Ann Hilde Willy Wauters (born 12 October 1980) is a Belgian former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player and coach, most recently serving as an assistant coach for the

Chicago Sky The Chicago Sky are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Sky compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The franchise was founded prior to the 2006 season. Th ...

in the

Women's National Basketball Association The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is a women's professional basketball league in the United States. The league comprises 13 teams (scheduled to expand to 15 in 2026). The WNBA is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan. The WNBA w ...

(WNBA). She played for numerous American and European professional teams, including the

Cleveland Rockers The Cleveland Rockers were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Cleveland, that played from 1997 until 2003. The Rockers were one of the original eight franchises of the WNBA, which started in 1997. The owner was Gordon ...

US Valenciennes Olympic US Valenciennes Olympic (or USVO, previously ''Union Sportive Valenciennes-Orchies'') is a former France, French basketball team based in Valenciennes. It will be replaced by Union Hainaut Basket, because of the merging with Union Saint-Amand Po ...

, and the San Antonio Silver Stars. She won four

EuroLeague The EuroLeague is a European men's professional basketball club competition. The league is widely recognised as the top-tier and the most prestigious men's basketball league in Europe. The league consists of 20 teams, of which 16 are given lon ...

championships and one WNBA Finals during her career. Her primary position was center.

Early life

Born in

Sint-Gillis-Waas Sint-Gillis-Waas (; ) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of De Klinge, , Sint-Gillis-Waas proper and . On 1 January 2018, Sint-Gillis-Waas had a total population of 19,273. ...

, Belgium, Wauters began playing basketball at age 12. Her international professional basketball career began immediately after high school. She speaks Dutch, French and English. She wears jersey No. 12 because of her birthdate.

Professional career

WNBA

Wauters was drafted first overall in the

2000 WNBA draft 2000 WNBA draft *On December 15, 1999, a WNBA expansion draft took place. *On April 25, 2000, the regular WNBA draft took place. Expansion draft College draft Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Trades Pre-draft trades See also ...

by the

at the age of 19, becoming the youngest player in the league at the time. She was also the first Belgian-born player in the WNBA. When the team selected her, she was considered a project and raw talent. Having only played basketball for 7 years prior to the draft, Wauters quickly blended in with the big-name centers. In her rookie season, Wauters was a reserve on the Rockers' roster, averaging 6.7 ppg off the bench. The Rockers were second in the East with a 17–15 record, and were one win away from advancing to the Finals, but were defeated in 3 games by the

New York Liberty The New York Liberty are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Liberty compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Eastern Confer ...

in the Conference Finals. After her second season, Wauters sat out the 2003 WNBA season in order to rest. The Rockers folded in 2003 and Wauters was moved to the

the following year in a

dispersal draft A dispersal draft is a process in professional sports for assigning players to a new team when an existing team folds or is merged into another team. Like most other sports drafts, most dispersal drafts are conducted in closed leagues and are in ...

. She played two seasons for the Liberty before taking another break from the WNBA in 2006. During her time with the Liberty, she was selected to play in the 2005 WNBA All-Star Game as a reserve. In 2008, Wauters returned to the WNBA and was selected by the

Atlanta Dream The Atlanta Dream are an American professional basketball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Dream compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded for the ...

in the expansion draft. On 9 April 2008, Wauters, along with Morenike Atunrase and a 2009 second round draft pick, was traded to the San Antonio Silver Stars for Camille Little, Chioma Nnamaka, and the Silver Stars' first round pick in the 2009 WNBA draft. During her first season with the Silver Stars, she averaged a career-high 14.7 ppg as the team's starting center. Playing alongside

Becky Hammon Rebecca Lynn Hammon (Russian: Ребекка Линн Хэммон; born March 11, 1977) is a Russian-American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the Las Vegas Aces of the Women's National Basketball Assoc ...

, the Silver Stars were also a championship contender in 2008, having finished first in the West with a 24–10 record and advancing all the way to the Finals but would get swept by the

Detroit Shock The Detroit Shock were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. They were the 2003, 2006, and 2008 WNBA champions. Debuting in 1998, the Shock were one of the league's first expansion franchises. Th ...

. Wauters played for the Silver Stars once again in 2009, but decided not to rejoin the team in 2010 to take another break; she also did not join the team in 2011 as she became pregnant. In 2012, Wauters signed with the

Seattle Storm The Seattle Storm are an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The Storm compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference (WNBA), Western Conference. The team was founded by Gi ...

. Wauters did not rejoin the Storm for the 2013 WNBA season in order to spend time with her family. After a 3-year break from the WNBA, Wauters signed with the

Los Angeles Sparks The Los Angeles Sparks are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Sparks compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference. The team plays its home games at Crypto.co ...

in 2016 and won her first WNBA Championship with the team after defeating the

Minnesota Lynx The Minnesota Lynx are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Lynx compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference (WNBA), Western Conference. The team won the WNBA ...

in the Finals.

