Cecilia Zandalasini
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Cecilia Zandalasini (; born 16 March 1996) is an Italian
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 for the
Golden State Valkyries The Golden State Valkyries are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Valkyries compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference. The team began play in the 2025 se ...
of 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 also plays for the Italian national team. She was the MVP of 2016 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship for Women.


Early life

Zandalasini was born on 16 March 1996 in
Broni Broni is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Pavia in the Italy, Italian region Lombardy, located about 45 km south of Milan and about 15 km southeast of Pavia. Broni borders the following municipalities: Albaredo Arnaboldi, B ...
, Italy. She is the daughter of Roberto Zandalasini and Paola Lombardi. While playing with
Geas Basket ASD Geas Basket is an Italia Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with ...
, she won six Italian youth club championships.


Professional career


Geas Basket (2013–14)

At the age of 17, Zandalasini played as a guard under
Geas Basket ASD Geas Basket is an Italia Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with ...
for the 2013–14 season. She led the team in points with a total of 314 across 20 games (15.7 PPG).


PF Schio (2014–2018)

Zandalasini has played with
PF Schio Pallacanestro Femminile Schio, also known as Beretta Famila Schio for sponsorship reasons, is an Italian professional women's basketball team based in Schio that competes in Serie A1 (women's basketball), Serie A. Team history Founded in 1973, ...
since 2014. In Zandalasini's third season with the team in 2016–17, the team won the Coppa Italia and reached the Serie A1 playoff finals. The team continued to the
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 ...
postseason, where Zandalasini had a team high 13.5 PPG.


EuroBasket

At
EuroBasket Women 2017 The 2017 European Women Basketball Championship, commonly called EuroBasket Women 2017, was the 36th edition of the continental tournament in women's basketball, sanctioned by the FIBA Europe. The tournament was awarded to Czech Republic after w ...
she averaged 19.0 points (2nd in event) and 9.6 rebounds (3rd in event) and earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team. Jeff Taylor of FIBA.com called her performance "the greatest FIBA
EuroBasket Women EuroBasket Women is a biennial international women's basketball competition held between the nations of FIBA Europe for women's national teams. EuroBasket Women is also used as a qualifying tournament for the FIBA Women's World Cup and also the ...
debut of all time".


Minnesota Lynx (2017–2018)

With only three games left in their 2017 regular season, 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 ...
signed Zandalasini as an unrestricted free agent on 28 August 2017. Zandalasini was only able to play 18:37 of the remainder of the regular season and 11 during the playoffs, which the Lynx won. On 7 February 2018 it was announced that the Lynx would re-sign Zandalasini for the 2018 season. Zandalasini became a breakout player during the season after a buzzer-beating play against 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 their 16 June game. She has subsequently seen more minutes of play, establishing herself as a fit for the sixth woman role. Zandalasini did not play with the Lynx during their
2019 season Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number) * One of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (1987 film), a 1987 science fiction film * '' 19-Nineteen'', a 2009 South Korean film * '' Dici ...
due to her international team commitments and an ankle injury. On 29 February 2020 the Lynx announced they would re-sign Zandalasini for the 2020 season in a non-disclosed deal. However she did not play any games for the Lynx during the shortened 2020 season.


Fenerbahçe (2018–2021)

On 4 July 2018 she had signed a two-year deal with the Turkish women's basketball club, Fenerbahçe.


Virtus Bologna (2021–2024)

On 5 May 2021 Zandalasini signed a two-year deal with the Italian women's basketball club
Virtus Bologna Virtus Pallacanestro Bologna, known for sponsorship reasons as Virtus Segafredo Bologna, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna. The club was founded in 1929, which makes it the oldest club in Italy and one ...
. Despite good premises, in November 2021 the team was eliminated in the group stage of the EuroCup. On 19 April 2022, during the national semi-finals against Reyer Venezia, Lino Lardo was fired and his assistant Angela Gianolla became the new head coach. The team ousted Reyer Venezia by 2–1 in the national semi-finals, reaching the finals for the first time in its history and qualifying for the EuroLeague Women. However, Virtus was defeated 3–1 by
Famila Schio Pallacanestro Femminile Schio, also known as Beretta Famila Schio for sponsorship reasons, is an Italian professional women's basketball team based in Schio that competes in Serie A. Team history Founded in 1973, Schio enjoyed its first succes ...
. In the following season, Virtus played for the first time in the EuroLeague Women, but it was ousted in the regular season with a winning record of 5–9. The club ended the Italian championship's season at the first place but, once again, it lost the national finals against Famila Schio by 2–0.


