Aerial Leann Powers (born January 17, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for the Indiana Fever of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played college basketball for the Michigan State Spartans. She was drafted by the Dallas Wings with the fifth overall pick in the 2016 WNBA draft.
Powers was born in Detroit, Michigan to Juan and Cecelia Powers. She has a younger brother named Juan Jr. Powers. Before playing basketball, Powers participated in boxing at a young age.
Powers is openly lesbian.
Powers was a 2012 graduate of Detroit Country Day. During her high school career, Powers led her school team to four consecutive regional championships. Upon graduation, Powers accepted a basketball scholarship at Michigan State University.
Powers attended Michigan State University for four seasons. Powers couldn't play for Michigan State in her first year due to a torn achilles tendon that she suffered in practice before the season started. In her second year, Powers came back healthy and averaged 13.8 points per game in her first season for Michigan State. During her first season, Powers had 26 points and 18 rebounds against Hampton University in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, which was the third-most points scored by a Michigan State Spartan in the NCAA Tournament, while her rebounding performance broke Michigan State's NCAA Tournament single-game record. By the end of her first season, Powers was named to the All-Big Ten First Team, becoming the first Michigan State freshman to ever be named to the First Team. She was also named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team and was a co-recipient for both Michigan State's Player of the Year and Spartan Hustle award. In her second season with Michigan State, Powers had the best year of her college career, averaging 21.9 points and 12.1 rebounds per game. During the season, she had 24 double-doubles, which tied her for first on the All-Big Ten First Team and was the third-most in the NCAA. In her final season with Michigan State, Powers averaged 21.8 points and 9.2 rebounds per game. In February 2016, Power earned espnW player of the week honors following her career-high 40 points (on 14âÂÂ26 field goal shooting) along with 8 rebounds and 6 assists in a 114âÂÂ106 win against Minnesota. By the end of the season, she was named to the All-American Third Team and the All-Big Ten First Team for the third time. Following her senior season, Powers entered the 2016 WNBA draft.
Powers was selected to be a member of Team USA at the World University Games held in Seoul, South Korea from July 5âÂÂ13, 2015. The team won all six games, including the championship game against Canada. For the first three quarters, the game was quite close with four ties and four lead changes. In the fourth quarter, the USA exploded for 34 points to pull out to a large lead, and won the gold medal with a score of 82âÂÂ63. Powers was the leading scorer for the USA team, averaging 18 points per game.
In 2016, Powers signed an endorsement deal with Nike. Powers was drafted 5th overall by the Dallas Wings in the 2016 WNBA draft. In her rookie season, Powers came off the bench and was effective on the Wings' second unit, averaging 10.4 points per game in 32 games with 2 starts. In a loss to the Washington Mystics, she put up career-highs in both scoring and rebounding with 21 points and 10 rebounds. It was also her first career double-double. She was named to the WNBA All-Rookie Team by the end of the season.
Midway through the 2017 WNBA season on July 25, Powers made her return after recovering from hip surgery, scoring 9 points in 18 minutes off the bench in an 84âÂÂ82 victory over the Indiana Fever. 2 games later, Power made her first and only start of the season for the Wings and scored a new career-high of 23 points in a 95âÂÂ74 loss to the Los Angeles Sparks. The Wings finished as the number 7 seed in the league with a 16âÂÂ18 record but lost to the Washington Mystics in the first-round elimination game, where Powers scored 21 points off the bench.
On July 18, 2018, Powers scored a season-high 18 points in a 101âÂÂ72 victory against the Phoenix Mercury.
On July 24, 2018, Powers was traded to the Washington Mystics in exchange for Tayler Hill and draft picks. The Mystics finished as the number three seed with a 22âÂÂ12 record, receiving a bye to the second round elimination game. There, the Mystics would defeat the Los Angeles Sparks 96âÂÂ64. In the semi-finals, the Mystics defeated the number 2 seed Atlanta Dream in a five-game series, advancing to the WNBA Finals for the first time in franchise history. In the Finals, the Mystics were swept by the Seattle Storm.
