View source for Nikki Blue

{{Short description|American basketball player (born 1984)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2011}}
{{Infobox basketball biography
| name = Nikki Blue
| image = 
| position = [[Assistant coach]]
| team = USC Trojans
| league = [[Big Ten Conference]]
| height_ft = 5
| height_in = 8
| weight_lbs = 163
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|mf=yes|1984|03|29}}
| birth_place = [[Bakersfield, California]], U.S.
| high_school = [[West High School (Bakersfield, California)|West]] (Bakersfield, California)
| college = [[UCLA Bruins women's basketball|UCLA]] (2002–2006)
| draft_league = WNBA
| draft_year = 2006
| draft_round = 2
| draft_pick = 19
| draft_team = [[Washington Mystics]]
| career_start = 2006
| career_end = 2010
| career_position = [[Point guard]]
| career_number = 32, 1
| coach_start = 2008
| years1 = 2006–2009
| team1 = [[Washington Mystics]]
| years2 = 2010
| team2 = [[New York Liberty]]
| cyears1 = 2008–2014
| cteam1 = [[UNLV Rebels women's basketball|UNLV]] (assistant)
| cyears2 = 2014–2017
| cteam2 = [[Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners women's basketball|Cal State Bakersfield]] (assistant)
| cyears3 = 2017–2019
| cteam3 = [[Grand Canyon Antelopes women's basketball|Grand Canyon]] (assistant)
| cyears4 = 2019–2022
| cteam4 = [[Arizona State Sun Devils women's basketball|Arizona State]] (assistant)
| cyears5 = 2022–2023
| cteam5 = [[Phoenix Mercury]] (assistant)
| cyears6 = 2023
| cteam6 = Phoenix Mercury (interim head coach)
| cyears7 = 2025–present
| cteam7 = [[USC Trojans women's basketball|USC]] (assistant)
| highlights = 
* 4× First-team [[List of All-Pac-12 Conference women's basketball teams|All Pac-10]] (2003–2006)
* Pac-10 All-Freshman Team (2002)
* [[McDonald's All-American Game|McDonald's All-American]] (2002)
| wnba_profile = nikki_blue
| bbr_wnba = blueni01w
| letter = b
}}
'''Anitra Necole "Nikki" Blue''' (born March 29, 1984) is an American professional [[basketball]] coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the [[USC Trojans women's basketball|USC Trojans]] of the [[Big Ten Conference]].

==High school==
Born and raised in [[Bakersfield, California]], Blue played her high school career at [[West High School (Bakersfield, California)|West High School]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Boyns |first=Myles |date=2025-01-18 |title=Bakersfield native Nikki Blue hired as LA Sparks assistant coach |url=https://bakersfieldnow.com/sports/content/bakersfield-native-nikki-blue-hired-as-la-sparks-assistant-coach |access-date=2025-02-23 |website=KBAK |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Boyns |first=Myles |date=2023-09-21 |title=Bakersfield's own Nikki Blue: From local basketball legend to WNBA interim head coach |url=https://bakersfieldnow.com/sports/content/bakersfields-own-nikki-blue-from-local-basketball-legend-to-wnba-interim-head-coach |access-date=2025-02-23 |website=KBAK |language=en}}</ref>  Blue set the CIF Central Section record for points scored in a single season (913 in the 2000–01 season) and career (2,934 points).  Blue averaged 29 points per game her senior year at West and lead Kern County in assists per game as well.  Blue is regarded as the best player to ever come out of the CIF Central Section.  However, due to the lack of talent around her, West High never won a section championship during Blue's career.  The closest West came was in 2002 when West lost to crosstown rival Stockdale 82–55 in the CIF Central Section Division II championship game. Blue was named a [[Women's Basketball Coaches Association|WBCA]] All-American. She participated in the 2001 [[Women's Basketball Coaches Association#WBCA High School All-America Game|WBCA High School All-America Game]], where she scored two points.<ref name="WBCA Box Scores"/>

==College==
Blue was regarded as one of the best point guards in the country, and was offered a full-ride scholarship to the [[University of Connecticut]], the nations top ranked team in 2002.  However, Blue turned the offer down and instead opted to go to [[University of California, Los Angeles|UCLA]], which went 10–20 during the 2002 season.  Blue stated that UCLA was closer to home and she liked the idea of rebuilding a program.

At UCLA, Blue was a four-year starting point guard.  She was named first-team All-[[Pacific-10 Conference]] and to the All-Freshmen team.  She averaged 16.6 points per game, 5.5 rebounds per game, 3.6 assist per game, and 2.7 steals per game her freshman year. 
As a sophomore, she was named first-team All-[[Pacific-10 Conference|Pac-10]] for the second straight year. As a junior, she joined [[Ann Meyers]] as the second Bruin to record over 1,300 points and 400 assists. She was one of the finalists for the [[Nancy Lieberman Award]] her senior year. Her career averages at UCLA were 15.2 points per game, 5.1 assist per game, 5.2 rebounds per game, and 2.8 steals per game.

