Deja Kelly is a basketball player from San Antonio, Texas, who started playing at a young age and built a strong career through high school and college. After four years at North Carolina and a final season at Oregon, she went undrafted in 2025 but is now competing for a spot with the Las Vegas Aces.
Kelly’s Basketball Journey Began Early
Kelly was born on September 8, 2001, in San Antonio, Texas, and her early passion for basketball was shaped by her family—her mother, Theresa Nunn, a former Valley City State University player who raised Deja as a single parent and coached her in her early years, and her father, Darren Kelly, who was an All-Big 12 selection at the University of Texas from 1999 to 2001.
She began to play basketball at the age of three, and later, at 9 years old, she decided to completely focus on the game. Her basketball career began at Lady Bird Johnson High School, averaging 19.2 points, 3.4 steals, and 3.1 assists per game as a freshman, earning Newcomer of the Year honors from the San Antonio Express-News.
Deja Kelly Played Four Years at North Carolina and One at Oregon
Kelly’s collegiate basketball career is marked by consistent excellence, leadership, and adaptability, spanning four years at the University of North Carolina (UNC) and a graduate transfer season at the University of Oregon.
She made a name for herself as a freshman at UNC in 2020–21, debuting with 19 points, four rebounds, and three assists against Radford. During the game against Syracuse, she scored a season-high 22 points and repeated that total in back-to-back games versus Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech.
Kelly averaged 11.0 points, 2.9 assists, and 2.3 rebounds per game, earning ACC All-Freshman Team honors and being named ACC Freshman of the Week twice. In her sophomore year, she improved her game even further and scored her career high of 31 points against Clemson and recorded her first double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds versus Virginia Tech.
She led UNC to its first Sweet Sixteen in seven years, finishing the season with 16.5 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game while leading the ACC with an 85.8% free throw percentage. Her standout performance earned her First-Team All-ACC honors and a WBCA All-America honorable mention. In her junior year, Kelly again scored her career high, which was 32 points against Syracuse, averaging 16.3 points and 3.2 assists per game.
She ended her Tar Heels career with 1,858 points, ranking eighth in program history, and was selected First-Team All-ACC for a third consecutive year. After getting her degree in broadcast journalism, she was later transferred to the University of Oregon for her final season in 2024–25.
There, she averaged 11.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game over 29 appearances, shooting 39.0% from the field and standing out with a 22-point performance against Washington.
Kelly went undrafted in 2025 but quickly signed with the Las Vegas Aces and impressed in preseason with a clutch game-winner. Still on the training camp roster, she’s pushing hard for a final spot.