Lorela Cubaj

Lorela Cubaj (born January 8, 1999) is an Italian professional basketball player for the New York Liberty of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played college basketball at Georgia Tech.

Lorela Cubaj
No. 18 – New York Liberty
PositionForward
LeagueWNBA
Personal information
Born (1999-01-08) January 8, 1999
Perugia, Italy
NationalityItalian
Listed height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Career information
High schoolIstituto Paritario Giuseppe Parini
(Mestre, Italy)
College
WNBA draft2022 / Round: 2 / Pick: 18th overall
Selected by the Seattle Storm
Career history
2015–17Umana Reyer Venezia
Career highlights and awards
  • 2x ACC Defensive Player of the Year (2021, 2022)
  • 2x All-ACC First-team (2021, 2022)
Medals
Women's Basketball
Representing  Italy
U17 World Championship
2016 SpainTeam Competition
U16 European Championship
2015 PortugalTeam Competition

Playing career

Early years

Cubaj started play basketball when she was 8. She won the Italian U18 championship with Umana Reyer Venezia in 2016–17 season.[1]

College career

Cubaj signed with Georgia Tech the summer of 2017.[1] She made NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen with the Yellow Jackets in 2021, where they were defeated by South Carolina. That match Cubaj scored 15 points and grabbed 7 rebounds.[2]

Professional career

On April 11, 2022, Cubaj was drafted 18th overall by the Seattle Storm in the 2022 WNBA draft and they trade her draft rights to New York immediately.[3]

National Team

Youth level

Cubaj won bronze medal with Italian team at the U16 European Championship in 2015, she has averaged 11 points and 6.6 rebounds and voted to the tournament All-Star Five.[4][5] One year later she won silver medal with the Italian U17 team, at the 2016 U17 World Championship in Spain. They lost the final against Australia. At the tournament Cubaj averaged 6.1 points and 5.4 rebounds.[6] Few weeks later, she was part of the Italian U18 national team at the U18 European Championship in Hungary and finished seventh place. At the tournament Cubaj averaged 10.4 points and 7.3 rebounds.[7]

References
  1. "L'orogranata Lorela Cubaj giocherà in NCAA con Georgia Tech". www.legabasketfemminile.it (in Italian). June 1, 2017. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
  2. "Jackets Fall to South Carolina in NCAA Sweet 16". ramblinwreck.com. March 28, 2021. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
  3. "Cubaj Selected in WNBA Draft by New York Liberty". ramblinwreck.com. April 11, 2022. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
  4. "Lorela Cubaj stats at the 2015 U16 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS WOMEN". archive.fiba.com. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
  5. "Ramos crowned MVP, headlines All-Star Five". FIBA Europe. 23 August 2015. Retrieved 30 April 2022. {{cite web}}: Check |archive-url= value (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. "Lorela Cubaj stats at the 2016 U17 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS WOMEN". fiba.basketball. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
  7. "Lorela Cubaj stats at the 2016 U18 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS WOMEN". fiba.basketball. Retrieved April 30, 2022.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.