Lacking Dominique Malonga is inconceivable at 6-foot-6. She actually stood out among the many crowd even when she tried to maintain it easy with a traditional black and white Louis Vuitton blazer and pants on the WNBA draft.
Particularly when WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert referred to as her title Monday evening because the No. 2 general choose by the Seattle Storm.
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Now the 19-year-old basketball phenom has the possibility to indicate the WNBA precisely what she will do on a basketball court docket and signify her nation on the similar time.
“I’m so proud to realize that aim as a result of it simply exhibits that French basketball has advanced, as we’ve seen the previous few years on the NBA facet. We see Wemby or Zaccharie Risacher that present that French basketball is nice, and now with the ladies, so me, it simply exhibits that it’s not solely males French gamers, it’s additionally girls. It’s simply French basketball on the whole,” Malonga stated after Adja Kane joined her as a fellow French lady taken in Monday evening’s draft.
“I’m so proud simply to indicate that right now French basketball is at a stage that we now have by no means seen.”
Malonga turned the primary French feminine to dunk in a recreation final fall after profitable silver on the Paris Video games by shedding a doozy of a gold medal recreation to the U.S. She can also shoot from exterior the 3-point line. She averaged 15.0 factors and 10.3 rebounds to this point this season whereas enjoying for Lyon.
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Not dangerous for somebody who would not flip 20 till Nov. 16.
Malonga stated enjoying internationally in FIBA toughened her up. Simply test the video from any of France’s video games on the 2024 Summer time Olympics.
“You all watched it and you could possibly see that the video games have been — each recreation was tight. We might see nice gamers that evolve on this league, so after all it was like high-level groups,” Malonga stated. “Each minute that I spent on the court docket there, I do know that I realized one thing and that I improved on my recreation. Yeah, FIBA basketball is one thing right now, and I feel that it actually helped me to be prepared for the league.”
Malonga joins the Storm, who went 25-15 final season. Seattle has a really skilled roster with nine-time All-Star Nneka Ogwumike, three-time WNBA champ Alysha Clark, who was first drafted in 2010, and six-time All-WNBA guard Skylar Diggins-Smith heading into her eleventh season and second with the Storm.
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Now {the teenager} has to maneuver to a brand new nation after which journey all the way in which throughout the U.S. to Seattle all earlier than celebrating her twentieth birthday. She is aware of she’s additionally representing household in Cameroon and Congo.
Malonga sounds able to seize this alternative, which ought to assist the transition.
“I’m actually, actually excited to step on the court docket within the W and to indicate that European basketball is one thing, too, and I can come right here and showcase my expertise,” Malonga stated.
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