Saniya Chong is an American basketball player who currently plays as a freelancer for the Dallas Wings of the National Basketball Association, NBA. Chong also played for the University of Connecticut in the college of her career and won three national championships.
In 2012, when she played as a junior point guard, she finished sixth in the nation with 32.1 points per game. With an average of 9.4 assists, 4.9 rebounds, and 4.9 steals per game, she led her high school team Ossining to a 21-0 record.
Saniya Chong Biography
Saniya Lynn Chong was born on 27 June 1994 in Ossining, New York. Her love of basketball began when she was only six years old, and since she grew up in the Bronx, Chong often played with her older brother Andrew, who literally helped her get into sports.
Chong attended Ossining High School, where she played under coach Dan Ricci, who described her as “calm but explosive”, extremely fast, and a remarkable offensive player on the basketball court.
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Career
Saniya Chong began playing B-Ball at the age of 16 as a point guard at the high school, Ossining High School, where she averaged 34.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 9.1 assists per game in her last season at school. By the time she wanted to join UCONN Basketball as a student, Chong had already created a great legacy for herself.
- She was named Girls’ Basketball Player of the Year 2012 to 2013 of the Parade All-American Team’s;
- She was named National High School Coaches Association (NHSCA) Girls’ Basketball Player of the Year;
- She was named Gatorade New York Girls Basketball Player of the Year 2012-13.
- She was then voted number 75 overall and number 3 in New York State by ESPN Hoopgurlz.
In addition, Chong scored at least 30 points in 51 of her 96 high school games. This corresponds to 2988 points in her four-year career. She also scored nine points, six rebounds, and four assists in the 2013 WBCA All-American Game in New Orleans. And during her junior campaign from 2011 to 2012 the basketball star averaged 33.3 points and 9.7 rebounds.
Saniya Chong enrolled at the University of Connecticut, where she graduated with a major in Sociology on May 6, 2017. In her first year of study, she participated in 39 of 40 UConn games, where she received four starting assignments and earned a place on the American Athletic Conference all-freshman team. When she made it to the senior team, she scored the highest points of her career in the 8-13 overtime shootout with the No. 6 Huskies at Stanford.
In 2017, Chong scored her first point as a WNBA player with three points in the 5/20, and in the third round, she was selected by the Dallas Wings as the 26th pick of this year’s WNBA Draft. When you consider that her basketball career came to a standstill in 2015 and she was skeptical about her decision to join UConn, you can get an idea of her strength and determination. Although she chose UConn in the third round and had no guarantee of a place in the rankings, Wong remained stubborn. After playing 24 minutes in her first friendly match, her skills were sufficient to secure her job in the WNBA.
This came shortly after her college graduation, and when she talked about achieving what she had always dreamed of, Chong told her friends, family, and coaches, “basically, it got me through”. She said it was never easy, but the support and encouragement from all her loved ones gave her the confidence she needed to get through it.
Dallas’s assistant coach, Bridget Pettis, described her as a young lady with natural talent, one who can get to the basket, make her own throw, and certainly hit open shots. Therefore the Dallas Wings will continue to develop her as a shooting guard.
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Saniya Chong Parents
She was born to mixed-race parents – her father Andrew is Chinese and her mother Leslie is African-American.
In 2006, when Chong was in the fifth grade, her brother Andrew is said to have committed suicide at the age of 20. At that time he was 6 years older than Saniya Chong. Her family later moved from New York to be near a relative of her mother Leslie in Charlotte, North Carolina, to escape the tragic memories of Andrew’s loss. They remained in this latter state until they returned to Ossining, New York, in 2009.
Chon remembered her brother’s memories and said that Andrew really inspired her to move on. She described him as a motivator and added that although it was very difficult, she could not live in isolation from the world.
The basketball bud star even had a tattoo on her left wrist, which in memory of Andrew only shows 1985-2006. According to her, he will always be on the court with her.
Body MeasurementsÂ
Height:Â 5ft 8in (1.73 m)
Weight:Â 140 lbs (63.5 kg)
Her other body measurements such as biceps, waist, and hips have not yet been determined.