Madina Okot's WNBA future predicted to be 'off the charts'
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Reading Time: 3min | Thu. 07.05.26. | 12:15
The 21-year-old rookie featured in two of her team's preseason games during training camp
Atlanta Dream head coach Karl Smesko says Kenyan basketball player Madina Okot does not realize how good she is on the court, and that it is only a matter of time before she gets used to the speed of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA).
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Rookie Okot, will over the weekend, get her first taste of the WNBA regular season, when her Atlanta Dream side open their campaign against Minnesota Lynx at Target Center, Minneapolis on Sunday, 10 May (0300 EAT).
Okot’s expected league debut will count as her third in a Dream shirt, having featured in two pre-season games during their brief training camp.
Madina Okot made history by becoming the first athlete from Kenya to be drafted in the first round ✨
— WNBA (@WNBA) May 4, 2026
As preseason winds down Okot is ready to begin her rookie year! pic.twitter.com/ayzq4M30zP
On her first appearance, which was an 87-78 win over Chicago Sky on 29 April, the 21-year-old led her team with a 14-point, 11-rebound double-double, before notching nine points, six rebounds and two blocks in 21 minutes off the bench, against the Washington Mysics on Suday, 3 May.
Reflecting on her two performances, Smesko told The State: “I just think she’s been fantastic so far. She wants to learn. She wants to get better. So we’re really excited. We think that she’s going to be able to make positive contributions this year."
He added: “She’s one of the youngest college players in the draft class this year, and she’s come in at practice, and she’s just competed every day, and she looks great.”
Coming in as the 13th overall pick during April’s WNBA Draft, Smesko believes Okot will be at times get tested by the WNBA, but expects her to rise above her levels to achieve success with the team.
“Honestly, I don’t think she even realizes how good she is,” Smesko said. “Once she realizes how good she is, and then just understands some different situations that happen in the W [WNBA] over and over again. She’ll be able to understand when she has a post up advantage, when she can just bury somebody deep, or when she needs to come out a little bit and set a screen, just understanding the timing of those things.”
Smesko, who has a studded core that includes All-WNBA guard Allisha Gray and star forward Angel Reese, is also banking on his young talent to bloom.
“There’s an awful lot of young talent there, so they just need to be developed,” Smesko said of his unit, which alongside young Okot, has 23-year-old Te-Hina Paopao, who is also a former South Carolina Gamecock. “We’re excited about how they’re going to be able to help us this year, and their futures are really off the charts.”
