"Delle Donne gained national recognition as a high school basketball star at Ursuline Academy in Wilmington, Delaware.

[12] She led Ursuline to three straight Delaware State Championship titles and was ranked as the number-one overall high school recruit by Scout.com as well as a McDonald's All-American.

[15] She participated in the 2007 WBCA High School All-America Game, where she scored 17 points,[15] and earned MVP honors for the Red team.

[18] Gene, Elena's brother and the middle child of the Delle Donne family, stated in a 2012 ESPN story on his younger sister: Her relationship with Lizzie is huge.

[19]A week after leaving Connecticut, Delle Donne said by telephone from her home in Wilmington that she has "a lot of personal issues to fix.

[21] On August 16, 2008, Delle Donne announced she would not accept the scholarship due to burnout,[22] and instead decided to enroll at the University of Delaware and join their volleyball team as a walk-on.

While there, she met another woman at the school, a basketball fan who used a wheelchair due to cerebral palsy, who told her, "Elena, do everything you can with your abilities, just like we do.

She struggled the rest of the season, but she helped her team reach the finals of the conference tournament and an invitation to the Women's NIT.

[37] She scored more than 30 points on five occasions, leading her team to a 27–3 regular season record entering CAA conference tournament play.

In her professional debut, Delle Donne scored 22 points against fellow rookie Brittney Griner and the Phoenix Mercury, in a 102–80 victory.

However, Delle Donne was elbowed while going for a rebound in the Atlanta series, and suffered a back injury that reduced her play time in the following round against the Indiana Fever.

[52] During the regular season, Delle Donne scored a career-high 45 points in an overtime win against the Atlanta Dream, while making 19 consecutive free throws, a WNBA record.

Without Delle Donne, the Sky still had a decent playoff run, advancing to the semifinals (the last round before the WNBA finals) where they lost 3–1 to the eventual champion Los Angeles Sparks.

[61] During Emma Meesseman's absence, Delle Donne played outside her natural position as the starting power forward for the Mystics.

[62] On July 25, 2017, Delle Donne scored a new season-high of 29 points along with 10 rebounds in an 85–76 win against the San Antonio Stars after returning from her ankle injury.

[65] On September 1, 2017, Delle Donne scored a new season-high of 37 points along with a career-high 6 three-pointers in a 110–106 overtime win against the Seattle Storm as the Mystics secured a playoff berth as the No.

[66] In the first round elimination game, the Mystics defeated the Dallas Wings 86–76, Delle Donne scored 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.

[77] By the end of the season and with the help of Meesseman's return, the Mystics finished as the number 1 seed in the league with a 26–8 record, receiving a double-bye to the semi-finals.

Delle Donne also became the first woman to join the prestigious 50–40–90 club (50% field goals, 40% 3-point shooting and 90% free throws over a single season), marking great all-around shooters.

In 2020, Delle Donne opted to sit out the entire season due to health concerns and preexisting risk factors with the COVID-19 pandemic.

[79] She had been denied medical opt out by the league despite recommendation by her physician to not play in the bubble to avoid any risk of exposure to the virus; however, the Mystics were able to resolve the issue and decided to pay Delle Donne her full salary for the season while being absent.

[80][81] Without Delle Donne and less of her supporting cast, the Mystics struggled to defend their title as they barely made the playoffs as the number 8 seed with a 9–13 record in the shortened 22-game season; they lost 85–84 to the Phoenix Mercury in the first round elimination game.

[84] Unlike the vast majority of WNBA players, Delle Donne has not played much professionally overseas, choosing instead to spend the traditional basketball season in the United States to help care for her sister, Lizzie.

[87][88] During her college days, Delle Donne was selected to the 2011 USA Basketball Team for the World University Games played August 12–23 in Shenzhen, China.

In the Championship game won by the USA 101–66 over Taiwan, Delle Donne scored 18 points on 8–14 shooting and led the team with 11 rebounds and 8 assists.

While Delle Donne was considered for the U.S. team at the 2014 World Championship,[91] she was cut due to the back injury suffered in the WNBA Playoffs.

[47] On April 27, 2016, Delle Donne was named to the 2016 United States team that competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

[85] In 2008, during her senior year in high school, Delle Donne was diagnosed with Lyme disease after being bitten by an infected tick on the property of her family's home in Delaware.

In 2013, Delle Donne signed endorsement deals with Nike and DuPont,[110] a chemical company which is based in her hometown Wilmington, Delaware.

[113][114] She is also one of three WNBA players to have career mode icons in NBA Live 19 alongside Candace Parker and Brittney Griner.