Kaylynne Truong (Vietnamese: Trương Thảo Vy, born July 10, 2001) is a Vietnamese-American basketball player who plays for PAOK. She was drafted by the Washington Mystics in the 2024 WNBA draft. She is also a player for the Vietnam women's national team. She played college basketball for the Gonzaga Bulldogs.[1]
 Truong wearing the Vietnamese national uniform kit. | ||||||||||||||||||
| PAOK | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Position | Guard | |||||||||||||||||
| League | WNBA | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||
| Born | July 10, 2001 Houston, Texas, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||
| Nationality |
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| Listed height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) | |||||||||||||||||
| Career information | ||||||||||||||||||
| High school | Jersey Village (Houston, Texas) | |||||||||||||||||
| College | Gonzaga (2019–2024) | |||||||||||||||||
| WNBA draft | 2024: Second round, 21st overall pick | |||||||||||||||||
| Selected by the Washington Mystics | ||||||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Stats at WNBA.com | ||||||||||||||||||
Medals
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Early life
editTruong was born in Houston, Texas, on July 10, 2001. She is of Vietnamese heritage. Her parents are Katherine Nguyen and Truong Man.[2] Her father played basketball and has been her coach since she was 5 years old. She has a brother named Jonathan and a twin sister named Kayleigh Truong (Vietnamese: Trương Thảo My),[2] who is also a basketball player.
While attending Gonzaga University, she majored in kinesiology.[2]
High school career
editTruong attended Jersey Village High School in Houston, where she played four years of basketball under head coach Tamara Collier. She averaged 19.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 3.2 steals.[1] She was voted 28th in ESPN's best American point guards at the high school level.[2]
During her senior season in 2019, she helped the team to a 33–3 record. She was named the District 17-6A Most Valuable Player.[3]
College career
editTruong played at Gonzaga University with her twin sister for 5 years, from 2019 to 2024, under head coach Lisa Fortier. She started as a reserve player for her first 3 seasons and became a starter in the last 2 years. Throughout her career at Gonzaga, she scored 282 3-pointers and started in 78 games.[3] She was two-time All-West Coast Conference (WCC) First Team member and ranks second in program history in career assists with 623.[4]
In the 2022–2023 season, she achieved a career-high of 15.9 points per game and a 42.5% 3-point scoring rate. She was the WCC Player of the Year and an honorable mention AP All-American.[5][6]
Despite her sister being injured in 2023, the twins chose to return to Gonzaga for their 5th year in 2024, citing that "Gonzaga is a really good school, and [she] love[s] playing with everyone on this team."[7]
In the 2023–2024 season, she started in 36 matches for the Bulldogs and achieved career highs of 11.4 points per game, 5.8 assists, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.3 steals.[8] She had a 3-point scoring rate of 42.1%.[9] During the season, Truong totaled 411 points, 208 assists, 84 rebounds, and 48 steals.[8] She helped the Zags go 32–4 in the season, including a perfect 16–0 run in WCC regular season play, landing as No. 4 seed in the NCAA tournament.[10]
She scored 13 points with eight assists in the playoffs match against Loyola Marymount, with the Zags winning 71–47.[11]
In 2024, she helped Gonzaga reach the Sweet 16 round of the playoffs.[5]
Professional career
editTruong was selected in the second round, as the 21st overall pick of the 2024 WNBA draft by the Washington Mystics.[3][8] Truong was the first American of Vietnamese descent to be selected in the WNBA draft.[12] She was the eighth Gonzaga player to be chosen in the history of the WNBA draft.[4] On May 12, 2024, Truong was waived by the Mystics.[13]
National team career
editTruong plays for the Vietnamese national women's basketball team. In 2022, she helped Vietnam win the historic silver medal at the 2021 SEA Games. Then in 2023, she helped Vietnam win the historic gold medal at the 2023 SEA Games, in the 3x3 basketball.[9]
Career statistics
edit| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game | RPG | Rebounds per game |
| APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game | BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
| TO | Turnovers per game | FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| Bold | Career best | ° | League leader |
College
edit| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019–20 | Gonzaga | 31 | 0 | 14.4 | 42.6 | 43.9 | 60.9 | 1.3 | 1.7 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 1.1 | 3.6 |
| 2020–21 | Gonzaga | 27 | 1 | 17.3 | 35.5 | 33.3 | 86.7 | 1.9 | 3.0 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 1.7 | 4.1 |
| 2021–22 | Gonzaga | 34 | 7 | 24.3 | 39.8 | 35.1 | 89.3 | 2.1 | 3.4 | 1.0 | 0.1 | 2.1 | 10.4 |
| 2022–23 | Gonzaga | 33 | 33 | 32.3 | 41.4 | 42.2 | 83.5 | 2.8 | 5.0 | 1.5 | 0.1 | 2.9 | 15.8 |
| 2023–24 | Gonzaga | 36 | 36 | 30.0 | 42.2 | 42.1 | 79.2 | 2.3 | 5.8 | 1.3 | 0.0 | 2.4 | 11.4 |
| Career | 161 | 77 | 24.1 | 40.8 | 39.9 | 82.7 | 2.1 | 3.9 | 1.1 | 0.0 | 2.1 | 9.4 | |
| Statistics retrieved from Sports-Reference.[14] | |||||||||||||
References
edit- ^ a b "Two pair: Kayleigh Truong, Kaylynne Truong join Wirth sisters as second set of twins for Gonzaga women's basketball". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
- ^ a b c d "Trương Thảo Vy (Kaylynne Truong) là ai? Chiều cao, sự nghiệp thi đấu của cầu thủ Việt Nam tại WNBA". www.sportingnews.com (in Vietnamese). April 16, 2024. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
- ^ a b c Poorman, Jon (April 15, 2024). "Jersey Village alum Kaylynne Truong selected in second round of WNBA draft". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
- ^ a b Green, Travis (April 15, 2024). "Gonzaga's Brynna Maxwell and Kaylynne Truong taken in WNBA Draft". krem.com. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
- ^ a b Booth, Tim (March 28, 2024). "Gonzaga's sister act of Kayleigh and Kaylynne Truong propels Zags into Sweet 16". Post Register. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
- ^ Allen, Jim. "Gonzaga point guard Kaylynne Truong is AP All-American honorable mention". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
- ^ Allen, Jim (February 21, 2023). "Culture at Gonzaga helped sway Truong sisters' decision to return for fifth year". NBC Right Now. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
- ^ a b c Craven, Brock (April 15, 2024). "Gonzaga Bulldog's Kaylynne Truong selected 21st overall by Washington Mystics in WNBA Draft". Nonstop Local SWX Sports. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
- ^ a b Khuê, Đức (April 16, 2024). "Trương Thảo Vy làm nên lịch sử cho bóng rổ Việt Nam ở giải bóng rổ nhà nghề Mỹ". TUOI TRE ONLINE (in Vietnamese). Retrieved April 16, 2024.
- ^ Stecker, Brent (April 16, 2024). "WNBA Draft: See who Seattle Storm picked, plus where Zags went". Seattle Sports. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
- ^ "Kaylynne Truong scores 13, No. 19 Gonzaga women use strong first half to sink Loyola Marymount 71-47". USA TODAY. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
- ^ "First Vietnamese woman to play in US basketball association". VnExpress. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
- ^ "WNBA Player Movement & Transactions | WNBA". www.wnba.com. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
- ^ "Kaylynne Truong College Stats". Sports-Reference. Retrieved April 10, 2024.