Celebrate Carolina: Teasley Handed Out Assists With Flair

For our continuing Celebrate Carolina series, we highlight Nikki Teasley's outstanding career, which was punctuated by more than a handful of "Wait ... did you see that?" moments. With 728 assists, she remains the UNC women's basketball career leader in assists and ranks fifth in ACC history nearly two decades after she played her final game in Carolina blue. Teasley played with memorable flair, delivering no-look passes and breaking ankles as she led the Tar Heels to victory.

A 6-0 point guard from Washington, D.C., Teasley was the 1998 ACC Rookie of the Year and averaged 5.5 assists per game, still an ACC freshman record. She earned All-ACC Tournament honors all four years and was the ACC Tournament MVP in 2000. Although best known for her passing, she was a scorer as well, totaling 1,822 points (now eighth on UNC's all-time scoring list) and averaging 14.6 points per game.

Following her UNC career, Teasley was the No. 5 pick in the 2002 WNBA Draft and helped the L.A. Sparks to a WNBA Championship that year. She earned MVP honors at the 2003 WNBA All-Star Game. She played nine seasons in the WNBA (with Washington, Atlanta and Detroit in addition to the Sparks) and led the league in assists in 2004 and 2006.

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