The Sparks activated their first-round pick Maria Vadeeva today as she is expected to arrive in Los Angeles later this afternoon from Russia. The 6-foot-4 rookie center was the 11th overall pick in the 2018 WNBA Draft.
@maria_vadeeva has arrived at @STAPLESCenter!🙌 #GoSparks #All4LA pic.twitter.com/z05HpqpHRn
— Los Angeles Sparks (@LA_Sparks) June 10, 2018
“We couldn’t be more excited to have Maria start her Sparks career,” Sparks Executive Vice President and General Manager Penny Toler said. “Maria has experience going up against some of the best WNBA players in Europe and at age 19 the sky’s the limit when thinking about her development and potential.”
The 19-year-old already has an impressive resume playing professionally in Europe since 2014.
Most recently, Vadeeva played for Dynamo Kursk in Russia alongside Sparks forward Nneka Ogwumike, Angel McCoughtry of the Atlanta Dream and Epiphanny Prince of the New York Liberty. The club won the Russian Premier League title during the 2016-2017 season. In 2017-2018, Vadeeva averaged 9.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.1 blocks in 19.1 minutes per game.
Vadeeva is also a member of the Russian National Team, playing in EuroBasket in both 2015 and 2017. She’ll give the Sparks another versatile post player that will add depth to the Sparks talented frontcourt.
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