==UCLA statistics==
Source<ref name="NCAA Player stats"/>
{{NBA player statistics legend}}
{|class="wikitable"
  !Year
  !Team
  !GP
  !Points
  !FG%
  !3P%
  !FT%
  !RPG
  !APG
  !SPG
  !BPG
  !PPG
 
 |-
  |2002-03
  |[[UCLA Bruins women's basketball|UCLA]]
  |29
  |'''481'''
  |40.5
  |27.9
  |70.4
  |5.5
  |3.6
  |2.7
  |'''0.3'''
  |16.6
 
 |-
  |2003-04
  |UCLA&nbsp;
  |30
  |457
  |39.6
  |37.5
  |'''72.5'''
  |'''5.6'''
  |4.9
  |3.0
  |0.1
  |15.2
 
 |-
  |2004-05
  |UCLA&nbsp;
  |27
  |458
  |'''41.6'''
  |35.0
  |72.0
  |5.0
  |'''6.0'''
  |'''3.4'''
  |0.2
  |'''17.0'''
 
 |-
  |2005-06
  |UCLA&nbsp;
  |'''32'''
  |401
  |39.6
  |'''41.8'''
  |70.5
  |4.7
  |5.9
  |2.1
  |0.2
  |12.5
 
 |-
  |Career
  |UCLA&nbsp;
  |118
  |1797
  |40.3
  |35.5
  |71.4
  |5.2
  |5.1
  |2.8
  |0.2
  |15.2
 |}

==WNBA career==
After her college career, Blue was selected in the second round of the [[2006 WNBA draft]] by the [[Washington Mystics]]. She played 4 seasons with the Mystics before being traded on May 13, 2010 to the [[New York Liberty]] in exchange for rookie [[Ashley Houts]].

==Coaching career==
Blue was hired by the [[Phoenix Mercury]] on March 31, 2022, as an Assistant Coach to be a part of new Head Coach [[Vanessa Nygaard]]'s coaching staff.<ref>{{cite web |title=PHOENIX MERCURY ADD NIKKI BLUE AND CINNAMON LISTER TO 2022 COACHING STAFF |url=https://mercury.wnba.com/news/phoenix-mercury-add-nikki-blue-and-cinnamon-lister-to-2022-coaching-staff/ |website=mercury.wnba.com |publisher=WNBA |access-date=April 15, 2022}}</ref> Blue was named the interim head coach for the Mercury after they fired Nygaard on June 25, 2023.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Merchant |first1=Sabreena |title=Phoenix Mercury fire coach Vanessa Nygaard after 2-10 start to season: What went wrong? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/4639253/2023/06/25/vanessa-nygaard-fired-phoenix-mercury/ |website=theathletic.com |publisher=The Athletic |access-date=26 June 2023}}</ref>

In January 2025, Blue was announced as an assistant coach for the [[Los Angeles Sparks]] under head coach [[Lynne Roberts (basketball)|Lynne Roberts]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sparks Add Coaching Veterans Nikki Blue, Zak Buncik to Staff |url=https://sparks.wnba.com/news/sparks-add-coaching-veterans-nikki-blue-zak-buncik-to-staff |access-date=2025-01-21 |website=sparks.wnba.com |language=en}}</ref> However, before the start of the WNBA season, in April, she was named an assistant coach for the [[USC Trojans women's basketball|USC Trojans]] under head coach [[Lindsay Gottlieb]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=USC Women’s Basketball Brings In Nikki Blue As Assistant Coach |url=https://usctrojans.com/news/2025/4/23/womens-basketball-usc-womens-basketball-brings-in-nikki-blue-as-assistant-coach |access-date=2025-04-25 |website=USC Athletics |language=en}}</ref>  

===WNBA===
{{NBA coach statistics legend}}
{{NBA coach statistics start}}
|-
| align="left" |[[2023 Phoenix Mercury season|PHO]]
| align="left" |{{wnbay|2023}}
|28||7||21||{{Winning percentage|7|21}}|| align="center"  |6th in Western||—||—||—||—
| align="center" |Missed Playoffs
|-class="sortbottom"
| align="left" |'''Career'''
| ||28||7||21||{{Winning percentage|7|21}}|| ||0||0||0||{{Winning percentage|0|0}}
{{s-end}}

