August 10, 2024
Locked On Women’s Basketball: Meet Awa Fam
By The Next
Hunter and Lincoln profile Fam, who was tabbed as the youngest MVP at the FIBA U20 European Championship last month
Welcome back for another episode of the Locked On Women’s Basketball podcast. Host Hunter Cruse and Lincoln Shafer are profiling Spanish prospect Awa Fam, who recently competed in the FIBA U20 European Championship. The 6’4 center is just 18 years old, but would be eligible for the 2026 WNBA Draft.
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Lincoln started the conversation saying directly, “I think she’s probably the best player under the age of 20 right now in the world.”
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Though she has not played significant minutes in the EuroLeague with Valencia Basket Club, Fam was dominant at EuroBasket averaging 11.3 points, 7.6 rebounds and 3.9 assists across seven games at the U20 level. Her team eventually lost in the finals to France, but Fam took home MVP honors. She also suited up for Spain in the 2024 U18 games averaging 15.5 points, 11.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists.
In June, Valencia announced that Fam was placed on loan for one year to Lointek Gernika of Liga Femenina. The team is based in Gernika, Basque Country, Spain. The EuroLeague Women season starts in September.
“The thing with her passing is, because of what she can do as a scorer, in my opinion, she’s scheme-proof,” Hunter said. “If you double her, she’s making any pass in the book cross-court skips. She’s finding a read from the mid-post, or whatever. Single coverage? That’s just too easy. She’s going to do a spin move. She’s going win a reverse. it’s almost impossible to stop her there. She just always knows where her teammates are. Just her visual processing, the overall way she sees the game, is unreal for a teenager.”
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