Awa Fam heard his name after seven in the afternoon at The Shed, a cultural center located on 30th Street in Manhattan, and although he always seems to dominate the scene, this time he got excited. , a young center of 1.93m, had seen come out number one in the draft from the WNBA 2026 to the American Azzi Fudd, and then to Olivia Miles in number two. She was next. The number three. A new milestone for Spanish basketball, which had never surpassed pick 15, achieved by Raquel Carrera in 2021. At the same level as Pau Gasol, the legend, who was also chosen at pick three in 2001, when the woman from Alicante, from Santa Pola, had not even been born. Her great friend and teammate on the Spanish team since the under-14 category, Iyana Martín, also managed to be among the best after Portland Fire, who had the seventh choice, opted for the Asturian.
Fam hugged Tala and Karim, her “crazy brothers,” as she affectionately called them. Then he gave two kisses to his father, who could not be accompanied by his mother due to a visa problem, and went up to take a photo with the league commissioner. He later explained in the ESPN microphones what this moment meant. “Being here has been a dream since I was 12 years old. I’m very grateful,” said the Spaniard, who is almost a bet on the future more than the present: Fam is 19 years old, four younger than Fudd or Miles, and three younger than Lauren Betts, ‘pick’ 4, the American center born in Vitoria because her father, a 2.16m Englishman, Andrew Betts, played for Baskonia – he also went through Real Madrid, Joventut, the Cajasol or Lagun Aro- when his daughter was born. “I just want to continue being myself and continue learning,” Fam concluded.
Seattle Storm is a franchise with four titles that has already retired the numbers of the American Sue Bird (10) and the Australian Lauren Jackson (2010). The Spaniard will stop in the city of rain and play at the Climate Pledge Arena, a court that attracted 18,343 spectators in the game that the Storm played in 2025 against Indiana Fever, the team of , the woman who has revolutionized women’s basketball and elevated it to a new dimension. A new status that made it possible to negotiate an agreement by which the number three in the draft will earn $436,000 in the first year, which, in the third season, will already be close to half a million. Fam will coincide in the inside game with the French (although born in Cameroon) Dominique Malonga and the Australian Ezi Magbegor. On the squad, another former Spanish league player, Californian Katie Lou Samuelson, who played for Perfumerías Avenida from 2020 to 2022.
After three years without emotion, with number one on draft of the WNBA guaranteed for Paige Bueckers (2025), Caitlin Clark (2024) and Aliyah Boston (2023), the forecasts for 2026, the ‘mock draft’, were considering four names: Awa Fam, Laura Betts, Olivia Miles and Azzi Fudd, a great shooter who has been chosen at number 1 by the Dallas Wings, which will allow her reunion with Paige Buckers, a close friend and last WNBA Rookie of the Year, with whom she already played at UConn.
Fudd, 23 years old and born in Fairfax (Virginia), known as the ‘people’s princess’, is the daughter of two basketball players. His mother, Katie, was chosen by the Sacramento Monarchs in the 2001 draft (62nd place). This woman named it in honor of Jennifer Azzi, Olympic champion at the Atlanta Games in 96. The brand new number one always had great command of the dribble and the outside shot, a virtue that caught the attention of Steph Curry himself, who gave her the trophy for the best three-point shooter when she went through the camp organized by the NBA star.
Fam has also had to fight against the logical weight of the United States in its league. Throughout history there have only been three players in first place who were not Americans: the Polish (1998), the Belgian Ann Vauters (2000) and the Australian Lauren Jackson (2001).
Iyana Martín, who did not travel to New York, also made history by being chosen in position number 7. At the gates of the first round of the draft was a third Spaniard, Marta Suárez, from Oviedo like Martín, who wore a suit that allowed her to see the tattoo with the Victory Cross, one of the symbols of Asturias, her land. Suárez, who this season has played with the Horned Frogs in the American college league, was chosen in 16th place by the same team as Awa Fam, but Seattle has decided to transfer her to the Golden State Valkyries in exchange for the rights to Flau’jae Johnson.
Among the best in the first round of the draft The name of Gabriela Jáquez also stood out. The Mexican player shone a few days ago in the NCAA final with UCLA, thanks to her 21 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Some numbers that encouraged Chicago Sky to select her at pick 5. Gabriela is the sister of Jaime Jáquez, a player for the Miami Heat.
