Amanda Zahui B.
![]() | |
No. 1 – Fenerbahçe | |
---|---|
Position | Center |
League | Turkish Super League |
Personal information | |
Born | Stockholm, Sweden | September 8, 1993
Nationality | Swedish |
Listed height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) |
Listed weight | 184 lb (83 kg) |
Career information | |
High school | Igelstavikens Gymnasium |
College | Minnesota (2013–2015) |
WNBA draft | 2015 / Round: 1 / Pick: 2nd overall |
Selected by the Tulsa Shock | |
Playing career | 2015–present |
Career history | |
2015 | Tulsa Shock |
2015–2016 | Adana ASKİ |
2016–2020 | New York Liberty |
2016–2017 | Nadezhda Orenburg |
2017–2018 | USK Praha |
2018–2019 | Sopron Basket |
2019–2020 | Shandong Six Stars |
2020 | Hatay BB |
2020–2021 | Dynamo Kursk |
2021–present | Los Angeles Sparks |
2021–present | Fenerbahçe |
Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
Amanda Zahui Bazoukou (born September 8, 1993), known professionally as Amanda Zahui B., is a Swedish basketball player for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and for Fenerbahçe of the Turkish Super League. After playing basketball both in Sweden and collegiately with the Minnesota Golden Gophers, Bazoukou was drafted by the Tulsa Shock with the second overall pick in the 2015 WNBA draft.
Early life
Zahui Bazoukou began playing basketball when she was 10. By 13, Sweden had added her to its 16-and-under national team where she averaged double-doubles in the European Championships.
Her surname is pronounced ZAH-wee B. She shortened Bazoukou to an initial so it would fit on her jersey and be easier for Americans to pronounce.
Her mother is Spanish-French and her father is from the Ivory Coast.[1][2]
College
Zahui B played three seasons for the Minnesota Golden Gophers. In February 2015, Zahui B recorded a career-high 39 points in a game against Iowa Hawkeye basketball team. She also recorded 29 rebounds in that game, the most ever by a player in the Big Ten Conference. The last NBA player to record at least 39 points and 29 rebounds in a game was Moses Malone in October 1979.[3]
Minnesota statistics
Source[4]
GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
Year | Team | GP | Points | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
2013-14 | Minnesota | 34 | 514 | 54.3% | 33.3% | 65.4% | 11.6 | 1.4 | 0.7 | 3.1 | 15.1 |
2014-15 | Minnesota | 33 | 621 | 55.5% | 26.1% | 78.3% | 12.9 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 4.1 | 18.8 |
Career | 67 | 1135 | 54.9% | 26.9% | 72.8% | 12.2 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 3.6 | 16.9 |
Professional career
Zahui B was drafted second overall by the Tulsa Shock when she was only a sophomore. She was 21 years old.[5]
In 2016, she was transferred to the Russian Nadezhda Orenburg where she became the highest scoring player.[6] Her name Zahui caused some stir due to its similarity with an obscene word[specify] in Russian. In 2017 the team decided to use the name Bazoukou instead.[7][8]
Career statistics
Legend | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game | RPG | Rebounds per game |
APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game | BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
TO | Turnovers per game | FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
Bold | Career high | ° | League leader |
WNBA
Source[9]
Regular season
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2015 | Tulsa | 31 | 0 | 9.7 | .361 | .333 | .750 | 2.4 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 3.4 |
2016 | New York | 33 | 1 | 11.3 | .449 | .118 | .787 | 3.2 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 1.1 | 5.0 |
2017 | New York | 29 | 0 | 5.3 | .400 | .250 | .750 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 2.2 |
2018 | New York | 29 | 0 | 15.9 | .500 | .344 | .605 | 3.0 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 1.6 | 7.7 |
2019 | New York | 24 | 23 | 23.3 | .468 | .319 | .852 | 6.3 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 8.6 |
2020 | New York | 21 | 20 | 25.3 | .353 | .340 | .694 | 8.5 | 1.9 | 0.9 | 1.2 | 2.6 | 9.0 |
2021 | Los Angeles | 30 | 27 | 23.8 | .429 | .280 | .767 | 5.1 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 1.2 | 1.8 | 9.2 |
Career | 7 years, 3 teams | 197 | 71 | 15.7 | .428 | .312 | .743 | 4.0 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 1.3 | 6.2 |
Playoffs
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2015 | Tulsa | 2 | 0 | 6.0 | .000 | .000 | – | 1.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
2016 | New York | 1 | 0 | 6.0 | 1.000 | – | – | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 |
2017 | New York | 1 | 0 | 1.0 | – | – | – | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Career | 3 years, 2 teams | 4 | 0 | 4.8 | .250 | .000 | – | 1.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.5 |
Personal
On June 7, 2021, WNBA.com published an op-ed written by Zahui B., titled "What Does Pride Mean to Me?", in commemoration of Pride Month. Zahui B. described herself as having a "personal journey of finding myself", and publicly came out as a lesbian. She wrote, "I celebrate my body, my mind and my sexuality. I am confident and open to the fact that I was made to love women. I was created to celebrate the beautiful women on this earth. To love the most powerful creature on this earth, the woman." Zahui B. stated that she has a family who has "always been accepting and supportive" regarding her sexuality.[10]
References
- ^ "Amanda Zahui B.: U women's basketball's marvelous mystery". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2017-08-30.
- ^ "Gophers women's basketball adds 6-5 Swedish center Amanda Zahui B." Twin Cities. 2012-05-09. Retrieved 2017-08-30.
- ^ "Watch Minnesota's Amanda Zahui B.'s record-setting night in win over Iowa". btn.com. 18 February 2015.
- ^ "NCAA Statistics". web1.ncaa.org. Retrieved 2017-08-30.
- ^ Berkman, Seth (17 April 2015). "Jewell Loyd and Amanda Zahui B. Are Top Two Picks in W.N.B.A Draft - The New York Times". The New York Times.
- ^ Amanda Zahui will pull Nadezhda up (in Russian)
- ^ The Nadezhda's basketball player changes family (in Russian)
- ^ The family of the Russian Basketball rising star was changed (in Russian)
- ^ "Amanda Zahui B. WNBA Stats". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
- ^ Zahui B., Amanda (7 June 2021). "What Does Pride Mean To Me? Written By Amanda Zahui B." WNBA. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
External links
- Articles with short description
- Articles needing more detailed references
- Webarchive template wayback links
- 1993 births
- Living people
- All-American college women's basketball players
- Centers (basketball)
- Fenerbahçe women's basketball players
- Lesbian sportswomen
- LGBT basketball players
- LGBT sportspeople from Sweden
- Los Angeles Sparks players
- Minnesota Golden Gophers women's basketball players
- New York Liberty players
- Sportspeople from Stockholm
- Swedish expatriate basketball people in the United States
- Swedish people of French descent
- Swedish people of Ivorian descent
- Swedish people of Spanish descent
- Swedish women's basketball players
- Tulsa Shock draft picks
- Tulsa Shock players
- 21st-century LGBT people