Breland To Miss 2020 WNBA Season

Jessica Breland's debut with the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury will have to wait a year. The Tar Heel alum announced on the Mercury's Twitter account on Sunday that she will sit out the 2020 season, set to begin later this month.

Breland, traded to the Phoenix from Atlanta in February as part of a three-team deal, has been ruled medically exempt by the WNBA. The decision is based on her status as a cancer survivor – she battled and beat Hodgkin's lymphoma while a student-athlete at UNC – and potential that her past medical history could leave her more susceptible to the dangers of COVID, should she contract it.

"With a heavy heart, I will be sitting out the upcoming WNBA season," Breland said in a statement on Twitter. "I am blessed to have the Phoenix family behind me and their full support. I wish everyone the best in Florida, and I'll be thinking of you and cheering from afar!"

pic.twitter.com/xiwis1KjVE — Phoenix Mercury (@PhoenixMercury) July 12, 2020

Breland led Atlanta in rebounding in 2019, with 7.3 boards per game to go with an average of 7.5 points. She started all 33 games in which she appeared and had a team-best four double-doubles. Her average of 12.5 rebounds per 40 minutes played ranked fifth in the WNBA.

A 2014 WNBA All-Star with the Chicago Sky, Breland was the 13^th overall pick in the 2011 Draft. In addition to the past two years in Atlanta, she also has played in New York, Connecticut, Indiana and Chicago. She was a member of the WNBA All-Defensive First Team in 2018, her first season with the Dream.

At UNC, Breland was the 2011 recipient of the Honda Inspiration Award, given each year to a female college athlete who has overcome adversity to excel in her sport. She missed the 2009-10 season while undergoing cancer treatment but returned for her senior year in 2010-11, earning honorable mention All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors and averaging 12.4 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. She played in a total of 142 games for UNC and finished her collegiate career with more than 1,500 points and 900 rebounds.

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