Brittney Sykes

Brittney Sykes: A Brief Biography

Brittney Sykes is a professional basketball player who plays as a guard for the Washington Mystics in the WNBA. Sykes’ basketball journey started at the University High School in Newark where she played and was selected for the 2012 McDonald’s All-American game. She then took her talents to Syracuse University following which she was drafted as the seventh overall player in the WNBA Draft by the Atlanta Dream in 2017. Sykes averaged a commendable 13.9 points, 1.9 assists and 4.1 rebounds per game coming into the league with a very efficient 40.8% shooting efficiency, which marked her as one of the players for the future. She completed her Bachelor of Arts in Communications and Rhetorical Studies and then went on to complete her Master of Science in Instructional Design, Development, and Evaluation.

In the WNBA, Sykes was able to establish herself as a defensive player and a player who can play in any position as she averaged a career-high 15.9 points, 2.1 steals, 3.8 assists and 5.0 rebounds per game while shooting a 43.9% efficiency in the 2023 WNBA season. She has been awarded the WNBA All-Defensive First Team and Second Team honours twice, which is an indication of her defensive capabilities. Sykes also topped the league in steals in the 2021 and 2022 seasons.

Brittney Sykes Early Life

Brittney Sykes was born on February 7, 1994, in Newark, New Jersey. She was raised by her parents, Michael and Regina and has two elder brothers. She went to the University High School in Newark and she was among the best players in her team. In her high school years, she was able to play for her school team as well as for the Philly Belles, a club team. Her performance on the basketball court garnered national attention and she received many achievements such as being selected to participate in the McDonald’s All-American game in 2012 and being selected to the USA U18 national team.

Sykes’ high school performances were quite good as she scored an average of 18.9 points, 12.9 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game in her senior year. Her performance made University High School participate in the Essex County Championship in the 2011-2012 season. Besides being an athlete, Sykes was also a scholar, who was a member of the National Honor Society, the student cabinet, and the MSG Varsity Club.

Brittney Sykes Personal Life

Brittney Sykes’ mother, Regina, is an operations coordinator at Great Oaks Legacy Charter School, as per her Facebook page. Sykes is also friendly with many people in the basketball fraternity, including WNBA player Breanna Stewart with whom she is close friends. This friendship was developed when they were in college and has continued to grow strong despite the cutthroat competition in their respective fields of work, as per ESPN.

Brittney Sykes Family Background

Brittney Sykes was born in Newark, New Jersey. Her parents are Michael and Regina Sykes. Regina is employed at Great Oaks Legacy Charter School as an operations coordinator and her father is often seen on social media cheering on her daughter on his Instagram account @sykes46. Brittney also has two older brothers, whose names are not publicly available.

Brittney Sykes Social Media

Brittney Sykes is seen fairly often on social media posting about her upcoming games or highlights of previous games. She also likes to show her workouts and occasionally posts about her vacation pics. Her Instagram account has the handle @brittbundlez. She also has an X account with the username @BrittBundlez.

Brittney Sykes Career Stats

Brittney Sykes has been playing in the WNBA and she is a capable scoring guard who is also very strong on defence, as shown by her 2023 stats which boast a career high of 15.9 points and 2.1 steals per game. She has been able to record good performances throughout her tenure in the WNBA. Her defensive skills are well demonstrated by her WNBA All-Defensive Teams selections, of which she has been selected to the First Team in 2021 and 2022. Sykes also topped the league in steals in 2021 and 2022, which demonstrates her capacity to deny the rival’s offence.

Sykes’ best game was on the 24th of August, 2024, where she played 28 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists in a win against the Los Angeles Sparks. Another memorable game was on the 27th of August, 2024 when she was able to score 20 points and get 6 rebounds in a victory against Seattle Storm.

Brittney Sykes Achievements

Brittney Sykes has shown great potential for defence as well as a capable offensive ability throughout all levels in her career. Below mentioned are some of her most notable achievements throughout her career:

WNBA Draft

Brittney Sykes was drafted into the Atlanta Dream in the WNBA in 2017 as the seventh overall pick, which made her the first Syracuse University player to be drafted that high.

WNBL Defensive Player of the Year

In 2022, Brittney Sykes was awarded the WNBL Defensive Player of the Year award for her solid production on the defensive end of the floor.

All-WNBL First-Team

Brittney Sykes was also nominated into the All-WNBL First Team in 2022, which signifies her inclusion among the best players in the Australian WNBL league.

WNBA steals leader

Sykes was the steals leader in the WNBA for 2 consecutive seasons in 2021 and 2022, with a 1.8 steals per game record for 2021 and a 2.0 steals per game in the 2022 season, which depicts her capability as a good perimeter defender in the WNBA.

WNBA All-Defensive Teams

Sykes has been praised for her great defensive play during her playing years. She has been recognized as the WNBA All-Defensive First Team in 2021 and 2022 and the Second Team in 2020 and 2023. She has become one of the league’s best defenders because of her capacity to stop opponents’ attacks.

WNBA All-Rookie Team

Brittney Sykes was nominated into the WNBA All-Rookie team in 2017, following a solid rookie season, which established her as a capable player in the upcoming years and averaged 13.9 points, 1.9 assists and 4.1 rebounds per game.

First-team All-ACC

Brittney Sykes was nominated into the First-team All-ACC in 2017 after a solid senior year at college, wherein she averaged a career-high 19.2 points, 3.3 assists and 7.8 rebounds per game, showcasing her all-around talent.

ACC All-Defensive Team

Brittney Sykes was also part of the ACC All-Defensive team in 2017, which showed her potential for defence right from her college days as she averaged a career-high of 2.2 steals and 0.8 blocks per game as a guard in the NCAA.

Big East All-Freshman Team

Brittney Sykes was selected to the Big East All-Freshman Team in 2013, after her freshman year, due to a solid season at the start of her college career, where she averaged 8.9 points, 2.0 steals, 5.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game.

McDonald's All-American

Brittney Sykes was selected as a McDonald’s All-American following her high school career in 2012, marking her as one of the best prospects at the time as she averaged 18.9 points, 12.9 rebounds and 3.6 assists as a senior.

Career Milestones

Sykes achieved several career achievements such as reaching 2000 career points in 2023. She has also recorded multiple double-doubles, which shows that she is not only a rebounding machine but also a scorer.

Brittney Sykes Contract

Brittney Sykes is on a 3-year $575,000 deal with the Washington Mystics, which includes a guaranteed amount of $575,000 and an average salary of $191,667 as per Spotrac. The contract was signed by her in 2023, and as of 2024, she will earn a base salary of $190,000, while carrying a cap hit of $190,000 and a dead cap value of $190,000.

Her contract before this was a $223,300 deal with the Los Angeles Sparks, which included an average annual salary of $111,650, which she signed in 2021 as a free agent.