Sports
Deanna Nolan
born 1979 · basketball guard
Michigan-born WNBA star who spent her entire nine-season career with the Detroit Shock, winning two championships and a Finals MVP award.
- Born
Flint, Michigan
age 47- Birth name
- Deana Nicole Nolan
- Also known as
- Tweety
- Detroit years
- 2001–2009
- Field
- Sports
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Nolan grew up in Flint, where she led Flint Northern High School to back-to-back state championships and was named Michigan's Miss Basketball in 1996. The Detroit Shock, her home-state team, selected her sixth overall in the 2001 WNBA draft, and she became the franchise's signature player for the rest of the decade. She helped the Shock win their first WNBA championship in 2003, and in 2006 she won a second title and was named Most Valuable Player of the WNBA Finals. Detroit named her its Player of the Year three years running, 2007 through 2009, before the franchise relocated to Tulsa in 2010. Nolan went on to play professionally in Russia and for the Russia women's national team, and in October 2024 she was inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame.
Highlights
- Selected sixth overall by the Detroit Shock in the 2001 WNBA draft
- WNBA champion with Detroit in 2003 and 2006
- 2006 WNBA Finals Most Valuable Player
- Detroit Shock Player of the Year, 2007–2009
- Inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame, October 2024
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 1
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Played here · 2001–2009
The Palace of Auburn Hills
Demolished · 1988–2020
The Detroit Shock's home arena for her entire WNBA career, including both championships; demolished in 2020.