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Margo Dydek

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Margo Dydek
Personal information
Born(1974-04-28)28 April 1974
Warsaw, Poland
Died27 May 2011(2011-05-27) (aged 37)
Brisbane, Australia
NationalityPolish
Listed height7 ft 2 in (2.18 m)
Listed weight223 lb (101 kg)
Career information
NBA draft1998: 1st overall
Selected by the Utah Starzz
Playing career1998–2008
PositionCenter
Number12
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

Małgorzata Dydek (28 April 1974 – 27 May 2011), known as Margo Dydek in the United States, was a Polish international professional basketball player. Standing 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) tall, she was famous for being the tallest active professional female basketball player in the world. She played center position for the Los Angeles Sparks in the WNBA and was a coach for the Northside Wizards in the Queensland Basketball League.[1]

Personal Life

Margo Dydek was born April 28, 1974 in Warsaw, Poland to a 6'7" father and a 6'3 mother.[2] She had two sisters, her elder sister, Kashka used to play for the Colorado Explosion of the now defunct ABL, and in Poland, but now has had a daughter. She is 6 foot 7. Her younger sister graduated from the University of Texas-El Paso where she played basketball and played in Spain professionally in the 2000's. She is 6 foot 6.

WNBA career

Dydek made her first trip to the United States in May 1998 for WNBA pre-draft camp. Dydek was drafted 1st overall in the 1998 WNBA Draft by the Utah Starzz (the franchise was subsequently transferred to San Antonio).

On April 16, 2005, during the 2005 WNBA Draft, the San Antonio Silver Stars traded Dydek to the Connecticut Sun in exchange for the Sun's first-round draft pick, Katie Feenstra from Liberty University.

Dydek held the record for most blocks in a WNBA career, with 877 blocks in 323 games.

Dydek led the WNBA in blocks 9 times (1998–2003, 2005–07)

Dydek led the WNBA in blocks/game 8 times (1998–2003, 2006–07)

Dydek led the WNBA in Defensive Rebounds (214) in 2001

On August 27, 2008 Dydek signed with the Los Angeles Sparks following time away from basketball due to her pregnancy (she gave birth to a son in April 2008).

European career

Dydek played for Olimpia Poznań from 1992 to 1994, before playing for Valenciennes Orchies in France from 1994 to 1996. She then moved to Spain and played for Pool Getafe from 1996 to 1998, and moved back to Poland to play for Fota Porta Gdynia starting with the 1998-99 season. She continued to play with the club through several sponsorship changes; since then, the club has taken the names Polpharma and Lotos.

In 1999-2001, she averaged 18.5 points and 10.7 rebounds for Gdynia in FIBA Euroleague play. She was named Most Valuable Player of the Polish League Finals of the 1999-2000 season. In 1999 she was also named the best female basketball player in Europe by the Italian sports magazine La Gazzetta dello Sport. Dydek was chosen as Poland's Sports Woman of the Year and has long been a member of the Polish National Team. She helped lead Gdynia to runner-up finishes in the FIBA Euroleague in 2002 and 2004.

Death

On May 19, 2011, Dydek, at the time pregnant with her third child, suffered a severe heart attack and was placed in a medically induced coma at a Brisbane hospital. She had been working as a coach for the Northside Wizards in the Queensland Basketball League. Dydek collapsed at her home in Brisbane and was taken by ambulance to a hospital. She never regained consciousness, and passed away eight days later on May 27, 2011. Prior to her death Dydek was the last surviving prominent Polish women's basketball player [3]

Vital statistics

  • Position: Center
  • Height: 7 ft-2 in (2.18 m)
  • Shoe size: men's 18 (US) / 54 (EU) (34 centimetres / 13.5 inches long)[4]
  • College: Akademia Wychowania Fizycznego (University School of Physical Education), in Wrocław.
  • Team: Los Angeles Sparks
  • National Team(s): (12), Olimpia Poznań (Poland), Valenciennes Ochies (France), Pool Getafe (Spain), Fota Porta / Polpharma VBW Clima / Lotos VBW Clima / Lotos Gdynia (Poland)

References

  1. ^ Dydek signs with Sparks
  2. ^ http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1026452/index.htm
  3. ^ http://www.swishappeal.com/2011/5/26/2192574/magorzata-margo-dydek-1974-2011
  4. ^ Sisters on the way to the top - Albert & Logan News

http://sports.espn.go.com/wnba/news/story?id=6568363


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