Forward

WNBA Years: 8

Height: 6-1

Weight: 205

Born: April 2, 1986 in West Palm Beach, Fla.

High School: The Benjamin School (North Palm Beach, Fla.)

College: North Carolina ‘08

Drafted: By New York, first round, 2008 WNBA Draft (14th overall)

Acquired: Signed as a free agent, 3/14/12

  • Eight-year WNBA veteran who was out of league for two seasons before resurgence with Indiana
  • WNBA champion in 2012 with Indiana, WNBA Finals in 2015
  • 5th in WNBA history with career 55.7% FG percentage
  • Indiana record 9.2 rebounds per game in 2014
  • Owns season and single-game playoff rebounding marks for Fever, both in 2012

The hard-working, blue-collar muscle in Indiana’s post rotation the past six seasons, Erlana Larkins has evolved from a player waived and without a team into one of the league’s elite rebounders…she finished 7th in the WNBA in rebounds per game in 2016, 4th in 2014 and 8th in 2013…Larkins provided the Fever and WNBA with one of the most remarkable storylines in 2012, signing a training camp contract after two years out of the league, and responding with record-breaking rebounding numbers in the WNBA Playoffs and WNBA Finals while Indiana won its first championship…with the 2012 story as a backdrop, Larkins returned for her second season in Indiana in 2013 and wound up among league leaders with 7.8 boards per game…she set a single-season franchise record with 9.2 rebounds per game in 2014, making a bid for a first All-Star appearance that eluded her…following the 2015 season, she had offseason surgery on her right knee to treat a torn meniscus, and reported to training camp leaner than in years past…she returned to rebounding prominence in 2016 with 7.4 rebounds per game…the former North Carolina star and first-round pick by New York was waived by the Liberty in 2010 and again by the Phoenix Mercury in 2011.

A career 55 percent shooter, she is fifth in WNBA history with a career clip of 55.4 percent…she eclipsed milestones for 1,000 career points and rebounds during the 2016 season.

PRO – WNBA

2017: Appearing in all 34 games and starting 17, Larkins averaged 4.9 points and 4.2 rebounds…she scored a season-high 16 points in a win at Chicago, 6/18…she posted a season-best nine rebounds against Connecticut, 5/20…she moved into second place on Indiana’s career rebounding chart with seven boards against L.A., 6/24…she sank a dramatic go-ahead basket on a putback layup with 8.2 seconds remaining to lift the Fever over eventual champion Minnesota, 8/6.

2016: Larkins finished seventh in the WNBA with 7.4 rebounds per game, and also ranked second in the league with a career-high and Fever-record 63.9 percent shooting clip (106-of-166)…she also produced a career-best free throw percentage, ranking 11th in the WNBA at 88.4 percent…she posted six double-doubles and scored a career-high 19 points in a road win at Dallas, 6/25…she had 10 points and a season-high 15 boards against New York, 6/19…she also had four assists and tied a career-high with three blocks in the overtime loss to the Liberty…in the season opener against Dallas, she tied a career high by sinking all eight free throw attempts.

2015: Nursing a right knee that would require postseason surgery, Larkins appeared in just 21 games, averaging 3.5 points and 4.2 rebounds in just 16.8 minutes per game…her only double-double of the year came with season-highs of 10 points and 13 rebounds in a win over Connecticut, 8/2.

2014: Larkins was fourth in the WNBA with a career-best 9.2 boards per game, and averaged 9.7 points…she led the league with a 59.9 percent shooting clip and she was third in the WNBA with 1.94 steals per contest…Larkins’ 14 double-figure rebounding games were the most in a single-season in Indiana history, as were her team record 303 total rebounds…she was the early leader in the league’s rebounding race buoyed by a franchise-record 22 boards she collected at Atlanta, 5/25, which were just two shy of the WNBA record…she entered the season with four career double-doubles, and proceeded to post nine in 2014, alone…along with career highs in assists (84) and steals (64), Larkins twice matched a new career scoring high of 17 points: vs. Seattle, 6/11 and vs. Atlanta, 5/17.

