The Phoenix Mercury have added another guard to their roster; Monique Akoa-Makani, a Cameroonian guard who most recently played for the French club Charnay Basket. On that club, she averaged 14.6 points, 5.3 assists, and 4.2 rebounds per game.
Phoenix Mercury’s latest free agency signing continues growing WNBA trend
Monique Akoa-Makani signed a rookie-scale contract with the Mercury Tuesday — becoming the latest international player to get an opportunity in the WNBA.
Photo by David Becker/NBAE via Getty Images
Noa Dalzell is a senior writer covering the WNBA and all of women’s basketball for Breakaway, SB Nation’s women’s sports vertical, as well as the Celtics for CelticsBlog.
Per the WNBA transactions page, the Mercury signed Akoa-Makani to a rookie-scale contract. She’s the 6th international player the Mercury have signed, joining Kitija Laksa (Latvia), Sami Whitcomb (Australia), Sevgi Uzun (Turkey), Murjanutu Musa (Nigeria), and Anna Makurat (Poland). The signing — while likely not particularly consequential for the Mercury’s championship odds considering Akoa-Makani’s youth and relative inexperience —does signal the league’s continued move toward international players.
The WNBA, while still largely dominated by American players, has trended toward more international players in recent years, with players like Ezi Magbegor (Australia), Kamilla Cardoso (Brazil), Bridget Carleton (Canada), Aaliyah Edwards (Canada), Leonie Fiebich (Germany), and Nyara and Satou Sabally (Germany) serving as just a few examples of high-impact international players. Fiebich turned into one of the WNBA’s most impactful rookies and was a key part of why the New York Liberty won the 2024 championship.
Free agency signings have trended international in unprecedented fashion; the Connecticut Sun, for example, have signed 3 international players, headlined by French standout Leila Lacan. The Seattle Storm have signed two — Magbegor and Chinese standout Li Yueru. Across the league, front offices are increasingly taking notice of overseas talent, as the game continues to globalize.
Women’s basketball in France is gaining momentum
France, in particular, appears to have several high-profile WNBA prospects in the works. Carla Leite, a 19-year-old French guard who the Golden State Valkyries selected in their expansion draft, is one prospective impact player. Janelle Salaun, a 6’6 forward, is another. Dominique Malonga, a 6’6 center who could dunk at 16, is one of the most exciting prospects in recent WNBA history, as detailed in a Ringer piece by Mark Schindler.
The NBA has become increasingly international in recent years, with some of the best players in the world coming from overseas — like Luka Doncic (Slovenia), Nikola Jokic (Serbia), Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece), Joel Embiid (Cameroon), Victor Wembenyama (France), and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Canada), among others.
Photo by Aurelien Meunier/Getty Images
Inevitably, women’s basketball will eventually follow suit to become a more globalized game — and France very well could be at the forefront. In the meantime, the Mercury are the latest in a long list of teams that have signed an increasing number of international players to their 2024-25 WNBA rosters.
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