Why are international players flocking to the WNBA?

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NEW YORK — For a few minutes after a shootaround, Golden State Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase sat on the sideline with French guard Carla Leite beside her. Nakase demonstrated different hand motions and signaled to her 21-year-old rookie guard. Looking to bridge a communication gap as much as possible, Nakase recognized Leite as a strong visual learner.

“Sometimes, it’s not easy for me to speak,” Leite said.

More than any other WNBA franchise, the Valkyries roster is a global tapestry. Leite, who said her English is improving every day, is just one part of that. Golden State’s opening night roster featured players from six countries.

“I have to learn French is what I’ve learned,” Nakase said.

French is the Valkyries’ unofficial second language. Rookies Janelle Salaün and Leite are natives of France, and guard Julie Vanloo, who is Belgian, speaks French fluently. Vanloo said she is “available if needed” to translate.

Rookie center Kyara Linskens, another Belgian, downplayed her French proficiency, though when asked by Nakase if she could speak the language, Linskens replied: “un petit peu.” Translation: a little bit. (Perhaps Linskens is underselling her knowledge.) Some Valkyries assistants are even learning to count in French to connect with players.

While Golden State is the WNBA’s newest and most worldly team, it isn’t alone in its international presence. The number of foreign-born players in the league has continued to increase. At the start of this season, the league had 34 players born outside the U.S., up from 25 at the beginning of the 2023 season. Among this season’s group, 18 were in their first or second WNBA seasons. A new generation of international players is showing newfound interest in the league — and vice versa.

Twelve new roster spots for the addition of Golden State as an expansion franchise were only part of the surge. According to interviews with more than 10 players, executives and coaches, the WNBA’s growing global presence, engaged fan bases, increased ownership investment and expected forthcoming salary increases also contribute to its growth.

“You’re seeing more and more international players, more Europeans, wanting to come here and play because it’s the most competitive league in the world,” said Cecilia Zandalasini, a Valkyries wing and native of Italy.

Since its inception, the WNBA has maintained a global presence, with the number of international players peaking in the early 2000s, when the league had three more teams than it does today. However, as the initial fanfare wore off and the league underwent a turbulent period, the number of foreign players declined.

At the start of the 2011 season, the league had just 15 foreign-born players due to national team commitments, limited financial incentives, role adjustments and a desire to rest during the summer, which became some of the reasons the WNBA wasn’t always the top choice for international players. Some of the world’s most decorated European players of the last 15 seasons — Alina Iagupova, Alba Torrens and Laia Palau — never played in the WNBA.

Yet, amid a period of transformational growth, international player interest has also increased. The WNBA is broadcast in more than 24 languages this season, up from 16 in 2022, with players tuning in to see packed arenas. (League attendance in 2024 was up 48 percent year-over-year, the highest mark in 22 years.)

“With the (increased) visibility of the league, it does make more sense that more girls would want to aspire to make it to the league,” said Valkyries center Temi Fagbenle, who is American-born but grew up in the United Kingdom.

Exposure takes different forms. Fagbenle loved tennis and didn’t watch a WNBA game until she was 14. But soon after seeing her first game, reaching the WNBA became her goal.

Sevgi Uzun, a Turkish guard who began the season with the Phoenix Mercury, turned pro at 16 and started practicing alongside WNBA players who competed in her native country during their offseasons. Although no Turkish women’s basketball players were in the WNBA when she grew up, Uzun, as a developing prospect, received consistent encouragement from WNBA players about her potential ceiling.

“Kayla McBride was the very first one who told me you’re different, you can do something,” Uzun said. (McBride first played in Turkey in 2017.) Multiple league executives also cited the 2024 Paris Olympics, in which both France and Belgium pushed the American team, as another demonstration of the high-quality international player pool.

In recent years, WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert has discussed the desire to globalize the WNBA. Over the last decade, the league has had only three All-Stars born outside the U.S. (Australian Liz Cambage, Emma Meesseman from Belgium, and Jonquel Jones from The Bahamas). A younger generation of foreign players has taken notice of the league’s global brand.

