Numbers often lie in the WNBA. You look at a box score and think you see the whole story, but with a player like Skylar Diggins-Smith, the digits on the page are just the tip of the iceberg. Honestly, if you only look at her career scoring average, you're missing how she basically redefined the point guard position for a whole generation of players. She isn't just a "stats" player; she’s a rhythm player.
Skylar Diggins Smith stats tell a story of extreme longevity and a weirdly impressive ability to bounce back. We’re talking about a woman who has played through era shifts in the league, maternity leaves, and devastating injuries, only to come back and put up numbers that would make a rookie’s head spin.
The Seattle Resurgence and Those 2024-2025 Numbers
Most people thought Skylar might slow down after taking the 2023 season off. Wrong. When she joined the Seattle Storm in 2024, she didn't just "participate"—she took over the backcourt. She started all 40 games. Think about that for a second. In a league as physical as this one, playing every single night at age 34 is a feat of its own.
In that 2024 season, she averaged 15.1 points and a massive 6.4 assists per game. She ended up ranking fourth in the entire league for assists. That’s not a player on the decline. That’s a floor general. By the time the 2025 season rolled around, she actually bumped her scoring up to 15.5 points per game across 43 appearances.
The shooting splits are where it gets interesting.
In 2025, she shot 42.3% from the floor.
Her three-point shooting saw a significant jump to 36.5%.
That’s the nuance.
She’s getting smarter with her shot selection as she gets older.
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Career Longevity: More Than Just Points
Let's zoom out. Diggins-Smith has a career scoring average of 16.4 points per game. That is incredibly consistent over a decade-plus of professional basketball. But the real "secret sauce" in her stat sheet is the playmaking. Her career average of 5.3 assists per game puts her in elite company.
- Drafted: 3rd overall in 2013 (Tulsa Shock)
- All-Star Selections: 7 times (including 2025)
- All-WNBA First Team: 4 times
- Most Improved Player: 2014
Kinda crazy to think her best scoring season was all the way back in 2014 when she averaged 20.1 points. Many players peak early and fade. Skylar transformed. She went from a pure volume scorer in Tulsa to a high-IQ distributor in Phoenix and Seattle.
Defending the Perimeter: The Steals Nobody Talks About
If you ask a casual fan about Skylar, they'll talk about her crossover or her fashion. They rarely talk about her hands. She averaged 1.7 steals per game in 2024. That tied her for fifth in the league. You don't get those numbers by being "flashy." You get them by being a pest on defense.
Even in 2025, she maintained a solid 1.2 steals per game. Her defensive rating has stayed remarkably stable, usually hovering around the 100-105 mark depending on the team’s overall scheme. She’s 5'9", but she plays like she's 6'1" when she’s jumping passing lanes.
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The Notre Dame Foundation
You can't understand her WNBA production without looking at where it started. At Notre Dame, she was the only player—male or female—to ever rack up over 2,000 points, 500 rebounds, 500 assists, and 300 steals. It’s that "500/500/300" club that defines her. She was never just a specialist. She was the system.
Why Her Efficiency Matters Right Now
There’s a lot of talk about "efficiency" in the modern game. Skylar’s True Shooting percentage (TS%) has hovered around 53.6% in recent seasons. In the context of a high-usage guard who handles the ball as much as she does, that’s actually very respectable. She’s not just chucking shots; she’s drawing fouls. Her free-throw percentage is a career 84.3%. In late-game situations, that is the most important stat on the board.
The 2025 season saw her hit a season-high of 26 points against Las Vegas in September. She also had a game with 11 assists against Washington earlier that August. These aren't just "veteran" numbers. These are "First Team" numbers.
Breaking Down the Advanced Metrics
If you look at her usage rate, it’s usually around 24-29%. This means when she is on the floor, the offense flows through her nearly a third of the time. In Seattle, her Offensive Rating (ORtg) jumped to 108.5 in 2025. That’s a huge indicator of how much better the team performs when she’s the one making the decisions.
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Sorta makes you wonder why people ever doubted the Seattle move. She provided the veteran stability that a team with championship aspirations desperately needs.
What’s Next for the Numbers?
As we move further into 2026, the question is how long she can maintain this 15/6/1.5 stat line. Most guards fall off a cliff at 35. Skylar seems to be climbing a different peak. Her assist-to-turnover ratio has actually improved as she’s aged, sitting at a solid 2.8 in 2025.
If you're tracking her for fantasy or just because you love the game, keep an eye on her "Points + Assists" totals. That’s where her true value lies. She’s currently sitting at over 4,500 career points, and with the way she’s playing, 5,000 is well within reach before she decides to hang them up.
Actionable Insights for Following Skylar's Performance:
- Watch the First Quarter Assists: Skylar tends to set the tone early. If she has 3+ assists in the first 10 minutes, the Storm almost always win.
- Track the FT Attempts: When she's aggressive, she gets to the line 6+ times. This is usually a sign her legs are fresh.
- Check the Matchup Height: She struggles more against "lengthy" guards like Jackie Young. When she's against smaller traditional points, her scoring efficiency sky-rockets.
- Monitor the Minutes: Seattle tries to keep her around 31 minutes. If that number creeps toward 36, look for a slight dip in her shooting percentage the following game due to fatigue.
Basically, Skylar Diggins-Smith is a masterclass in how to evolve. She’s not the same player she was in 2013, and honestly, the 2026 version might be the most dangerous one yet because she knows exactly where everyone on the court is supposed to be before they even get there.