| Kayla Thornton | |
| Nationality: | American |
| Position: | Small forward / power forward |
| Height Ft: | 6 |
| Height In: | 1 |
| Weight Lbs: | 190 |
| League: | WNBA |
| Team: | New York Liberty |
| Number: | 5 |
| Birth Date: | 20 October 1992 |
| Birth Place: | Germany |
| High School: | Irvin (El Paso, Texas) |
| College: | UTEP (2010–2014) |
| Draft League: | WNBA |
| Draft Year: | 2014 |
| Career Start: | 2014 |
| Years1: | 2014 |
| Team1: | Montaneras de Morovis |
| Years2: | 2014–2015 |
| Team2: | Maccabi Ramat Hen |
| Team3: | Washington Mystics |
| Years4: | 2016 |
| Team4: | Cangrejeras de Santurce |
| Years5: | 2016–2017 |
| Team5: | Bucheon Hana 1Q |
| Years6: | – |
| Years7: | 2018–2020 |
| Team7: | Cheongju KB Stars |
| Years8: | 2020–2021 |
| Team8: | Al Ahly |
| Years9: | 2021–2022 |
| Team9: | Reyer Venezia |
| Years10: | 2022–2023 |
| Team10: | Southside Flyers |
| Years11: | –present |
| Team11: | New York Liberty |
| Years12: | 2023–2024 |
| Team12: | Dynamo Kursk |
| Highlights: |
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Kayla Thornton (born October 20, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for the New York Liberty of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). In college, Thornton played for the University of Texas at El Paso.[1] [2]
Thornton was El Paso's all-time leading scorer.[3] She led the team to a record 29 wins.
Thornton was not selected in the 2014 WNBA draft. She signed with the Washington Mystics for the 2015 season and played in 10 games. She returned to the WNBA for the 2017 season, signing with the Dallas Wings. She spent six seasons in Dallas before being traded on January 16, 2023 to the New York Liberty in a three-team deal.[4] [5]
Thornton is known for her defensive play, and her ability to guard players in any position.[6] In the WNBA off season, Thornton has played in Australia, Egypt, Israel, Italy, Puerto Rico, Russia and South Korea.
|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2015| style="text-align:left;"| Washington| 10 || 0 || 8.8 || .333 || .000 || .667 || 2.1 || 0.1 || 0.3 || 0.3 || 0.5 || 2.2|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2017| style="text-align:left;"| Dallas| 34 || 1 || 17.2 || .412 || .279 || .800 || 3.3 || 0.9 || 0.6 || 0.2 || 0.7 || 6.8|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2018| style="text-align:left;"| Dallas| 34 || 32 || 28.6 || .447 || .355 || .860 || 4.0 || 1.8 || 1.0 || 0.4 || 1.1 || 9.2|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2019| style="text-align:left;"| Dallas| 27 || 25 || 30.4 || .343 || .272 || .931 || 5.3 || 1.8 || 0.9 || 0.3 || 1.6 || 10.4|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2020| style="text-align:left;"| Dallas| 22 || 14 || 25.3 || .429 || .347 || .875 || 5.1 || 0.8 || 0.9 || 0.2 || 1.1 || 7.3|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2021| style="text-align:left;"| Dallas| 31 || 25 || 27.6 || .421 || .349 || .849 || 5.6 || 1.5 || 0.8 || 0.2 || 1.0 || 7.5|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2022| style="text-align:left;"| Dallas| 36 || 35 || 29.2 || .471 || .329 || .829 || 5.9 || 1.8 || 1.1 || 0.6 || 1.2 || 8.0|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2023| style="text-align:left;"| New York| 40 || 0 || 17.3 || .433 || .313 || .767 || 3.5 || 0.7 || 0.7 || 0.3 || 0.5 || 4.5|-| style="text-align:left;"| Career| style="text-align:left;"| 7 years, 2 teams| 234 || 132 || 24.0 || .416 || .321 || .841 || 4.5 || 1.3 || 0.8 || 0.3 || 1.0 || 7.3
|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2017| style="text-align:left;"| Dallas| 1 || 0 || 6.0 || .000 || .000 || — || 1.0 || 1.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2018| style="text-align:left;"| Dallas| 1 || 1 || 30.0 || .571 || .000 || — || 3.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 8.0|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2021| style="text-align:left;"| Dallas| 1 || 1 || 16.0 || .000 || .000 ||— || 2.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2022| style="text-align:left;"| Dallas| 3 || 3 || 26.3 || .526 || .500 || 1.000 || 4.7 || 1.3 || 0.3 || 0.7 || 1.0 || 8.3|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2023| style="text-align:left;"| New York| 10 || 0 || 10.1 || .444 || .400 || 1.000 || 1.5 || 0.3 || 0.1 || 0.2 || 0.3 || 3.2|-| style="text-align:left;"| Career| style="text-align:left;"| 5 years, 2 teams| 16 || 5 || 14.5 || .433 || .357 || 1.000 || 2.2 || 0.5 || 0.1 || 0.3 || 0.4 || 4.1
Source[7]
| Year | Team | GP | Points | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG | |
| 2010-11 | UTEP | 30 | 210 | 42.8% | 14.3% | 67.8% | 5.8 | 0.6 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 7.0 | |
| 2011-12 | UTEP | 32 | 315 | 48.0% | 38.1% | 73.0% | 7.3 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 9.8 | |
| 2012-13 | UTEP | 32 | 491 | 41.0% | 28.5% | 70.5% | 8.7 | 1.2 | 1.9 | 0.4 | 15.3 | |
| 2013-14 | UTEP | 34 | 663 | 43.0% | 27.7% | 77.7% | 10.1 | 2.0 | 2.6 | 1.0 | 19.5 | |
| Career | 128 | 1679 | 43.3% | 28.5% | 73.6% | 8.1 | 1.2 | 1.7 | 0.5 | 13.1 |