Mery Andrade

Mery Andrade enters her third season with the Raptors as an assistant coach on Darko Rajaković’s staff.
Prior to joining the Raptors, Andrade spent four years (2019-23) with the New Orleans Pelicans
organization as an assistant coach with their G League affiliate, the Birmingham Squadron. Andrade
began her coaching career at the collegiate level, spending four seasons as an assistant with the
University of San Diego women’s basketball program.
Before pursuing coaching, Andrade had a successful 16-year playing career where she competed in the
WNBA and overseas in Italy and Portugal. She was selected by the Cleveland Rockers in the 1999
WNBA Draft, spending her career with Cleveland (1999-02) and the Charlotte Sting (2004). Andrade
began coaching while overseas, acting as a player/assistant coach with Le Mura Basket Lucca in Italy
and as a player/head coach with CRC Quinta Dos Lombos U14. During her time in Europe she won an
Italian Championship in 2002, the 2005 FIBA EuroCup and a Portuguese Championship in 2014.
A native of Cabo Verde but raised in Lisbon, Portugal, Andrade competed on the Portuguese National
Team for 19 years (1991-2010) and speaks five languages – English, Portuguese, Italian, Spanish and
Criolo (Cabo Verde).
Andrade played collegiately at Old Dominion (1995-99) where she was a three-time All-CAA honouree,
three-time CAA All-Defensive selection, and the 1999 CAA Player of the Year. She graduated with a
Bachelor’s degree in Health Sciences and was inducted into the ODU Hall of Fame in 2010.