Alissa Pili was born in Anchorage, AK in June 2001.  On her mother’s side, Alissa is of Inupiaq descent, from the North Slope region of Alaska. On her father’s side, she is of Samoan descent, rooting from the village of Aua, American Samoa. 

For the first seven years of her life, she lived in Utqiagvik, aka Barrow, the northernmost city in the United States. Alissa spent the rest of her childhood in Anchorage, where she enjoyed outdoor activities such as camping, hiking, fishing and playing sports. 

Alissa compiled 13 state titles during her athletic career at Dimond High School including four in volleyball, four in shot put, two in discus, two in basketball, and one in wrestling.  She was named the Max Preps National Female Athlete of the Year two years in a row, and is a three-time Gatorade Player of the Year for girls’ basketball.

She went on to play basketball for the University of Southern California, where she was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Year. Injuries were an issue during sophomore and junior year, and she felt like she needed a new start, so she entered the transfer portal and landed at the University of Utah. 

From there, her career took off, earning Pac-12 player of the year and all Pac-12 honors her first year with the Utes and she led her team to the conference title.  In her second year as a Ute, during a showcase game featuring the #1 South Carolina Gamecocks, she scored 37 points with WNBA scouts in attendance, and her WNBA draft stock soared. 

She was drafted #8 overall in the 2024 WNBA draft to the Minnesota Lynx, and landed an endorsement deal with Nike’s Indigenous focused N7 brand, where she was the face of their 2024 Native American Heritage Month campaign. 

Alissa looks forward to her continued success in the WNBA and being a representative of not only the Native American and Polynesian communities around the world, but to all who love women’s sports and aspire to uplift one another.