WNBA Players Competing For International Teams At The Olympics
The U.S. Women’s National Team is full of WNBA players, but there are numerous W players suiting up for other countries as well. With a few days of competition in Rio complete, check in on how international W players are faring at the Olympic Games.
Stats current as of Friday (8/12) afternoon.
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- Australia has been shining so far, going 4-0 over the first week of play, and Penny Taylor is a large part of that. Her 31 points against France were a personal Olympic career-high, and she’s seventh in scoring for the tournament with 16.5 points per game.
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- Penny Taylor isn’t the only member of the Opals in the WNBA. The Dallas Wings’ Erin Phillips is on the squad as well, and she played an important role in the team’s win over France on Tuesday, scoring 9 points and handing out 5 assists off the bench.
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- Lindsey Harding was born in Alabama, grew up in Texas, and played college ball at Duke, but plays basketball on the international stage for Belarus. She was invited to play after failing to make the U.S. team multiple times. The veteran point guard has been as steady as can be for the Belarusians, averaging 13.2 points per game. She’s also distributed the ball well, averaging 5.8 assists per game over the first four games, good for third in the tournament.
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- Brazil is unfortunately 0-4, but it’s through no fault of the Chicago Sky’s Clarissa dos Santos. The forward has been stellar through the first four games, one of only three players averaging a double-double, with 13.5 points and an Olympics-leading 12.5 rebounds a game.
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- As for the Sky’s other Brazilian, Erika de Souza has been solid so far, averaging 7.2 points and 5.2 rebounds, highlighted by a 10-point, 8-rebound game against Japan.
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- Canada has been strong throughout the first few days down in Rio. The Indiana Fever’s Natalie Achonwa has been an important part of that, highlighted by a 6 points, 2 rebound performance over China.
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- Tokashiki takes a backseat in Seattle, but with Japan she’s the star. Through the first few days in Rio, she’s the tournament’s fourth leading scorer, averaging 18.8. points per game through Japan’s first four matchups. She’s also hitting the boards strong, averaging 7.0 rebounds a night.
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- Serbia has struggled, going 1-3 over their first few games, but the Los Angeles Sparks’ Ana Dabovic has not, putting in a 14-point, 5-rebound, 5-assist game against Canada, while averaging 11.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 3.5 assists in the tournament.
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- The Phoenix Mercury’s Sonja Petrovic has been strong as well, putting up a team-high 15.5 points and 6 rebounds a game for the Serbians. They’ll need her to keep up that play if they want to turn things around and advance to the knockout stage.
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- Astou Ndour flies under the radar in the WNBA with the San Antonio Stars, but for Spain she’s shining bright. She’s averaging 15.0 points and 8.3 rebounds through Spain’s first three games
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- Another member of the Phoenix Mercury, Marta Xargay, has only played in two of Spain’s games so far, but she played an important part early, hitting two triples and scoring 15 points in Spain’s opening win over Serbia.
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