Lauren Elizabeth Cox (born April 20, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for the Townsville Fire of the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). She played college basketball for the Baylor Lady Bears.
Cox was one of the top-rated high school basketball players in the country. She was the 2016 Women's Basketball Coaches Association High School Player of the Year.
She played college basketball for the Baylor Lady Bears. She was named a preseason All-American by Lindy's Sports, Athlon Sports, and Street & Smith prior to the 2019 season beginning. In November 2019, ESPN ranked Cox as the second-best collegiate women's basketball player in the country behind Sabrina Ionescu. She would be named Big 12 Player of the Year that season.
Cox was drafted by the Indiana Fever with the third overall pick in the 2020 WNBA draft. She played 14 games during the 2020 WNBA Hub season, averaging 3.6 points and 3.3 rebounds. During the 2021 WNBA season, she played in 11 games for the Fever before being waived on June 27, 2021. Three days later, she signed with the Los Angeles Sparks, finishing the season with them by playing in 15 games and averaging 3.5 points and 3.7 rebounds.
For the 2021âÂÂ22 season, Cox joined IDK Euskotren of the Spanish Liga Femenina de Baloncesto. For the 2022âÂÂ23 season, she remained in Spain and joined Valencia Basket.
Cox had a one-game stint with the Connecticut Sun during the 2023 WNBA season.
For the 2023âÂÂ24 season, Cox joined Virtus Bologna of the Lega Basket Femminile.
Cox joined the Townsville Fire of the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) in Australia for the 2024âÂÂ25 season. She was named WNBL Defensive Player of the Year. She re-joined the Fire for the 2025âÂÂ26 season, but suffered a season-ending injury on New Year's Eve.
|- | align="left" | 2020 | align="left" | Indiana | 14 || 1 || 13.1 || .419 || .500 || .733 || 3.3 || 1.4 || 0.4 || 0.3 || 0.8 || 3.6 |- | align="left" rowspan=2 | 2021 | align="left" | Indiana | 11 || 0 || 8.6 || .316 || .333 || 1.000 || 2.0 || 0.3 || 0.4 || 0.3 || 0.6 || 1.4 |- | align="left" | Los Angeles | 15 || 0 || 14.0 || .413 || .200 || .778 || 3.7 || 0.6 || 0.7 || 0.9 || 0.6 || 3.5 |- | align="left" | 2023 | align="left" | Connecticut | 1 || 0 || 0.0 || â || â || â || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 |- | align="left" | Career | align="left" | 2 years, 2 teams | 41 || 1 || 11.9 || .398 || .357 || .771 || 3.0 || 0.8 || 0.5 || 0.5 || 0.7 || 2.9
|- | style="text-align:left;"|2016âÂÂ17 | style="text-align:left;"|Baylor | 37 || 1 || 13.4 || .433 || .412 || .747 || 4.1 || 1.2 || 0.4 || 1.4 || 1.1 || 7.6 |- | style="text-align:left;"|2017âÂÂ18 | style="text-align:left;"|Baylor | 34 || 34 || 30.2 || .516 || .304 || .748 || 9.7 || 2.9 || 1.1 || 2.7 || 1.7 ||15.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"|2018âÂÂ19 | style="text-align:left;"|Baylor | 38 || 38 || 29.5 || .522 || .306 || .734 || 8.3 || 3.7 || 0.8 || 2.6 || 1.5 || 13.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"|2019âÂÂ20* | style="text-align:left;"|Baylor | 22 || 22 || 30.2 || .463 || .333 || .614 || 8.4 || 3.6 ||1.3 || 2.7 || 1.6 || 12.5 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career | 131 || 95 || 25.2 || .492 || .322 || .725 || 7.5 || 2.8 || 0.8 || 2.3 || 1.5 || 12.0
<small>* 2020 NCAA tournament canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic</small>
Cox was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of 7. She wears an insulin pump during games. In each season of Cox's Baylor career, the Lady Bears played a preseason type 1 diabetes benefit game. The 2019 edition of the game, in Cox's final season at Baylor, was especially significant for her personally, as the opponent was defending NCAA Division II champion Lubbock Christian, which featured her younger sister WhitneyâÂÂwho had been diagnosed with the disease at age 17âÂÂas a freshman reserve. Near the end of the 2019âÂÂ20 season, the United States Basketball Writers Association announced that both sisters would receive the Pat Summitt Most Courageous Award for their basketball and community involvement in the face of their condition.