2013: Larkins started all 34 games for the Fever, averaging 7.9 points and 7.8 rebounds per game…she shot at least 50 percent in 18 of 23 games to close the season, shooting 74-of-123 (60.2%) during that stretch…Larkins was sixth in the WNBA with a team-best .545 FG percentage…she was the only Fever player to start every game…she registered a second straight double-double at Chicago, 9/6, recording 13 points, 12 rebounds, a career-high six assists and finished 7-of-7 at the free throw line…Larkins matched a Fever regular-season record with 17 rebounds at Atlanta, 9/4, and scored 10 points en route to her third straight double-double…against Los Angeles, 8/8, she finished with 11 points, 13 rebounds and a career-high six steals…she pulled down a then-regular-season career-high 16 rebounds against New York, 7/23, becoming just the fourth player in a Fever uniform to record at least 16 rebounds…Larkins recorded the first regular-season double-double of her career against Atlanta, 5/31, finishing with 10 points, 10 rebounds.

2012: Larkins played in all 34 games for the Fever and started in the last two of the season…she averaged 4.1 points and 4.4 rebounds per game…her average of 11.3 rebounds per 40 minutes played was the 11th best in the WNBA…in her first career start, she claimed a career-high 11 boards and scored eight points with an assist and three steals at Washington, 9/21…her best game off the bench was against Washington, 8/16, when she led the Fever with a career-high 16 points on 4-of-6 shooting and 8-of-8 from the free throw line.

2011: Larkins signed a training camp contract with the Mercury, but was waived prior to the regular season.

2010: She was waived by the Liberty in training camp.

2009: Larkins appeared in 18 games for the Liberty…she led the team in rebounds twice, grabbing a season-high six boards at San Antonio, 6/13, and against Indiana, 9/8…she posted averages of 2.4 points and 1.7 rebounds, during 7.6 minutes per game.

2008: Larkins appeared in 27 games for the New York Liberty, leading the team in scoring once and rebounding twice…she scored in double figures four times, and collected five or more rebounds six times…she averaged 4.8 points and 2.7 rebounds per game…a season scoring high of 13 points occurred twice within the same week: vs. San Antonio, 9/9, and Detroit, 9/14.

PLAYOFFS

Larkins has reached the WNBA playoffs in six of seven pro seasons…ranked seventh all-time in WNBA postseason rebounds (316), Larkins is fourth among offensive rebound (135) leaders…her 54.2 percent shooting (123-of-227) is seventh  in league playoffs history behind Candice Dupree (56.9).

2016: Larkins netted 12 points on 6-of-11 shooting in the Fever’s long playoff game against Phoenix…she added six rebounds.

2015: Despite a nagging injury that kept her out of the starting lineup during the regular season, Larkins started 10 of 11 Fever games in the postseason…she contributed a career scoring high in the playoffs with 18 points in a decisive Game 3 victory at Chicago, 9/21, in the East Semifinals…she averaged exactly 7.2 points and rebounds, and shot 56 percent from the floor (33-of-58) while helping Indiana to the WNBA Finals.

2014: Larkins had exactly 11 rebounds in 4 of 5 playoff games in 2014, including a double-double with 15 points in a double-overtime win at Chicago, 9/1…she shot 53 percent (17-of-32) in the playoffs while averaging 9.0 points and 10.4 boards.

2013: Starting in all four playoff games, Larkins averaged a double-double with 10.8 points and 10.3 points per game…she recorded a double-double in the first three playoff games, but was unable to post one in final game against Atlanta, 9/29…she posted playoff-highs in points (15) and rebounds (12) in the loss at Atlanta, 9/26, shooting 6-of-9 from the field.

2012: Larkins played in all ten Fever playoff games, starting in nine…she was inserted into the starting lineup for Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals at Atlanta, 9/30, and responded with a record-breaking run all the way to the Fever championship…she averaged 9.9 points, 10.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game, leading the club with a franchise-record 109 rebounds in one playoffs season…in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semi-finals against Atlanta, 10/2, she finished with her first career double-double – regular season or playoffs – with 16 points and 20 rebounds…her 20 rebounds were a career-high and matched the Fever postseason record which is second in WNBA Playoffs history…her nine offensive rebounds set a franchise record and tied the WNBA record…in the four-game Finals series against Minnesota, Larkins averaged 8.5 points and 12.0 rebounds, twice falling one rebound shy of the Finals single-game record…she paced Indiana with 16 points and 15 rebounds in Game 1 of the series, followed by 10 points and 15 boards in Game 3 of the series…she led the Fever in rebounding in five of the ten playoff games…she scored a career playoffs-high 16 points in three different games.

