Longtime WNBA Veteran Kia Vaughn Announces Retirement

Veteran center Kia Vaughn announced her retirement from basketball Sunday following the Dream’s final regular season game of the 2022 campaign. 

Vaughn, 35, completed her 13th season in the WNBA and her first with Atlanta on Sunday. She played in 29 games for the Dream this year, averaging 2.5 points and 3.2 rebounds per contest.

“BASKETBALL… I wouldn’t have traded you for NOTHING IN THIS WORLD!” Vaughn wrote in her retirement announcement on Instagram. “THANK YOU for all you’ve taught, for all you’ve done, for all you’ve given me! Forever grateful & thankful.”

The No. 8 pick in the 2009 WNBA draft out of Rutgers, Vaughn began her career with the Liberty. She played for four seasons in New York and won the league’s Most Improved Player award in 2011 after raising her scoring average from 2.1 points to 10.1 points and her rebounding average from 1.4 rebounds to 6.7 rebounds. 

After being traded to the Mystics following the 2012 season, Vaughn played in Washington through the end of the ’16 campaign. She returned to New York for two more years in ’17 and ’18 before choosing to focus her playing efforts in Turkey in ’19. 

Vaughn returned to the WNBA the following season with the Mercury. She remained in Phoenix in ’21 before joining Atlanta last offseason. 

In addition to her time in the WNBA, Vaughn was a three-time Czech National League champion, a three-time Turkish Super League champion and a EuroLeague winner.