Why WNBA star Madina Okot is heading to Australia
Madina Okot in action for her Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) team, Atlanta Dream.
Madina Okot, the Kenyan player who has taken the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) League in the United States of America by a storm, will take up a new challenge, albeit in the short term, in Australia.
Okot, who plays for Atlanta Dreams in the WNBA, is on off-season break and has opted to play for Tasmania Jewels in the Australia Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL). She will play at Tasmania Jewels alongside guard Gianna Kneepkens from WNBA team Connecticut Sun.
It is normal for stars in the WNBA to play for other teams in the off-season when their own league is on a break. In Okot’s case, the WNBA off-season will begin upon conclusion of the WNBA Finals in October.
WNBA players usually cash in on the off-season break to play for other teams or leagues outside the USA, with a view to maximizing their income, or as a way of keeping fit throughout the year rather than taking a six-month break.
The leagues, mainly in Turkey, China, Spain, Australia, and Italy, are bankrolled by wealthy owners, companies, or governments and offer competitive salaries that rival what the WNBA offers.
They lure top talent with lucrative contracts in the region of Sh130 million. One of the most popular leagues is the annual EuroLeague Women played in multiple European countries.
Madina Okot on the orange carpet at the WNBA draft in The Shed New York City on April 13, 2026.
Also heading to Australia’s WNBL is Phoenix Mercury’s guard, Sami Whitcomb, who will turn out for Perth Lynx in Australia.
Okot’s team Atlanta Dream is currently placed fourth overall in the 2026 WNBA standings. The team has registered 19 wins and 11 loses in the Eastern Conference, where they are ranked top, followed by Indiana Fever.
Okot, 21, will play in Australia’s WNBL from October through to January 2027 before returning to Atlanta Dream for her second WNBA season.
The 2026/2027 Australian WNBL season will start on October 15, 2026, with an opening game between the Tasmania Jewels and the Geelong Venom at MyState Bank Arena in Tasmania.
Okot, who plays as a guard, is excited at the prospect of joining the Tasmania Jewels. Her Atlanta Dream teammate, Isobel Borlase from Australian, encouraged her to explore the opportunity of playing in the Australian league. Okot was also drawn to the club by the team’s culture.
“I like how they take good care of their players, and I just can’t wait to meet the whole team,” Okot told Tasmania Jewels’ coaching staff in a teleconference on August 5.
The news was received with excitement at the Kenya Basketball Federation (KBF).
“These are thrilling moments for our history-making Okot since the Australia WNBA is equally a competitive league and this will help enhance her basketball skills and experience,” KBF secretary general, Angela Luchivya, told Nation Sport.
Madina Okot holding up Atlanta Dream jersey with WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert at The Shed New York City on April 13, 2026.
On April 13, 2026, Okot became Atlanta Dream’s 13th overall draft in the 2026 WNBA Draft after a stand-out collegiate season at the University of South Carolina. The WNBA Draft is an annual event where teams from the WNBA select new players, usually from college basketball or international leagues, to join the league. It helps keep the competition fair by giving weaker teams a better chance to get top talent.
Okot, who has gained fame for her explosive rebounding, shot-blocking, and speed, became the first Kenyan to be drafted in the first round of the WNBA Draft. She is the third Kenyan to play in the WNBA after Josephine Owino and Olivia Nelson-Ododa, who also went through WNBA Draft system.
Okot will be the second Kenyan to compete at Australia WNBL after Nelson-Ododa.
Owino, 42, became the first Kenyan to be drafted in the WNBA. She was a third round draft in 2009, and the six-foot-four Mombasa High School alumnae and former Kenya Commercial Bank Lioness centre went on to play for Washington Mystics.
Nelson-Ododa, 25, was drafted in the second round, and 19th overall, in the 2022 WNBA Draft and went on to play for the Los Angeles Sparks. She played for Los Angeles Sparks in 2022, then moved to the WNBL to play for Melbourne Boomers in the 2022-2023 season. She later joined Guangdong Vermilion Birds in the Women’s Chinese Basketball Association in the 2023-2024 season. She left to join Shanxi Flame in the Chinese league in the 2024-2025 season.
Follow ourWhatsApp channel for breaking news updates and more stories like this.
