Liatu King college career: A look back at the early career of the recently waived Dallas Wings player

Liatu King has been waived by the Dallas Wings, the team announced on Tuesday. The former Notre Dame star was selected by the Los Angeles Sparks in the third round of the 2025 WNBA draft and signed a rest-of-season contract with the Wings on July 2.

As King determines the next steps in her WNBA career, here's a look back at her college days.

King is a Washington DC native who honed her skill set at Bishop McNamara High School. She recorded 1,024 career points and 1,018 rebounds and racked up a number of impressive accolades.

During her junior campaign, King averaged 9 points per game and earned Second Team All-WCAC. As a senior, she was named First Team All-WCAC and Washington Post’s Second Team All-Met.

King began her college career at Pittsburgh and made an immediate impact on the team, appearing in 19 games as a freshman. As a role player off the bench, the forward averaged 5.0 points and 4.6 rebounds per game in 14.3 average minutes on the court.

Over the next three seasons, King continued to develop and began seeing starts for the Panthers. As a senior, she led Pitt in scoring (18.7 ppg), rebounds (10.3 rpg), steals (1.8 spg) and blocks (1.5 bpg). All of these values were career highs, and King was named ACC's Most Improved Player.

Syndication: The Montgomery Advertiser - Source: Imagn

Liatu King transferred to Notre Dame for her final season of eligibility. In her sole season with the Fighting Irish, she led the squad in rebounds with 10.4 rpg.

Now, King is looking to continue her basketball career at the professional level but has been faced with an obstacle after being waived by the Wings.

Liatu King's WNBA journey

After her impressive season at Notre Dame, Liatu King was selected at No. 27 by the Los Angeles Sparks in the 2025 WNBA draft. She was cut from the roster but was later resigned to a hardship contract.

The forward appeared in 12 games for Los Angeles, averaging an even 10 minutes per game. King put up 3.0 points and 2.1 rebounds per game for the Sparks while shooting 50.0%.

WNBA: Los Angeles Sparks at Dallas Wings - Source: Imagn

After being released by the Sparks, King was picked up by the Wings on July 2. She appeared in two games for Dallas, averaging 1.0 points and 2.0 rebounds over 8.0 average minutes.

Less than a week after signing her, the Wings have waived Liatu King. She will now look ahead to the next steps in her professional playing journey.

Also Read: From Paige Bueckers to Kiki Iriafen, these are 5 best-dressed college hoops players at the 2025 WNBA draft

About the author

Lindsey Ware is a college sports journalist at Sportskeeda with over five years of experience working with publications such as The News & Observer, The Daily Tar Heel, Triangle Tribune and Cardiac Cane. She has also worked for Major League Baseball, The Holly Springs Salamanders, The Tri-City Chili Peppers, Tuffy Talk, Super Meteors Basketball, Just Good Network and Living Sport.

Lindsey has a Bachelor’s Degree in Media and Journalism from UNC Chapel Hill. Her education allowed Lindsey to gain experience in sports communication, which she honed in internships. Other than being a storyteller and sports fanatic, Lindsey is also a social media and marketing specialist.

Her favorite college team is UNC, although she grew up a N.C. State fan as both of her parents are Wolfpack alumni. Michael Jordan was a huge deal in North Carolina when Lindsey was growing up, and after a summer spent at UNC’s Sports Journalism Camp back in high school, Lindsey was set on being a Tar Heel.

Lindsey's favorite college coach of all time is Roy Williams. During her time attending UNC Chapel Hill and writing for The Daily Tar Heel, Lindsey was lucky enough to meet and speak with Williams a few times. He was like a celebrity on UNC’s campus and was beloved for his coaching style and success with the Tar Heels, accumulating three NCAA championship titles in 18 years.

When not watching or writing about sports, Lindsey enjoys reading, trying new restaurants and coffee shops, and spending time with my friends, family and dog. She also likes to journal, watch movies and paint.

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Edited by John Maxwell