Who is Awa Fam Thiam, the Santa Pola player drafted into the WNBA?

Awa Fam Thiam was born on 17 June 2006 at the hospital in Elche, to Senegalese parents who had settled in Santa Pola (province of Alicante) some thirty years earlier. It was in that Costa Blanca fishing port that she discovered basketball, spotted at the age of 12, in 2018, by her coach at the local club CD Polanens.

In December 2021 she joined Valencia Basket and played her first official game on 3 December, aged 15 years and 5 months, in the EuroCup against Lugo, becoming the youngest player in the club's history. Loaned to Gernika KESB in 2024-2025, she gathered silver medals with Spain's youth sides: the U17 World Cup in Debrecen in 2022 (final lost to the United States on 17 July 2022), the U19 World Cup in Spain in 2023, and then EuroBasket 2025.

On 13 April 2026 the Seattle Storm selected her third overall in the first round of the WNBA draft, making her the highest-drafted Spanish player in the league's history. Spanish media compared the pick to Pau Gasol, also the third choice of the 2001 NBA draft. She signed a reported four-year deal with Seattle worth around 1.95 million dollars (justwomenssports.com).

Her move was not straightforward. Because of her contract with Valencia Basket, which runs to 2029, the Storm placed her under a temporary, non-disciplinary suspension at the start of the 2026 season, leaving her off the opening-day roster before she was brought into the team. She has since made her rookie debut, averaging around 11 points and 6 rebounds per game (ESPN and WNBA statistics, as of 4 August 2026). "It had always been my dream," she told SLAM in April 2026. Next up with Spain, who have qualified: the FIBA Women's World Cup in Berlin, from 4 to 13 September 2026.

Photo credit: Wikimedia contributor Zafer (WikiPortraits initiative), EuroBasket Women 2025, CC BY 4.0 licence, Wikimedia Commons.

This portrait was prepared with AI assistance, then cross-checked, verified and edited by our editorial team, who take full editorial responsibility for it. Facts verified on 4 August 2026. In-season statistics change with every game: check the source date before citing a figure.