In 2019, Powers would have the best season of her career thus far. On July 7, 2019, Powers scored a new career-high 24 points in a 98âÂÂ81 loss to the Los Angeles Sparks. By the end of the season, Powers finished with a career-high in scoring, helping the Mystics to a league-best 26âÂÂ8 record. As the number 1 seed, the Mystics would receive a double-bye to the semi-finals. There, the Mystics defeated the Las Vegas Aces in four games to advance to the WNBA Finals for the second year in a row. In the WNBA Finals, the Mystics would come out victorious as they defeated the Connecticut Sun in five games, earning Powers her first WNBA championship.
In 2020, the season was delayed and shortened to 22 games in a bubble at IMG Academy due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With the Mystics' star player Elena Delle Donne sitting out the season for health concerns after being diagnosed as a "high risk player", Powers would be inserted into the starting lineup. On July 28, 2020, Powers scored a new career-high 27 points in a 94âÂÂ89 victory over the Connecticut Sun. On August 7, 2020, Powers suffered a hamstring injury in a game against the New York Liberty and would be sidelined for the rest of the season. Prior to her season-ending injury, Powers was averaging new career-highs in scoring, assists, steals and rebounds with her increased playing time. The Mystics struggled to defend their title, as their roster was depleted with several key players from their 2019 championship run leaving in free agency. They finished the season 9âÂÂ13 with the number 8 seed but were eliminated by the Phoenix Mercury in the first-round elimination game.
In 2021, Powers became an unrestricted free agent and signed with the Minnesota Lynx.
On January 31, 2024, Powers signed a one-year deal with the Atlanta Dream.
On June 10, 2025, Powers signed with the Golden State Valkyries. On June 25, she was waived by the Valkyries.
On August 23, 2025, Powers signed a 7-day hardship contract with the Indiana Fever. On September 6, the Fever announced that Powers had signed a rest-of-season contract with the team.
During her rookie season, Powers signed with Bucheon KEB Hana Bank, a South Korean club for the 2016âÂÂ17 off-season. However, she ended up not playing for the team due to a tear on her hip labrum that she sustained towards the end of the 2016 WNBA season. She underwent hip surgery and was ruled out for the off-season with an estimated recovery period of 4âÂÂ6 months, In 2017, Powers signed with Fenerbahçe S.K. of the Turkish Super League for the 2017âÂÂ18 off-season. In 2019, Powers signed with Guangdong Vermilion Birds of the Chinese League for the 2019âÂÂ20 off-season.
Stats current through end of 2025 season
|- | style="text-align:left;"| 2016 | style="text-align:left;"| Dallas | 32 || 2 || 19.2 || .394 || .368 || .835 || 2.7 || 1.1 || 1.0 || 0.2 || 1.5 || 10.4 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2017 | style="text-align:left;"| Dallas | 12 || 1 || 20.3 || .339 || .310 || .818 || 4.2 || 1.5 || 0.4 || 0.5 || 1.5 || 10.8 |- | style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2 | 2018 | style="text-align:left;"| Dallas | 15 || 0 || 15.4 || .366 || .179 || .824 || 2.5 || 0.9 || 0.5 || 0.1 || 1.6 || 6.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"| Washington | 9 || 0 || 12.7 || .450 || .438 || 1.000 || 3.2 || 0.9 || 0.7 || 0.4 || 0.8 || 6.1 |- |style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"|2019<sup>â </sup> | style="text-align:left;"| Washington | 30 || 7 || 19.8 || .434 || .362 || .867|| 3.2 || 1.5 || 0.8 || 0.2 || 1.4 || 11.4 |- | style="text-align:left;"|2020 | style="text-align:left;"| Washington | 6 || 6 || 29.8 || .464 || .346 || .833 || 4.8 || 2.5 || 1.5 || 0.0 || 1.8 || 16.