“People are watching it more and are looking forward to being like, ‘OK, this can be a goal,’ ” said Mercury rookie guard Monique Akoa Makani, who grew up in Cameroon and France. By seeing Belgian guard Julie Allemand (L.A. Sparks) and French guard Marine Johannès (New York Liberty) make a WNBA impact, Akoa Makani found players she could emulate.

“I used to practice with them when they were pro in my local team, and at the time, I was looking up to them,” she said. “When I saw them going to the W, I was like, ‘We’re kind of from the same place, why not (me)?’ ”

Johannès is among a group of international players who face a unique decision this month: continue playing for their WNBA teams or take a brief hiatus to compete in FIBA’s EuroBasket tournament, which runs from June 18 to 29.

Johannès sat out the 2024 WNBA season to play for France’s Olympic team and will not participate in this month’s tournament to remain with the Liberty. However, her New York teammates Nyara Sabally and Leonie Fiebich are competing for Germany. The Liberty’s absences pale in comparison to Golden State, as Salaün, Zandalasini, Vanloo and Fagbenle will participate in the event.

Fagbenle, the captain of Team Great Britain, hopes that FIBA and the WNBA will collaborate going forward, so that players aren’t forced to choose between country and club teams.

“Two major entities that I would hope would want to work together to figure out a way to make things work for the players who want to play them both,” she said. “I’m optimistic.”

Earlier this month, FIBA announced it was shifting the 2030 World Cup to late November and early December, while the 2026 World Cup is set to take place in early September, creating a potentially significant scheduling conflict for the WNBA. The WNBA may take a brief hiatus just before the 2026 playoffs, although the scheduling specifics will also need to be collectively bargained with the players’ association. The league’s players, including top American players, may have to make difficult decisions ahead of the most critical time on the WNBA calendar.

Faced with the decision to stay or leave for this month’s EuroBasket, some foreign players have elected to remain with their WNBA teams. Golden State’s Linskens and Leite are staying in the U.S. to focus on their first seasons. Seattle Storm forward Gabby Williams will stay to compete in her first full WNBA season since 2022, and Storm rookie Dominique Malonga, the No. 2 pick in April’s draft from France, will also continue her WNBA season.

“I think my rookie season is important and I wanted to leave it all with the team,” Malonga said.

Added Leite: “I think everybody who is born in Europe is also now having the dream to come to the WNBA, so everybody’s just super grateful.”

Yet as more international players join the WNBA, an inverse situation is occurring abroad. Over the last 15 years, WNBA greats such as Maya Moore, Diana Taurasi, Candace Parker, Sue Bird, Breanna Stewart and Sylvia Fowles played multiple winter seasons on professional teams in Turkey, China and Russia. However, the era of top Americans playing abroad appears to be fleeting. Unrivaled, the professional 3×3 league that debuted in January, provides players with a high-paying U.S.-based alternative.

The result of American stars not going abroad is already being felt, according to first-year Connecticut Sun coach Rachid Meziane.

“I think overseas domestic leagues are going down a little bit because there are fewer good players because the best players in the world are here,” said Meziane, who is the WNBA’s first French-born head coach.

Uzun spent the past season with the Turkish power Fenerbahçe, and she sees a change, too. “It affects us, especially in EuroLeague,” she said. “It does affect the quality of the league and the competition. But if you’re gonna ask me individually, is (their presence) more important (than) their mental (health) and (spending time with) their families? I’m glad they can choose that now. They have enough power to choose that and make that decision.”

Players from different continents now have more options than ever for professional play. But as it relates to the summer calendar, the pull of the WNBA appears stronger than ever before.

“Perception has changed,” said Zandalasini, who returned to the WNBA last year after a five-year hiatus. “The WNBA is growing so fast, and there are fans definitely coming to every game everywhere, so it’s more appealing as a league.”

— The Athletic

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

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