Women's National Basketball Association
After graduating from Stanford, Nygaard began her six-year career in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).
Nygaard was selected by the New York Liberty in the fourth round (39th overall pick) of the 1998 WNBA Draft.
She missed the 1998 and most of the 1999 seasons due to injury, but joined the starting lineup with the Portland Fire team in 2000 and 2001 and with the Miami Sol team in 2002.
Her best season came with the Sol in 2002, when she averaged 7.9 points and 3.8 rebounds per game.
She has also played for the Cleveland Rockers, the Charlotte Sting, and the Los Angeles Sparks.
During the WNBA off-season, she played in professional basketball leagues in Europe, including Germany (2001), Spain (1999) and Italy (1998).
Before the 2004 WNBA season began, Nygaard signed a free agent contract with the Houston Comets, but was waived by the team during training camp. She signed another contract with the Comets prior to the 2005 season, but decided to announce her retirement instead.
Read more about this topic: Vanessa Nygaard
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