Indya Nivar

Indya Nivar
Nivar with North Carolina in 2024
No. 21 – Atlanta Dream
PositionGuard
LeagueWNBA
Personal information
Born (2004-01-16) January 16, 2004
Fayetteville, North Carolina, U.S.
Listed height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Career information
High schoolApex Friendship
(Apex, North Carolina)
CollegeStanford (2022–2023)
North Carolina (2023–2026)
WNBA draft2026: 2nd round, 28th overall pick
Drafted byAtlanta Dream
Playing career2026–present
Career history
2026–presentAtlanta Dream
Career highlights
Stats at Basketball Reference 
Medals
Women's basketball
Representing the  United States
FIBA Under-18 Americas Championship
Gold medal – first place2022 ArgentinaTeam

Indya Nivar (born January 16, 2004) is an American professional basketball player for the Atlanta Dream of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played college basketball for the Stanford Cardinal and the North Carolina Tar Heels.

Early life and high school career

Nivar was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina, to Ebony Crooms-Nivar and Kenny Nivar, and has a younger sister.[1] She played multiple sports growing up, including gymnastics, basketball, volleyball, and track, competing in the latter three at Apex Friendship High School in Apex, North Carolina.[2] In her senior season, she averaged 18 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 3.5 steals per game and was named North Carolina Miss Basketball, the North Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year, and McDonald's All-American. She led Apex to the NCHSAA 4A state championship game, finishing runner-up but being named the tournament's MVP.[1] A five-star recruit ranked the 20th-best player in the 2022 class by ESPN, she committed to Stanford over offers from North Carolina and NC State.[3][4]

College career

Stanford Cardinal

Nivar made her college debut for the Stanford Cardinal on November 7, 2022, scoring a season-high 13 points in the season-opening 86–48 win against San Diego State. She appeared in all 35 games as Stanford won a share of the Pac-12 Conference regular-season title. She finished her freshman season averaging 3.2 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 1.0 assists, in 12.6 minutes per game.[1][5] After the season, she chose to enter the NCAA transfer portal and returned to her home state with the North Carolina Tar Heels. North Carolina head coach Courtney Banghart said Nivar told her she "didn't know we'd get good so fast".[6]

North Carolina Tar Heels

Nivar made her North Carolina debut on November 8, 2023, coming off the bench to score a game-high 17 points and get 11 rebounds in the season-opening 102–49 win against Gardner–Webb. She was the first North Carolina player to record a double-double on her debut since 2013.[7][8] She appeared in all 33 games in her sophomore season, averaging 6.4 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.[7] She became a starter in her junior season with the Tar Heels, recording 8.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 2.0 steals per game.[7] In her senior year in 2025–26, she earned second-team All-ACC and ACC All-Defensive honors after posting 10.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 2.7 steals per game.[7] On March 27, 2026, she scored a career-high 20 points in her last college game: a 63–42 loss to UConn in the NCAA tournament, the program's second consecutive sweet sixteen appearance.[9]

Professional career

Nivar was selected twenty-eighth overall by the Atlanta Dream in the 2026 WNBA draft.[10] On April 17, 2026, she signed a rookie scale contract with the Dream.[11] She was waived by the team on July 7.[12] The next day, the Dream signed her to a player development contract.[13]

National team career

Nivar won gold with the United States at the 2022 FIBA Under-18 Women's Americas Championship, where she averaged 6.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.8 steals per game in six games.[1]

Career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game  RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game  BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game
 TO  Turnovers per game  FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 Bold  Career best ° League leader

College

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2022–23 Stanford 35112.539.623.865.62.01.00.50.11.03.2
2023–24 North Carolina 33621.337.123.950.04.31.41.30.51.76.4
2024–25 North Carolina 343424.036.821.555.94.52.02.00.42.38.3
2025–26 North Carolina 353528.745.131.360.05.23.72.70.52.610.6
Career 1377621.640.025.457.34.02.01.60.41.97.1
Statistics retrieved from Sports-Reference.[14]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Jasmine Nivar". Stanford Cardinal. Retrieved January 3, 2025.
  2. ↑ Bass, Alex (January 31, 2022). "Stanford commit and Apex Friendship star Indya Nivar takes setting an example seriously". The News & Observer. Retrieved January 3, 2025.
  3. ↑ Morton, Kyle (November 17, 2021). "Apex Friendship 5-star guard Indya Nivar commits to Stanford". HighSchoolOT.com. Retrieved January 3, 2025.
  4. ↑ Koh, Michael (April 30, 2023). "Stanford Transfer Indya Nivar Commits to UNC Women's Basketball". Chapelboro.com. Retrieved January 3, 2025.
  5. ↑ Holloway, Jeremiah (January 3, 2025). "UNC Women's Basketball Lands Stanford's Indya Nivar from Transfer Portal". 247Sports. Retrieved January 3, 2025.
  6. ↑ Bynum, R.L. (November 1, 2023). "Nivar happily said yes to second chance to play for UNC after season at Stanford". Tar Heel Tribune. Retrieved January 3, 2025.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Indya Nivar". North Carolina Tar Heels. Retrieved January 3, 2025.
  8. ↑ Koh, Michael (November 8, 2023). "UNC Women's Basketball Throttles Gardner-Webb on Opening Night". Chapelboro.com. Retrieved January 3, 2025.
  9. ↑ Jones, Alexandra (March 28, 2026). "'So proud of her': Despite loss, Indya Nivar's career night against UConn shows why she is a trusted leader". The Daily Tar Heel. Retrieved April 13, 2026.
  10. ↑ "Indya Nivar Selected 28th Overall In 2026 WNBA Draft". University of North Carolina Athletics. April 13, 2026. Retrieved July 7, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. ↑ "https://www.spotrac.com/wnba/player/_/id/107179/indya-nivar". Spotrac. April 16, 2026. Retrieved July 7, 2026. {{cite web}}: External link in |title= (help)
  12. ↑ "WNBA Player Movement & Transactions | WNBA". www.wnba.com. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
  13. ↑ "Atlanta Dream Sign Indya Nivar to Player Development Contract". dream.wnba.com. July 8, 2026. Retrieved July 8, 2026.
  14. ↑ "Indya Nivar College Stats". Sports-Reference. Retrieved April 16, 2026.
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