Madina Okot makes sensational start to life in WNBA

Kenyan basketballer Madina Okot had a dream start to life in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) after dropping a double-double in Atlanta Dream’s 87-78 preseason victory over Chicago Sky at the Wintrust Arena on the morning of Thursday, 30 April.

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Okot, who last month became the highest Kenyan picked in the WNBA, was true to herself as she put up a team-high 14 points and 11 rebounds in the win, this despite coming off the bench and playing limited minutes.

The game was Okot’s first competitive action in a Dream shirt, following her acquisition from the University of South Carolina Gamecocks with the 13th overall pick in the first round of the WNBA Draft on Monday, 13 April.

Having cut her teeth through training camp, the 21-year-old made her awaited entry on the WNBA court with 5:56 left in the first quarter, when she subbed in for Jordin Canada.

The Kenyan center would end up registering one steal and a rebound through her spell in that quarter, before scoring her first points on a driving layup with 7:13 left in the second frame.

Okot, who ended the half with four points and three rebounds, would add two points and two rebounds in the third quarter, before exploding to life in the fourth, when she notched double digits in both categories with more than three minutes left to the end of the game.

Having played just the fourth-most minutes on the team, Okot was named WNBA’s top performer of the game, giving early indications of what to expect from her in her debut WNBA regular season.

Former Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley was among the first to notice Okot’s performance, saying in a tweet on X: “She’s made us so proud! Madina “Big Mama” Okot is that double double queen still!!! Let’s gooooooo!!”

In her senior year with the South Carolina Gamecocks, Okot, who is 6-foot-6, averaged a double-double and career highs of 12.8 points and a conference-best 10.6 rebounds per game, with her 22 double-doubles ranking third nationally.

Meanwhile, Dream star player Angel Reese ended the night with eight points, seven rebounds, and three steals, in what was an emotional game against her former team of two years.

Okot and the Dream next play on Sunday, 3 May, when they face Washington Mystics in another preseason game at their home -The Gateway Center Arena in Georgia.

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