2008: Larkins played in all six Liberty playoff games during the Eastern Conference semifinals and finals…playing 14.5 minutes per game, she averaged 4.3 points and 4.8 boards…she had a high of nine points at Detroit, 9/29, in Game 3 of the conference finals…she posted a high of seven rebounds in Game 1 against Detroit, 9/26.

PRO – OVERSEAS

2016-17: Playing in Ragusa, Italy, Larkins did not begin overseas play until late January…she averaged 9.5 points and 8.8 rebounds during four EuroLeague contests…she shot 63.5 percent and averaged 11.5 points and 10.9 rebounds in the Italian League.

2014-15: Larkins paced the Turkish League with 14.3 rebounds per game while playing for Adana ASKI and teaming with Fever point guard Briann January…she averaged 13.7 points and shot 54.9 percent from the floor.

2013-14: Signed in January by Familia Schio in Italy, Larkins averaged 10.4 points and 10.0 rebounds in EuroLeague competition…helping pace Familia Schio to a 19-1 regular season mark in the Italian League, Larkins averaged 13.9 points and a league-leading 10.9 boards…she also posted 2.7 steals per game, sixth in the league, as Familia Schio advanced to a championship series with Ragusa.

2012-13: For the second year, Larkins teamed with Fever mate Shavonte Zellous, helping Mersin to a remarkable 18-game win streak and No. 4 seed in the Turkish playoffs…Larkins led the league in rebounding and finished the season with averages of 13.9 points and 14.8 rebounds a game.

2011-12: Larkins played beside Fever teammate Shavonte Zellous with Mersin in the Turkish League…she averaged 10.5 points and 10.9 rebounds per game in 21 contests…she finished second in the league in rebounding…it was Larkins’ third straight season with Mersin.

2010-11: She averaged 11.9 points and 10.2 rebounds through 22 Turkish League games with Mersin.

2009-10: With Mersin in the Turkish League, she averaged 11.4 points and 8.7 rebounds through 18 games

2008-09: Playing for Samsun in the Turkish League, she averaged 14.5 points and 12 rebounds in 20 games.

INTERNATIONAL

2007: Larkins was a USA gold medalist at the 2007 Pan Am Games (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil).

2006: She played with the USA Basketball U20 Women’s National team at the FIBA Americas Championship (Mexico City).

2005: She represented the U.S. at the FIBA Women’s U19 World Championship (Tunisia).

2004: She was part of the USA Basketball Junior World Championship qualifying team (Puerto Rico).

COLLEGE

At the University of North Carolina, Larkins holds career averages of 13.7 points and 8.3 rebounds per game, while shooting 57.1-percent from the floor…she became the 7th player in ACC history with 1,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, 300 assists, 200 steals and 100 blocks in a career.

2007-08: She was a 2008 State Farm All-American, USBWA All-American, AP All-America Second Team, ESPN.com All-America Second Team, All-ACC First Team, and was named the ACC Tournament MVP.

2006-07: As a junior, she was named AP All-America Third Team, All-ACC First Team and to preseason watch lists for the Wooden, Wade and Naismith awards.

2005-06: Larkins was named to NCAA Final Four All-Tournament Team, AP All-America honorable mention, Kodak All-America region finalist, All-ACC first team and All-ACC Tournament first team.

2004-05: A part of the Tar Heels’ ACC Tournament champions, she was named to All-ACC Second Team, All-ACC Freshman Team, All-ACC Tournament Second Team and selected to the ESPN.com Preseason All-Freshman team.

PERSONAL

Erlana La’Nay Larkins was born in West Palm Beach, Fla…she is the daughter of Victoria and Earl Larkins…she majored in sociology and Afro American studies at North Carolina…she prepped at The Benjamin School in North Palm Beach, Fla.

CAREER TRANSACTIONS

(1) Drafted by the New York Liberty with the 14th overall pick, first round, in the 2008 WNBA Draft, 4/9/08. (2) Waived by New York, 2010. (3) Signed as a free agent by Phoenix, then waived in training camp, 2011. (4) Signed as a free agent by Indiana, 3/14/12.

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