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New York Liberty center Amanda Zahui B. (17) during the WNBA game between the Connecticut Sun and the New York Liberty at Times Union Center, Albany, New York, USA on May 19, 2019. Photo Credit: Chris Poss
After a 2019-20 season spent primarily with China’s Shandong Sports Lottery, Amanda Zahui B. signed with EuroLeague Women’s Dynamo Kursk on Tuesday. She’s the latest of a bevy of WNBA players to join the ranks of the top European women’s league during the extended overseas offseason.
Zahui B. led Sports Lottery with 18.7 points per game on 57.2% shooting, along with 11.7 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game. After the Chinese season was suspended in early January (to give China’s national team more time to prepare for Olympic qualifiers) and ultimately canceled due to coronavirus, Zahui B. played one game with Turkey’s Hatay in March, where she scored 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.
The signing marks a return to a Russian EuroLeague team for Zahui B., having played for Nadezhda Orenburg during the 2016-17 season. Her other EuroLeague experience includes stints with USK Praha and Sopron Basket.
Several more current WNBA players, including two rookies, have also made the move to EuroLeague for the 2020-21 season. Among these signings are Natasha Cloud, who will join Famila Schio after leading Zhejiang Golden Bulls in points, rebounds and assists in 2019-20; and Bria Hartley, who returns to EuroLeague with Lyon ASVEL Féminin after a season in Turkey, where she led Galatasaray in scoring.
Satou Sabally and Megan Walker also signed EuroLeague contracts for 2020-21 before their WNBA careers officially begin in July. Sabally will join Turkey’s Fenerbahçe, which last season finished atop Group B. Meanwhile, Walker has signed with Hungary’s Sopron Basket, which finished tied for sixth in Group B.
At Fenerbahçe, Sabally will join new signees Kayla McBride, Jasmine Thomas, and Kia Vaughn, while Walker will play alongside fellow new addition Gabby Williams at Sopron Basket. Rosters have yet to be finalized, but both teams had at least two WNBA players each in 2019-20.
Due to the coronavirus outbreak, the latest EuroLeague Women season ended in the quarterfinals, which featured UMMC Ekaterinburg, BLMA (Montpellier), Lyon ASVEL Féminin, Nadezhda Orenburg, USK Praha, Famila Schio, Fenerbahçe and Bourges Basket.
The 2020-21 EuroLeague Women season is expected to start on schedule in September and October following the 2019-20 season’s suspension in March and its official cancellation on Monday. If a new coronavirus outbreak affects that plan, the season will begin in January 2021 instead. The draw for the upcoming season is scheduled to take place in August.