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2021 | style="text-align:left;"| Minnesota | 14 || 7 || 22.1 || .427 || .314 || .917 || 3.6 || 2.1 || 0.4 || 0.4 || 2.9 || 13.4 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2022 | style="text-align:left;"| Minnesota | 35 || 31 || 26.9 || .385 || .308 || .815 || 4.7 || 2.9 || 1.2 || 0.3 || 2.5 || 14.4 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2023 | style="text-align:left;"| Minnesota | 20 || 0 || 9.8 || .413 || .316 || .917 || 1.8 || 0.8 || 0.2 || 0.1 || 0.9 || 5.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2024 | style="text-align:left;"| Atlanta | 17 || 2 || 17.9 || .355 || .389 || .791 || 3.3 || 1.4 || 0.9 || 0.2 || 1.1 || 8.6 |- | style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2 | 2025 | style="text-align:left;"| Golden State |2||0||16.7||.000||âÂÂ||1.000||1.0||0.5||0.5||0.0||0.0||1.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"| Indiana |8 || 0 || 20.0 || .429 || .368 || .647 ||4.6 || 2.4 || 0.9 || 0.1 || 1.4 || 9.0 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:left;"| Career | style="text-align:left;"| 10 years, 6 teams | 200 || 56 || 19.5 || .398 || .337 || .839 || 3.4 || 1.6 || 0.8 || 0.2 || 1.7 || 10.3
|- | style="text-align:left;"| 2017 | style="text-align:left;"| Dallas | 1 || 0 || 23.9 || .400 || .333 || .889 || 6.0 || 3.0 || 2.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 21.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2018 | style="text-align:left;"| Washington | 9 || 0 || 10.0 || .341 || .000 || 1.000 || 2.3 || 0.3 || 0.3 || 0.3 || 0.7 || 5.1 |- |style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| 2019<sup>â </sup> | style="text-align:left;"| Washington | 9 || 0 || 16.3 || .451 || .263 || .895 || 3.3 || 1.0 || 0.2 || 0.2 || 0.7 || 7.6 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2021 | style="text-align:left;"| Minnesota | 1 || 1 || 32.0 || .476 || .500 || 1.000 || 5.0 || 4.0 || 2.0 || 0.0 ||style="background:#d3d3d3;"|6.0ð || 24.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2023 | style="text-align:left;"| Minnesota | 1 || 0 || 14.0 || .000 || .000 || 1.000 || 3.0 || 0.0 || 1.0 || 0.0 || 3.0 || 4.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2024 | style="text-align:left;"| Atlanta | colspan="12" style="text-align:center;"| Did not play |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2025 | style="text-align:left;"| Indiana |8||0||10.4||.227||.000||.545||1.5||0.3||0.4||0.1||0.6||2.0 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:left;"| Career | style="text-align:left;"| 7 years, 5 teams | 29 || 1 || 13.4 || .372 || .200 || .871 || 2.7 || 0.7 || 0.4 || 0.2 || 1.0 || 6.2
|- | width="10%" style="text-align:center;" | 2013âÂÂ14 |Michigan State |33 |33 |26.1 |.477 |.317 |.709 |8.2 |2.3 |1.8 |0.6 |3.9 |13.4 |- | style="text-align:center;" | 2014âÂÂ15 |Michigan State |31 |31 |35.5 |.397 |.303 |.783 |12.1 |3.5 |2.2 |1.2 |5.0 |21.9 |- | style="text-align:center;" | 2015âÂÂ16 |Michigan State |32 |30 |32.8 |.444 |.312 |.830 |9.2 |2.9 |2.0 |0.7 |3.3 |21.8 |- |style="text-align:center;" colspan=2| Career |96 |94 |31.4 |.433 |.309 |.779 |9.8 |2.9 |2.0 |0.8 |4.1 |18.9
Powers also streams, playing in a Team Liquid Pro-Am Valorant tournament in early 2020. In January 2021, she was signed as a brand ambassador and streamer by Team Liquid, and appointed chair of its Diversity & Inclusion Task Force.