==WNBA career statistics==
{{WNBA player statistics legend}}
===Regular season===
{{WNBA player statistics start}}
|-
| align="left" | [[2006 WNBA season|2006]]
| align="left" | [[2006 Washington Mystics season|Washington]]
|24||0||7.5||25.9||8.3||80.6||0.8||1.5||'''0.8'''||0.0||0.8||2.3	
|-
| align="left" | [[2007 WNBA season|2007]]
| align="left" | [[2007 Washington Mystics season|Washington]]
|'''30'''||1||14.0||'''32.4'''||22.2||'''83.8'''||'''2.1'''||1.6||0.7||'''0.2'''||1.2||3.6	
|-
| align="left" | [[2008 WNBA season|2008]]
| align="left" | [[2008 Washington Mystics season|Washington]]
|26||'''22'''||'''20.7'''||'''32.4'''||'''43.8'''||76.0||1.6||'''2.8'''||0.7||0.1||1.6||'''3.8'''	
|-
| align="left" | [[2009 WNBA season|2009]]
| align="left" | [[2009 Washington Mystics season|Washington]]
|16||0||5.7||29.2||33.3||70.0||0.6||0.8||0.4||0.0||0.8||1.5	
|-
| align="left" | [[2010 WNBA season|2010]]
| align="left" | [[2010 New York Liberty season|New York]]
|15||0||5.1||28.6||16.7||71.4||0.4||0.9||0.3||0.0||'''0.6'''||1.2
|-
| align="left" | Career
| align="left" | 5 years, 2 teams
|111||23||11.8||30.7||29.1||79.1||1.3||1.6||0.6||0.1||1.1||2.7	
{{S-end}}

===Playoffs===
{{WNBA player statistics start}}
|-
| align="left" | [[2006 WNBA Playoffs|2006]]
| align="left" | [[2006 Washington Mystics season|Washington]]
|1||0||'''3.0'''||0.0||0.0||0.0||'''1.0'''||0.0||'''1.0'''||0.0||0.0||0.0
|-
| align="left" | [[2010 WNBA Playoffs|2010]]
| align="left" | [[2010 New York Liberty season|New York]]
|1||0||1.0||0.0||0.0||0.0||0.0||0.0||0.0||0.0||0.0||0.0
|-
| align="left" | Career
| align="left" | 5 years, 2 teams
|2||0||2.0||0.0||0.0||0.0||0.5||0.0||0.5||0.0||0.0||0.0	
{{S-end}}

==Personal==
Her full name is Anitra Necole Blue. She is the daughter to Sabrina Hunter and has one brother, Andre. She has served as an assistant coach in the UNLV women's basketball program for the past two years during her off-season from the WNBA. Her biggest thrill to date was being selected to play in the first McDonald's All-Star game in New York. She also lettered in volleyball (three years), softball (one year) and track and field (one year). She majored in history at UCLA.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wnba.com/playerfile/nikki_blue/bio.html |title=WNBA.com: Nikki Blue Playerfile |website=www.wnba.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080121221246/http://www.wnba.com/playerfile/nikki_blue/bio.html |archive-date=2008-01-21}} </ref>

== Notes ==
{{reflist|refs=

<ref name="WBCA Box Scores">{{cite web|title=WBCA High School All-America Game Box Scores |url=http://www.wbca.org/pages/AWARDS_high_school_all-america_game_box_scores |publisher=Women's Basketball Coaches Association |accessdate=29 Jun 2014 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140715064856/http://www.wbca.org/pages/AWARDS_high_school_all-america_game_box_scores |archivedate=July 15, 2014 }}</ref>

<ref name="NCAA Player stats">{{cite web|last1=|first1=|title=Women's Basketball Player stats|date=|url=http://web1.ncaa.org/stats/StatsSrv/careersearch|website=NCAA|accessdate=1 October 2015}}</ref>

}}

==External links==
* [http://www.gorunners.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=13300&ATCLID=209605194 Cal State Bakersfield coaching bio]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080313140929/http://www.wnba.com/playerfile/nikki_blue/index.html Profile] WNBA.com
* [http://www.uclabruins.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=30500&ATCLID=208206345 UCLA bio]

{{2006 WNBA draft}}
{{Phoenix Mercury}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blue, Nikki}}
[[Category:1984 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American expatriate basketball people in Greece]]
[[Category:American expatriate basketball people in Turkey]]
[[Category:American women's basketball players]]
[[Category:American women's basketball coaches]]
[[Category:Basketball players from Bakersfield, California]]
[[Category:Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners women's basketball coaches]]
[[Category:McDonald's High School All-Americans]]
[[Category:New York Liberty players]]
[[Category:Parade High School All-Americans (girls' basketball)]]
[[Category:Phoenix Mercury coaches]]
[[Category:Point guards]]
[[Category:UCLA Bruins women's basketball players]]
[[Category:UNLV Lady Rebels basketball coaches]]
[[Category:Washington Mystics draft picks]]
[[Category:Washington Mystics players]]