Linda Burgess

Linda Gail Burgess is an American former professional basketball player. She played college basketball for the Alabama Crimson Tide and professionally in the Women's National Basketball Association for the Los Angeles Sparks and Sacramento Monarchs.

Early life

Burgess was born July 27, 1969 in Madison, Alabama. She attended Bob Jones High School in Madison, where she played on the school's basketball, volleyball, and softball teams. She was a basketball all-state selection as a senior, averaging over 30 points and 20 rebounds per game in her last year of high school.

After high school, Burgess first played college basketball at Calhoun Community College, where she was a two-time All-American. After her sophomore year, she transferred to play for the Alabama Crimson Tide. She was selected first-team All-SEC in both her junior and senior years at Alabama. She averaged 20 points per game in her senior season with the Crimson Tide.

Burgess played professional basketball in Switzerland and Israel after college before returning to the United States and playing in the Women's National Basketball Association for four years. She spent the 1997 WNBA season with the Los Angeles Sparks and the 1998–2000 seasons with the Sacramento Monarchs after the Sparks traded her to the Monarchs in exchange for Pam McGee. She averaged 5.8 points and 3.7 rebounds per game in 90 career WNBA games.
Burgess was inducted into the Huntsville-Madison County Athletic Hall of Fame in 2019.

After retiring from professional basketball, Burgess began a career as a teacher. She taught at the Georgia Academy for the Blind and Central High School, both in Macon, Georgia. In 2022, she began coaching girls' basketball at Twiggs County High School in Jeffersonville, Georgia. By 2023, she was the school's director of athletics.

Burgess is Christian. She has four siblings, including an older sister who played college basketball for the Alabama A&M Lady Bulldogs.