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Photo courtesy of the Dallas Wings via Twitter.
Awak Kuier’s basketball journey began in the small city of Kotka, Finland and is now headed to Dallas, Texas where she hopes to bring a Kevin Durant-style of play to the WNBA.
Kuier was born in Cairo, Egypt to South Sudan natives who fled civil war. She moved to Finland with her parents and four brothers when she was two years old. She learned Arabic, Finnish and English in that order and began playing basketball at age 11.
Kuier is a 6-foot-5 power forward who has been able to dunk since age 14. From 2017 to 2020 she went to Helsinki Basketball Academy where she took her game to another level. Instead of coming to the states to play at either Oregon or Oregon State, she has played for Ragusa in an Italian professional league.
SALT LAKE CITY Mikael Jantunen has a destination.
Turns out, the Finnish sophomore s next stop after the University of Utah isn t in the college basketball system.
Jantunen announced Monday that he was opting out of his final 2-3 years of collegiate eligibility and turning pro, he said in a post on social media thanking Ute fans. Since day one, this place has felt like a second home to me, Jantunen wrote. I will always cherish the unforgettable moments that I had as a Ute. Thank you to my coaches, teammates and all the people I had the opportunity to work with, the relationships will last forever.
Finnish basketball history was made on Thursday night, when 19-year-old
Awak Kuier was selected by the Dallas Wings in the first round of the WNBA draft.
She s now set to be the first Finnish player to play in the premier women s professional league, and the first to be drafted in the first round.
Taru Tuukkonen had been drafted in the fourth round of the 2001 draft, but never played or signed a contract in the league.
Kuier is also the first foreign player to be in the top five picks in the last decade. It s a really good feeling, Kuier told Yle by video call after the draft. This has been my dream for a long time, I can t quite believe it. But when my parents and relatives called, it started to sink in that I d been picked. It s a really great thing and I m so happy about it.