‘A bit of dog in me’: How a 168cm baller from Ballarat made it big in America

Diminutive Australian guard Georgia Amoore has pledged to bring some competitive “dog” for the Washington Mystics after being selected at pick six in the WNBA draft.

The Mystics, with a new coach and general manager, had three of the first half-dozen picks on Monday (Tuesday AEST), and were quick to snap up the sporting all-rounder from Ballarat.

Georgia Amoore with WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert after being selected with the sixth pick at the draft..Credit: Getty Images

They chose Sonia Citron at No.3, Kiki Iriafen at No.4 and University of Kentucky guard Amoore with the sixth selection. At just 168cm tall (five foot six inches), the Australian was the only player taken in the top 10 standing less than six foot (183cm).

Her selection also marked the earliest an Australian had been picked in a WNBA Draft since 2011, when Liz Cambage went to the Tulsa Shock at No.2.

“For as long as people have called me too short I’ve been working on how to counteract that,” said Amoore.

“It’s not a shock to me.

“I know that I have to work in different ways, use my brain a little bit more.

“With my competitive background, I think I have a little bit of dog in me that’s going to keep me fighting.”

While the salaries for first-year players drafted in the men’s competition – the NBA – range from a minimum of $1.76 million to $19.6 million for the top pick, WNBA draftees earn a much more modest amount. As the sixth selection, Amoore stands to pocket about $119,000 in her maiden season and about $525,000 across her first four seasons.

Amoore was dressed on the WNBA’s orange carpet by NBA star Russell Westbrook, who has a clothing brand called Honor The Gift.

Georgia Amoore (No.3) shows her fighting qualities playing for the Kentucky Wildcats in the NCAA Women’s Basketball tournament in March.Credit: Getty Images

Amoore said Westbrook designed her outfit and was amazing to work with since they first got together on a Zoom session last November.

Amoore grew up in Ballarat playing a number of sports, including Australian Rules football, cricket, netball and taekwondo before switching her focus solely to basketball at the age of 17.

The 24-year-old started 155 of 157 games over five college seasons in the US, averaging 19.6 points and 6.9 assists for Kentucky this season after transferring from Virginia Tech.

As expected, the much-hyped Paige Bueckers went to the Dallas Wings as the top pick, earning her a first-year salary of $US78,831 (about $124,000).

Paige Bueckers was selected with the first pick by the Dallas Wings.Credit: Getty Images

The versatile UConn star is the latest Huskies standout to go No.1, joining former greats Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Maya Moore and Breanna Stewart.

“Dallas I’m so excited, a new city, a new start,” Bueckers said. “A fresh start, so let’s get it.”

Bueckers has had a whirlwind week since helping UConn win a 12th national championship on April 6. She has split her time between New York and Connecticut doing morning and nighttime talk shows.

On Sunday, she took part in the Huskies’ championship parade.

Seattle quickly followed Dallas’ selection by taking 19-year-old French centre Dominique Malonga with the No.2 pick.

Malonga was part of the silver medal-winning French Olympic basketball team.

She’s the first French player to be drafted this high since 1997, when Isabelle Fijalkowski went second.

“I was so proud to achieve that goal,” Malonga said.

“It showed that French basketball has evolved as we’ve seen the past few years on the NBA side. We see Wemby (Victor Wembanyama) and Zaccharie (Risacher) show that French basketball is great.”

The expansion Golden State Valkyries took Juste Jocyte of Lithuania with the first draft choice in franchise history.

with AP

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