The Seattle Storm are leaning heavily on their young frontcourt this season, and Dominique Malonga has been a major part of that. The 20-year-old center is in her second WNBA season, averaging 16.9 points and 7.3 rebounds per game and ranking among the league’s top scoring centers.
In June, she dropped a career-best 37 points against the Dallas Wings, becoming the youngest player in league history to reach the 30-point mark in a single game. She has since added another milestone, becoming the youngest player to reach 500 career points and 200 rebounds.
Malonga’s path to this point traces back to Cameroon, where she was born and spent much of her early childhood before her family moved to France. It was there that she developed her game, crossing paths along the way with future San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama.
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Malonga discussed that connection in detail during a recent appearance on Sue Bird’s podcast, “Bird’s Eye View.” She and Wembanyama first met on a casual court in Nanterre, a town outside Paris, before running into each other again at smaller tournaments around the city, with Wembanyama playing on the men’s side and Malonga on the women’s.
Those early days also introduced her to Tony Parker, who began calling Malonga the female version of Wemby as Wembanyama’s fame grew. The nickname followed her all the way into the WNBA, and Malonga addressed what it has been like to carry that label during her conversation with Bird.
“I started to be famous because Tony [Parker] started calling me like Female Wemby, and this narrative is still on until today,” Malonga said. “So, every time I would see him, I was like, ‘Okay, I’m fed up – they need to stop calling me that.’ But, I mean, ofcourse it’s great. He’s a great player.”
Malonga also spoke about the pride she feels watching how far both of their careers have come, and how closely she pays attention to what Wembanyama has been able to do so early in his NBA career.
“He’s really inspiring too, because we’re not so far in age, but he looks so composed and poised and has so much experience and consistency,” Malonga added. “The way he works and everything, like everything we see – his workout and everything that’s real, that’s really how he works.”