Overseas

Throughout her basketball career, Wauters has gained more overseas experience than any other female player. Prior to her WNBA career, Wauters played in France for USV Olympic. After her rookie season in the WNBA, she played with the team for four more years during the off-season and won four consecutive championships. From 2004 to 2007, Wauters played in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

for VBM-SGAU and won a championship. From 2007 to 2009, Wauters played two off-seasons for

CSKA Moscow CSKA Moscow () is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet Union, Soviet era, it was the central part of the Armed Forces (sports ...

. In the 2009–10 off-season, Wauters played for

UMMC Ekaterinburg BC Ekaterinburg () is a Russian professional women's basketball team based in Yekaterinburg competing in the Russian Premier League, and until February 2022 in FIBA Europe's EuroLeague Women. Founded in 1938 as Zenit Sverdlovsk, the club had its ...

and won a championship with the team. In the 2011–12 off-season, Wauters played in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

for Ros Casares Valencia, winning two championships with the team. In the 2012–13 off-season, Wauters played in

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

for Galatasaray S.K. and won a Turkish Cup with the team. In the 2013–14 off-season, Wauters returned to UMMC Ekaterinburg and won her second Russian League championship with the team. In the 2014–15 off-season, Wauters played in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

for ESB Villeneuve-d'Ascq, winning a EuroCup championship with the team. In the 2015–16 off-season, Wauters played in her home country for Royal Castors Braine in the first portion of the off-season and spent the second portion of the off-season playing for Galatasaray S.K. As of May 2016, Wauters signed with AGÜ Spor of the

Turkish League Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The w ...

for the 2016–17 off-season. In June 2017, Wauters signed with Yakin Dogu. She played for Kayseri Basketbol in the 2019–2020 season.

WNBA career statistics

Regular season

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2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

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Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

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2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

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2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

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2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

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New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

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2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

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, 28 , , 28 , , 31.4 , , .541 , , 1.000 , , .752 , , 6.6 , , 1.5 , , 0.6 , , 0.8 , , 2.5 , , 13.7 , - , align="left" ,

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

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San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

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2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

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2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

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Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

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2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

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Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

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Postseason

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Coaching career

In January 2022, the

announced that they had hired Wauters as an assistant coach.

Personal life

In November 2010, Wauters' management announced she was 3 months pregnant with her first child, adding that this would not mean the end of her career. After the birth of her child, Wauters signed with Ros Casares Valencia in Spain. Her wife, Lot Wielfaert, was also pregnant and gave birth a month before Wauters.

Awards and honors

Team

* EuroLeague Women: 2002, 2004, 2005, 2012 * FIBA Women's World League: 2004 *

Ligue Féminine de Basketball The Ligue Féminine de Basketball (LFB; ''Women's Basketball League'') is the top women's France, French professional basketball league. The LFB authorities announced that the championship is renamed La Boulangère Wonderligue (LBWL) as for the se ...

: 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 *

Russian Women's Basketball Premier League The Russian Women's Basketball Premier League (officially named ''FONBET Premier League'' for sponsoring reasons) is the premier women's basketball competition in Russia. The category consists of 11 teams playing a total of 20 rounds. At the end ...

: 2005, 2006, 2010 *

Liga Femenina de Baloncesto The Liga Femenina de Baloncesto, also known as Liga Femenina Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of sports league, league competition for women's basketball in Spain. It is the women's equivalent of the men's Liga ACB and is run by ...

Women's Korean Basketball League The Women's Korean Basketball League (WKBL) (Hangul: 한국여자프로농구) is the premier professional women's basketball league in South Korea. The league was established in 1998. Current clubs See also * Korean Basketball League Ex ...

: 2006 *Belgian Championship: 2016 *

: 2016 *Coupe de France: 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 *Russian Cup: 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010 *Turkish Cup: 2013

Individual

*European player of year: 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2008 *EuroLeague Final Four MVP: 2001, 2002, 2004 *Best foreign player in France: 2001 *Best center of European championship in Greece: 2003 *WNBA All-Star 2005 *French Women's Basketball League's list of « 5 major » foreign players of the period 1998–2018

References

External links

* * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wauters, Ann 1980 births Living people Abdullah Gül Üniversitesi basketball players Atlanta Dream players Basketball players at the 2015 European Games Basketball players at the 2020 Summer Olympics Belgian expatriate basketball people in France Belgian expatriate basketball people in Russia Belgian expatriate basketball people in Spain Belgian expatriate basketball people in Turkey Belgian expatriate basketball people in the United States Belgian women's basketball players Centers (basketball) Chicago Sky coaches Cleveland Rockers players European Games competitors for Belgium Galatasaray S.K. (women's basketball) players LGBTQ basketball players Los Angeles Sparks players New York Liberty players Olympic basketball players for Belgium People from Sint-Gillis-Waas Ros Casares Valencia players San Antonio Stars players Seattle Storm players WNBA All-Stars First overall WNBA draft picks 20th-century Belgian LGBTQ people Sportspeople from East Flanders Expatriate basketball people in Northern Cyprus Belgian lesbian sportswomen 20th-century Belgian sportswomen 21st-century Belgian LGBTQ people 21st-century Belgian sportswomen Atlanta Dream draft picks