Galatasaray (2024–2025)

On July 24, 2024, she signed with
Galatasaray Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (, ''Galatasaray Sports Club''), more commonly referred to as simply Galatasaray and familiarly as Cimbom, is a Turkish sports club based on the European side of the city of Istanbul including basketball, wheelchair ...
of the Turkish
Women's Basketball Super League The Women's Basketball Super League (, KBSL), also known as the ING Women's Basketball Super League for sponsorship reasons, is the top women's professional basketball division of the Turkish women's basketball league system. The league was establ ...
(TKBL). Galatasaray club said goodbye to the player on May 28, 2025, by publishing a thank you message.


Minnesota Lynx (2024)

On April 19, 2024, Zandalasini signed with a Training Camp Contract with the Minnesota Lynx. On May 14, 2024, it was announced that she made the final roster.


Golden State Valkyries (2025–present)

On December 6, 2024, Zandalasini was selected as the
Golden State Valkyries The Golden State Valkyries are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Valkyries compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference. The team began play in the 2025 se ...
' pick from the Minnesota Lynx' 2024 roster in the WNBA's
expansion draft An expansion draft, in professional sports, occurs when a sports league decides to create one or more new expansion teams or sports franchising, franchises. This occurs mainly in Sports in North America, North American sports and closed leagues. O ...
.


Career statistics


WNBA


Regular season

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Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...
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, 29 , , 6 , , 16.5 , , .409 , , .383 , , .840 , , 1.9 , , 1.1 , , 0.3 , , 0.0 , , 1.1 , , 5.7 , - class="sortbottom" , align="left" , ''2019'' , colspan=13 align="center" , ''Did not appear in league'' , - class="sortbottom" , align="left" , ''2020'' , colspan=13 align="center" , ''Did not appear in league (opted out)'' , - class="sortbottom" , align="left" , ''2021'' , rowspan=3 colspan=13 align="center" , ''Did not appear in league'' , - class="sortbottom" , align="left" , ''2022'' , - class="sortbottom" , align="left" , ''2023'' , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,
Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...
, style="background:#D3D3D3;", 40°, , 0, , 12.2, , .453, , .443, , .621, , 1.2, , 1.1, , 0.4, , 0.2, , 0.8, , 4.6 , - class="sortbottom" , align="left" , Career , align="left" , 3 years, 1 team , 72 , , 6 , , 13.7 , , .429 , , .415 , , .722 , , 1.4 , , 1.0 , , 0.3 , , 0.1 , , 0.9 , , 4.9


Playoffs

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Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...
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Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...
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Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...
, 11 , , 0, , 9.5, , .370, , .250, , .500, , 1.2, , 0.4, , 0.2, , 0.0, , 0.5, , 2.3 , - class="sortbottom" , align="left" , Career , align="left" , 3 years, 1 team , 17 , , 1 , , 8.3 , , .375 , , .267 , , .500 , , 0.8 , , 0.8 , , 0.3 , , 0.1 , , 0.5 , , 1.8


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zandalasini, Cecilia 1996 births Living people Fenerbahçe women's basketball players Italian expatriate basketball people in Turkey Italian expatriate basketball people in the United States Italian women's basketball players Minnesota Lynx players People from Broni Small forwards Sportspeople from the Province of Pavia Undrafted Women's National Basketball Association players Galatasaray S.K. (women's basketball) players Golden State Valkyries draft picks 21st-century Italian sportswomen