Moriah Jefferson

Moriah Jefferson (born March 8, 1994) is an American professional basketball player who is currently a free agent. She was drafted second overall by the San Antonio Stars in the 2016 WNBA draft. Jefferson played point guard for UConn women's basketball team, where she won four consecutive national championships. She finished her UConn career ranked first in assists, second in steals, and as a two-time winner of the Nancy Lieberman Award as the top point guard in the nation.

Early life Jefferson is the daughter of Robin and Lorenza Jefferson. She has two brothers, Joshua and Jeremiah, and one sister, Danielle Noble.

Jefferson played five varsity seasons with the Texas Home Educators Sports Association (THESA) Riders as a homeschooled athlete. Jefferson began playing with THESA's varsity squad as an eighth grader and compiled 509 points, 85 rebounds, and 87 assists. In her freshman year, she started in 50 of 51 games played and averaged 19.5 points, 1.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists. and 2.8 steals per game to help THESA to a 42–10 record. As a sophomore, Jefferson averaged 17.5 points to help her team to a 42–9 record. During her junior year, she started all 50 games and averaged 21.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 4.0 steals per game in aiding her team to a 42–8 record. As a senior, she averaged 17.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 5.1 steals per game to lead her team to a 41–6 record. Jefferson helped lead the Riders to five National Christian Homeschool Basketball Championships (NCHBC) titles and five NCHBC Texas Region titles and finished her career with 3,354 points, 825 rebounds, and 728 steals. Jefferson is the third UConn player to earn the Nancy Lieberman Award (nation's top point guard) and one of only five players in the award's history to claim the honor twice.

Professional career WNBA After being drafted second overall by the San Antonio Stars in the 2016 WNBA draft, Jefferson immediately became a starter on the team. During her rookie season, Jefferson scored a game-winning putback to beat the buzzer as part of her career-high 31 points to help San Antonio defeat the Indiana Fever 87–85 in overtime on July 1, 2016. She was named to the WNBA All-Rookie Team by the end of the season. She missed 13 games during the 2017 season due to a knee injury. On September 27, 2017, she had a surgery to fix the cartilage in her right knee. After rehabilitating for nine months, and missing the first 17 games of the 2018 season, she returned to practice on June 21, 2018.

On May 16, 2019, Jefferson was traded to the Dallas Wings but chose to sit out the 2019 season to continue with rehabilitation. She made her debut for the Wings during the 2020 season but suffered another season ending injury to her right knee.

On May 9, 2022, Jefferson was waived by the Wings. Four days later, on May 13, Jefferson joined the Minnesota Lynx.

On February 2023, she was signed by the Phoenix Mercury.

On July 17, 2024, Jefferson was traded to the Chicago Sky alongside Rachel Banham, a 2025 1st round pick and the rights to swap 2026 first round picks, in exchange for Marina Mabrey and a 2025 2nd round pick.

On July 28, 2025, Jefferson was waived by the Sky.

Turkey In August 2016, Jefferson signed with Galatasaray of the Turkish Women's Basketball League (KBSL) for the 2016–17 season. For the season, she averaged 18.5 points and 4.9 assists, and helped it reach the KBSL semi-finals. She returned to Galatasaray for the 2018–19 season where she averaged 13.4 points and once again helped the team to the semi-finals.

Endorsements In September 2016, Jefferson was featured in the Adidas "Sport Needs Creators" ad alongside athletes including Von Miller of the Denver Broncos, Paul Pogba of Manchester United, and James Harden of the Houston Rockets.

Career statistics Denotes seasons in which Jefferson won an NCAA championship WNBA Regular season Stats current as of game on July 24, 2025

Playoffs

College +NCAA statistics 2016—Dawn Staley Award