Amanda Zahui B.
Amanda Zahui Bazoukou (born September 8, 1993), known professionally as Amanda Zahui B., is a Swedish basketball player for the New York Liberty of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). After playing basketball in Sweden, Bazoukou was drafted by the Tulsa Shock with the second overall pick in the 2015 WNBA draft.
 | |
| No. 17 – New York Liberty | |
|---|---|
| Position | Center |
| League | WNBA |
| Personal information | |
| Born | September 8, 1993 Stockholm, Sweden |
| Nationality | Swedish |
| Listed height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) |
| Listed weight | 184 lb (83 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Igelstavikens Gymnasium |
| College | Minnesota (2013–2015) |
| WNBA draft | 2015 / Round: 1 / Pick: 2nd overall |
| Selected by the Tulsa Shock | |
| Playing career | 2015–present |
| Career history | |
| 2015 | Tulsa Shock |
| 2016–present | New York Liberty |
| 2016–2017 | Nadezhda Orenburg |
| 2017–present | USK Praha |
| Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
Early life
Zahui Bazoukou began playing basketball when she was 10. By 13, Sweden had added her to its 16-and-under national team where she averaged double-doubles in the European Championships.
Her surname is pronounced ZAH-wee B. She shortened Bazoukou to an initial so it would fit on her jersey and be easier for Americans to pronounce.
Her mother is Spanish-French and her father is from the Ivory Coast.[1][2]
College
Zahui B played three seasons for the Minnesota Golden Gophers. In February 2015, Zahui B recorded a career-high 39 points in a game against Iowa Hawkeye basketball team. She also recorded 29 rebounds in that game, the most ever by a player in the Big Ten Conference. The last NBA player to record at least 39 points and 29 rebounds in a game was Moses Malone in October 1979.[3]
Minnesota statistics
Source[4]
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | GP | Points | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| 2013-14 | Minnesota | 34 | 514 | 54.3% | 33.3% | 65.4% | 11.6 | 1.4 | 0.7 | 3.1 | 15.1 |
| 2014-15 | Minnesota | 33 | 621 | 55.5% | 26.1% | 78.3% | 12.9 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 4.1 | 18.8 |
| Career | 67 | 1135 | 54.9% | 26.9% | 72.8% | 12.2 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 3.6 | 16.9 |
Professional career
Zahui B was drafted second overall by the Tulsa Shock when she was only a sophomore. She was 21 years old.[5]
In 2016, she was transferred to the Russian Nadezhda Orenburg where she became the highest scoring player.[6] Her name Zahui caused some stir due to its similarity with an obscene word in Russian. In 2017 the team decided to use the name Bazoukou instead.[7][8]
Her career WNBA per-game statistics[9] up to the 2019 mid-season all-star break were:
| Year | TM | Age | G | GS | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | 2P | 2PA | 2P% | FT | FTA | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | TUL | 21 | 31 | 0 | 9.7 | 1.3 | 3.5 | .361 | 0.4 | 1.2 | .333 | 0.9 | 2.3 | .375 | 0.5 | 0.6 | .750 | 0.8 | 1.6 | 2.4 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 1.9 | 3.4 |
| 2016 | NYL | 22 | 33 | 1 | 11.3 | 1.7 | 3.8 | .449 | 0.1 | 0.5 | .118 | 1.6 | 3.4 | .486 | 1.5 | 1.8 | .787 | 1.3 | 1.9 | 3.2 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 1.1 | 2.1 | 5.0 |
| 2017 | NYL | 23 | 29 | 0 | 5.3 | 0.9 | 2.2 | .400 | 0.1 | 0.3 | .250 | 0.8 | 2.0 | .421 | 0.3 | 0.4 | .750 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 1.1 | 2.2 |
| 2018 | NYL | 24 | 29 | 0 | 15.9 | 3.1 | 6.2 | .500 | 0.7 | 2.1 | .344 | 2.4 | 4.1 | .580 | 0.8 | 1.3 | .605 | 1.3 | 1.7 | 3.0 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 1.6 | 2.8 | 7.7 |
| 2019 (to July) | NYL | 25 | 13 | 13 | 25.5 | 3.4 | 7.4 | .458 | 1.2 | 3.4 | .364 | 2.2 | 4.0 | .538 | 1.5 | 1.8 | .833 | 1.2 | 6.2 | 7.3 | 0.6 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 1.7 | 3.3 | 9.5 |
| Career | 135 | 14 | 12.0 | 1.9 | 4.3 | .444 | 0.4 | 1.2 | .327 | 1.5 | 3.0 | .491 | 0.9 | 1.1 | .742 | 1.0 | 1.9 | 2.9 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 1.0 | 2.1 | 5.0 |
References
- "Amanda Zahui B.: U women's basketball's marvelous mystery". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2017-08-30.
- "Gophers women's basketball adds 6-5 Swedish center Amanda Zahui B." Twin Cities. 2012-05-09. Retrieved 2017-08-30.
- "Watch Minnesota's Amanda Zahui B.'s record-setting night in win over Iowa". btn.com.
- "NCAA Statistics". web1.ncaa.org. Retrieved 2017-08-30.
- "Jewell Loyd and Amanda Zahui B. Are Top Two Picks in W.N.B.A Draft - The New York Times". nytimes.com.
- Amanda Zahui will pull Nadezhda up (in Russian)
- The Nadezhda's basketball player changes family (in Russian)
- The family of the Russian Basketball rising star was changed (in Russian)
- "Basketball reference site". basketball-reference.com.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from WNBA.com
or Basketball-Reference.com - Amanda Zahui B. Bio - University of Minnesota Official Athletic Site at the Wayback Machine (archived 2016-09-26)
- Day in The Life: Amanda Zahui B.'s WNBA Draft Day