Two-time MVP Delle Donne retires from WNBA

Two-time WNBA MVP Elena Delle Donne has retired from basketball, saying her assemblage "seemed to marque this determination earlier my caput accepted it" successful an Instagram post.

Delle Donne won a WNBA rubric with the Washington Mystics successful 2019 but was hampered by aggregate backmost surgeries and did not play successful the league successful 2024.

"One of my favourite children's books asked, 'How did it get truthful precocious truthful soon?'" Delle Donne wrote successful her post. "I person asked myself that implicit and implicit again successful the process of coming to the determination to discontinue from playing basketball. Being capable to accidental that retired large was 1 of the hardest parts of my career. My assemblage seemed to marque this determination earlier my caput accepted it but I present genuinely cognize this is the close happening for maine astatine the close time."

Delle Donne was drafted by the Chicago Sky successful 2013 and pushed for a commercialized to the Mystics aft the 2016 season. She won the 2019 rubric with Washington portion playing with 3 herniated disks. But she didn't play successful the 2020 play successful the COVID-19 bubble successful Bradenton, Florida, and was constricted to 3 games by backmost issues successful 2021 earlier playing 25 games successful 2022 and 23 successful 2023.

She missed the 2024 play aft deciding not to motion a one-year supermax connection from the Mystics.

Delle Donne, 35, won the WNBA MVP grant successful 2015 and 2019. She was a seven-time All-Star and four-time all-WNBA first-team selection. She played assemblage hoops astatine Delaware, wherever she was a two-time All-American and led the Blue Hens to the Sweet 16 successful 2013.

"Words cannot adequately explicit however thankful I americium to my family, each of my unthinkable teammates, friends, executives, sponsors, unit and astir importantly the astonishing fans that person accompanied maine connected this journey," Delle Donne wrote. "This crippled has been my beingness and I americium grateful for the memories and however overmuch it's fixed me. It feels bully to adjacent this section knowing I gave it my each and I can't hold for what's next!"