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19-year-old LFB player, Dominique Malonga, has WNBA fans excited all over the globe. Malonga is expected to be picked high during the 2025 WNBA draft. The 6-foot-6 forward played for the France national team during the 2024 Paris Olympics. At 18, Malonga recorded 2.8 points and 2.0 rebounds per game and won the silver medal.
She made 20 appearances during the 2024-25 season, playing in France-BWL. The 19-year-old recorded 15.0 points, 10.3 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game.
Many believe that Malonga has a high ceiling and could even be a Victor Wembanyama-type figure in the WNBA, seeing how Wemby is a generational NBA talent who also hails from France.
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Dominique Malonga's impressive performances and imminent arrival in the WNBA have got the fans excited:
“Prospect wise she has the highest ceiling out of everyone in her draft class adding the experience of playing with the pros I think storm will take her.” One fan said
"I’ll be extremely surprised if she’s still available at #5. If she’s not picked by Seattle, there’s no shot Washington passes up on her twice despite having Austin, Edwards, and Dolson. You just don’t pass up on a player like her, I think she has the highest ceiling out of everyone in this draft." Said another fan
“I really see the wnba shifting to drafting international players with high prospects coming from Europe similar to what’s happing in the nba” Another fan said
“I’m REALLY hoping Washington gets her and trades Dolson for more draft capital. A young frontcourt of Austin/Edwards/Malonga/Kone would be really fun to watch throughout the rebuild.” A fan opined
“Seattle isn't contending this year and the league is essentially resetting itself next off-season. Give me the best player available.” A fan said
One fan saw the hype around Dominique Malonga and started debating about the WNBA’s shift towards international prospects:
“Maybe we will see more teams take international players higher, but there’s usually only a handful of really good prospects in the right age range each year.” Said one fan
Dominique Malonga is easily one of the most exciting prospects to enter the 2025 WNBA draft. She has a ton of potential and her explosiveness and agility, combined with her tall frame, could help her do wonders in the WNBA.
Dominique Malonga recently became the first Frenchwoman to dunk in a match
Dunking has been common in basketball for the longest time. Usually, we’ll see about a dozen dunks throughout a normal NBA game. However, the same can’t be said for the WNBA, where dunks are a rarity that only the most elite female athletes can perform.
In fact, Dominique Malonga became the first Frenchwoman to dunk in a match on October 30, 2024. During Asvel’s 115-54 win over Limassol, Malonga rose and threw down a dunk to put her name in the history books. Speaking on the moment, she said:
“I'd had it in my legs for a few games," she said. “When I'd been doing it in warm-up for several weeks, I could hear the crowd cheering. I knew they were waiting for it, me too."
Fans have been high on Dominique Malonga ever since and are now patiently waiting for her transition to the WNBA. It’ll be interesting to see whether the 19-year-old lives up to the hype.
