WNBA DRAFT

April 14, 2025

Dominique Malonga

Seattle Storm

DOMINIQUE MALONGA: Hello, everyone. I just want to say thank you to all the people that supported me to be here. Big shout-out to my club Lyon and Yoann, Flavien, Claujo (phonetic), all the coaching staff pushing me through this year. In Tarbes, Francois Gomez, Isabelle Yacoubou, all the people surrounding me those years in LFB that surrounded me those past few years in France. I want to say a big thanks to my family that supports me since day one and a big shout-out to all my fans in Cameroon, Congo, because I know that I have a big, big fan base there. So a big, big thank you to all that support me.

Q. You have already played at the Olympics and gone viral for your athleticism, competed professionally already. How has your international experience prepared you for the WNBA, and what are you most excited to show fans in the U.S.?

DOMINIQUE MALONGA: I would say that international FIBA basketball prepared me to -- toughness because it was always high-level games. At the Olympics, you all watched it and you could see that the games were -- every game was tight. We could see great players that evolve in this league, so of course it was like high-level teams.

Every minute that I spent on the court there, I know that I learned something and that I improved on my game. Yeah, FIBA basketball is something today, and I think that it really helped me to be ready for the league.

I'm really, really excited to step on the court in the W and to show that European basketball is something, too, and I can come here and showcase my talent.

Q. What does it mean for you to be selected the second pick in the draft, which is the first time for a French player since 1997?

DOMINIQUE MALONGA: I am so proud to achieve that goal because it just shows that French basketball has evolved, as we've seen the past few years on the NBA side. We see Wemby or Zaccharie Risacher that show that French basketball is great, and now with the women, so me, it just shows that it's not only men French players, it's also women. It's just French basketball in general.

I'm so proud just to show that today French basketball is at a level that we have never seen.

Q. Dominique, who do you watch in the WNBA and say that's the kind of impact that you want to have? And the other question I wanted to know is what bigs are you excited to play against in the league?

DOMINIQUE MALONGA: When I see A'ja Wilson play today, that's the impact that I want to see because when she's on the court you see her, she has an impact when she's not on the court that you see when she's not on the court. That's what impact I want to have not only in this league but also in Europe and wherever I play.

I'm excited to play against everybody in this league because today we know that it's most of the best players in the world. So I cannot say that I'm excited for one or another player. I just want to go there and play and have fun against all those big players.

Q. Can you tell us about the moment you heard your name?

DOMINIQUE MALONGA: It was a lot of emotion when I heard my name. I was kind of stressed first, but the minute I heard it, it was better, of course. I first went to my mom because she was not at the table, as you could see, because it's only four guests at the table, and so she let her place genuinely. So for me it was symbolic to go to her first because she is one of the most important people in my life. She's one of the reasons that I'm here today, and I really wanted to show that.

And of course my family, my dad, my brothers and my sister, they're everything to me. They are the reason that I'm here today and my motivation for every day.

You could see that it was a lot of emotion between us, and I'm so proud and happy to have been able to bring them here today.