Kalu eyes WNBA Defender of the Year award

D’Tigress and Atlanta Dream guard Ezinne Kalu has set a target for herself in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), which is to win the Defensive Player of the Year award, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

The 32-year-old, who had a sterling 2024 Olympic Games in Paris campaign, helping Nigeria reach the quarterfinals, the first by an African country, recently realised her dream of playing in the WNBA when she joined Atlanta Dream.

By so doing, the New Jersey-born became the first Black athlete from a historically black college to play the NWBA in over 15 years, a feat she celebrated with a statement on her X handle on Thursday.

“Recently, I found out that I was the first athlete from a historically black college to play in the WNBA in over 15 years, and I couldn’t make this statement any more true. Delayed does not mean denied. Blessed to be the first while praying I’m not the last,’’ wrote the Savahhah State University graduate.

Her university coach, Cedric Baker, extolled her virtues, reminiscing on how Kalu helped the Tigers to their Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championship in 2015.

He said, “It takes a special person to be that first. She was just determined, a great teammate, with a very sweet and magnetic personality,” Baker said. “However, she did hold her teammates accountable on both ends, defensibly and offensively.”

Kalu represented Nigeria at the 2017, 2019, and 2021 Afrobasket events, as Africa’s highest-ranked side won three straight championships. She was named the 2019 Women’s Afrobasket Most Valuable Player (MVP).

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