Eziyoda Magbegor (born 13 August 1999) is an Australian professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player for Sopron Basket of the EuroLeague Women and the Hungarian women's basketball league. Magbegor was a member of the Australian Women's basketball team (Opals) at the

2020 Tokyo Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the List of Olympic Games h ...

. The Opals were eliminated after losing to the USA in the quarterfinals.

Career

WNBA

The

2020 WNBA season The 2020 WNBA season was the 24th season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The Washington Mystics were the defending champions. Planned changes to the league's schedule included an increase from 34 to 36 regular season games f ...

was atypical, played entirely inside

Bradenton, Florida Bradenton ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Manatee County, Florida, Manatee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the city's population is 55,698. History Late 18th and early 19th centuries ...

IMG Academy IMG Academy is a preparatory boarding school and sports training destination in Bradenton, Florida, United States. IMG Academy is set across over 600 acres and features programs consisting of sport camps for youth athletes, adult camps, a boar ...

, dubbed the "wubble," the WNBA's version of the NBA's Bubble. The Storm entered the wubble with Bird and Stewart back, but without head coach Dan Hughes, whose cancer diagnosis made him a health risk. Bird missed several games with a left knee bone bruise, but came back for the playoffs, in which the Storm didn't lose a single game. The Storm closed out the top-ranked

Las Vegas Aces The Las Vegas Aces are an American professional basketball team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Aces compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team plays ...

in three games en route to their fourth championship, with Stewart again named Finals MVP.

WNBL

After beginning her career in the

South East Australian Basketball League The South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL) was an Australian semi-professional basketball league. The league comprised both a men's and women's competition and was run by the country's governing body, Basketball Australia. The league wa ...

(SEABL) with

Basketball Australia Basketball Australia is the governing and controlling body of basketball in Australia, responsible for the development and promotion of the sport at all levels. Basketball Australia sanctions Australia's two professional leagues, the Nation ...

's development team, the Centre of Excellence, Magbegor did not take long to gain attention from professional leagues. In July 2017, Magbegor was signed by the

Canberra Capitals The University of Canberra Capitals are an Australian professional women's basketball team competing in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). The team is based in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. In 2014 the University of Canber ...

for the 2017–18 WNBL season. In March 2018, it was announced that Magbegor had signed a three-year deal with the

Melbourne Boomers The Melbourne Boomers are an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne, Victoria. The Boomers compete in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) and play the majority of their home games at Melbourne Sports Centre – Par ...

. Magbegor will first suit up for the Boomers in the 2018–19 WNBL season, choosing to stay home in Australia working alongside the likes of

Jenna O'Hea Jenna O'Hea (born 6 June 1987) is an Australian professional basketball player who currently plays for the Southside Flyers in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). O'Hea is also currently the captain of Australia's national team, th ...

Lauren Jackson Lauren Elizabeth Jackson (born 11 May 1981) is an Australian professional basketball player. The daughter of two national basketball team players, Jackson was awarded a scholarship to the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) in 1997, when she ...

and

Guy Molloy Guy Molloy (born 4 November 1965) is an Australian basketball coach, who is currently the head coach of the Southland Sharks in the New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL). Coaching career WNBL Molloy began his coaching career as head c ...

despite several offers from US colleges. In February 2020, Magbegor was named the Betty Watson Australian Youth Player of the Year (formerly the WNBL Rookie of the Year award) at the Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) Awards, scoring 38 votes from a possible tally of 42 votes. In April 2022, Magbegor was part of the Melbourne Boomers championship team before moving to play basketball next season in Hungary

WNBA career statistics

Regular season

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Seattle Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

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Postseason

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National Team

Youth Level

Magbegor made her international debut at the

2015 FIBA Under-19 World Championship The 2015 FIBA Under-19 World Championship (Greek: Παγκόσμιο Πρωτάθλημα FIBA Under-19 2015) was the 12th edition of the FIBA U19 World Championship, the biennial international men's youth basketball championship contested by th ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

, with the U19 Gems as a 16 year old. She then represented the U17 Sapphires at the 2015 Oceania Championships. Dominating the tournament, averaging 18 points per game and helping Australia take home Gold. Magbegor then lead the Sapphires to their inaugural

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

title in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

. After snapping team USA's 28-game win streak at U17 level, Australia went on to take home Gold. Alongside two of her teammates, Magbegor was named to the All-Tournament Team. In addition to this, she received the Most Valuable Player award.

Senior Level

In December 2017, Magbegor was named to her first

Opals Optical Payload for Lasercomm Science (OPALS) is a spacecraft communication instrument developed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory that was tested on the International Space Station (ISS) from 18 April 2014 to 17 July 2014 to demonstrate the t ...

squad, earning her a place in the first camp as preparations for this years upcoming tournaments got underway. After taking part in the team camp in February, Magbegor was then named to the final roster for the

2018 Commonwealth Games The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth that were held on the Gold Coast, ...

where she would make her Opals debut. Magbegor starred for the Opals at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, having a standout game in Australia's win against the US in a pre-tournament friendly with 17 points, equal most in the game with

Breanna Stewart Breanna Mackenzie Stewart (born Baldwin; born August 27, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for the Seattle Storm of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). In high school, Stewart was the National Gatorade Player ...

. Magbegor then top scored for Australia during the Olympic tournament with 20 points and eight rebounds in the game against Belgium (her Olympic debut), and 15 points against China. Magdebor, like all the other members of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics Opals women's basketball team, had a difficult tournament. The Opals lost their first two group stage matches. They looked flat against

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

and then lost to China in heartbreaking circumstances. In their last group match the Opals needed to beat

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

by 25 or more in their final match to progress. This they did by 27 in a very exciting match. However, they lost to the United States in their quarterfinal 79 to 55.

Personal life

Born in

Wellington, New Zealand Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

to Nigerian parents, Magbegor moved to Australia with her family at age six. One of Australian basketball's most promising talents, she has already been said to be the next

. As of 2021, Magbegor is currently studying a Bachelor of Psychology at

Deakin University Deakin University is a public university in Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1974, the university was named after Alfred Deakin, the second Prime Minister of Australia. Its main campuses are in Melbourne's Burwood suburb, Geelong Waurn P ...

; she had initially been studying a Bachelor of Commerce in 2019. In 2021, Magbegor was named as Deakin University's Female Sportsperson of the Year.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Magbegor, Ezi 1999 births Living people Australian expatriate basketball people in the United States Australian people of Nigerian descent Australian women's basketball players Basketball players at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Basketball players at the 2020 Summer Olympics Canberra Capitals players Centers (basketball) Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia Commonwealth Games medallists in basketball Medalists at the 2019 Summer Universiade Melbourne Boomers players New Zealand emigrants to Australia Olympic basketball players of Australia Power forwards (basketball) Seattle Storm draft picks Seattle Storm players Sportspeople from Wellington City Sportswomen from Victoria (Australia) Universiade gold medalists for Australia Universiade medalists in basketball Medallists at the 2018 Commonwealth Games