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Dominique Malonga is unavailable to play for the Seattle Storm against the Connecticut Sun on Sunday for their first preseason matchup.
Malonga was playing in her native France for ASVEL, and their season concluded on Wednesday after the team was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the LFB playoffs. The No. 2 overall pick of the 2025 WNBA Draft has missed the Storm's training camp and will likely need some time to orient herself with their game.
The upcoming matchup tips off at 6 p.m. ET at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle and will be aired locally on KOMO 4 and CW Seattle. It will be the Storm's only preseason game before they tip off their 2025 campaign against the Phoenix Mercury on May 17.
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Dominique Malonga looking forward to her first trip to Seattle and playing for the Storm
In an interview with CBS Sports' We Need to Talk, Dominique Malonga said that she's looking forward to playing with the Seattle Storm and making her first trip to Seattle.
"It’s a lot of excitement for me because, in France, we have a lot of viewers, but we don’t have really fans who support you," Malonga said.
"We have people coming to the gym, but we don’t have this fan base that you feel is behind you every time. I just can’t wait to see what it’s like to play in a full house in front of thousands of people, because it’s not a full house every day here."
She added:
"Also, I heard a lot of good things about the city of Seattle, so I can’t wait to go there and discover a whole new culture for me. … I went to America for vacation but never lived there, so it’s a new country and I love to travel the world and discover."
Dominique Malonga began her professional basketball career in 2021 when she signed with ASVEL at the age of 15. At 19, the French star became the youngest player to be drafted into the WNBA.
Malonga became a viral sensation during the 2024 Paris Olympics when she became the first Frenchwoman to dunk in an official game. The 6-foot-6 center concluded her fourth year in the LFB, averaging a double-double of 15.5 points, 10.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.3 blocks and 1.1 steals, shooting 54.0%.
