Carla Leite hasn’t yet played a single WNBA game. Yet, she already has a new team.
After the Dallas Wings, who drafted her No. 9 overall in the 2024 WNBA Draft, left her unprotected in the expansion draft, the Golden State Valkyries jumped on the opportunity to pick one of the most promising European players, who currently is playing for Villeneuve d’Ascq in the La Boulangère Wonderligue in France. Just 20 years old, Leite already has attained numerous accolades, the most important of which is probably the FIBA U20 Women’s European Championship MVP trophy.
Swish Appeal recently caught up with Leite to talk about her basketball experiences, as well as what’s next for the potential future star of the Valkyries:
I read at The Next that you started playing basketball at nine years old, but got really serious about it at 13. What sparked that decision and can you describe what “getting serious” meant at such a young age?
Basketball became serious for me when I joined the Antibes youth team at the age of 13. That’s when I knew I wanted to make basketball my job.
