Jessica Shepard

Jessica Shepard (born September 11, 1996) is an American-Slovenian professional basketball player for the Dallas Wings of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and for Famila Basket Schio of the Lega Basket Femminile. Shepard began her college career at Nebraska, playing there for two seasons before transferring to Notre Dame to complete her career. She was drafted 16th overall by the Minnesota Lynx in the 2019 WNBA draft.

Family and early years A Fremont, Nebraska native, Shepard is the daughter of Mark and Kim Shepard. She has four sisters and one older brother.

WNBA

Minnesota Lynx (2019–2025) Shepard was selected 16th overall in the 2nd round of the 2019 WNBA Draft. Shepard appeared in 5 games of the 2019 season, and averaged 4.6 ppg. On June 8, 2019, in a game against the Los Angeles Sparks, it was determined Shepard had torn her ACL, effectively ending her rookie season.

Shepard missed the 2020 season as she continued to recover from her ACL injury that she sustained in 2019.

Shepard was suspended for and subsequently missed the entire 2024 season. This was due to contract commitments with her basketball club in Italy, Umana Reyer Venezia and violating the WNBA collective bargaining agreement, which requires players to prioritize the WNBA over other international leagues.

On April 21, 2025, Shepard re-signed with the Lynx. On August 22, in a 95–90 win over the Indiana Fever, she recorded a triple-double in just 21 minutes and 57 seconds of play, then the fastest in WNBA history. Her record for fastest triple-double stood for nineteen days before being surpassed by Alyssa Thomas on September 10, 2025.

Dallas Wings (2026–present) Shepard signed a two-year deal with the Dallas Wings in April 2026 ahead of the 2026 WNBA season.

National team career

On June 19, 2024, the Basketball Federation of Slovenia announced that Shepard had received Slovenian citizenship and became eligible to play for the Slovenia national team.

WNBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Nebraska and Notre Dame statistics Source