14/04/2026
When I arrived in Valencia for the first time, she was 12.
I remember thinking: there’s no way she’s only twelve.
There was something different already.
Physically, yes. But more in the way she moved. The way she saw things.
Three years later, at 15, I saw her make her debut in Europe with Valencia Basket. EuroCup game. Home court.
The opponent switched to a zone.
Experienced players looking at the bench, waiting for instructions, for a timeout, for a solution.
She didn’t look. She just played.
Caught the ball, saw the gap, made the right decision.
A pass, a cut, the right spacing, the right timing.
Calm. Clear. No hesitation.
She was reading the game like someone who had been there for ten years.
She was 15.
When she was 17, a Belgian journalist from Sporza called me about the Spanish national team.
I said one sentence:
“Over two years, all of Europe will be talking about Awa Fam.”
Maybe that day has arrived.
Today, Awa Fam was selected as the #3 pick in the WNBA Draft by the Seattle Storm.
For me, she should have been number one.
But it wouldn’t be the first time that performances at the senior level in Europe are underestimated in the draft.
We’ve seen that before with Luka Dončić.
This is a huge accomplishment for the project of L'Alqueria del Basket del Valencia Basket Club and Valencia Basket Club
Years of work. Coaches investing time, day in and day out.
Building players the right way.
I’m glad—and grateful—that I could be part of that project for three years, working with elite youth in Europe.
Some players grow into the game.
Others seem to understand it long before everyone else does.
Awa Fam was one of those.
Congratulations, Awa! Stay true to how you see the game.
Awa Fam. Onthoud de naam. Amper 19, maar nu al met de basketbalwereld aan haar voeten. Eigenhandig loodste het toptalent Spanje vrijdag naar de EK-finale, waarin straks België wacht. En een kans om aan de basketbalwereld te tonen wat insiders al even weten: "Ze heeft het potentieel om een top 5-spe...
