From Mumias to the WNBA: Madina Okot Drafted by Atlanta Dream at No. 13”

Kenyan basketball star Madina Okot has made history after being selected 13th overall by the Atlanta Dream in the 2026 WNBA Draft, a landmark moment for Kenyan and African women’s basketball. The center from Mumias, Kenya, becomes one of the few Kenyan-born players to join a major American professional basketball league, elevating the country’s presence on the global sports stage.
Okot, a 6-foot-6 center, earned national attention in the United States following an impressive collegiate career, where her size, rebounding, and rim protection made her a highly rated prospect. Before turning professional, she represented Kenya in both 3×3 and 5-on-5 competitions and was recognized as the “Most Promising Girl” at the 2022 Kenyan Sports Personality of the Year Awards, underscoring her rapid rise from local talent to international star.
Her journey to the WNBA has been anything but easy. Born to a farming family in Mumias and the fifth-born of eight children, Okot started out as a volleyball player before switching to basketball while at Kaya Tiwi High School, later moving through Kenyan clubs and eventually earning an opportunity to play and study in the United States. She has spoken openly about overcoming visa challenges, long periods away from family, and the emotional weight of carrying Kenyan hopes on foreign courts.
For the Kenyan diaspora, Okot’s selection by the Atlanta Dream is being celebrated as a powerful symbol of possibility for young athletes back home and abroad. From Mumias to Atlanta, her story speaks to resilience, discipline, and faith and signals a new chapter where Kenyan talent continues to break barriers on some of the world’s biggest sporting platforms.