Maria Alexandrovna Stepanova (russian: Мари́я Алекса́ндровна Степа́нова; born 23 February 1979) is a Russian professional and

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

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. In the United States, she played for the

Phoenix Mercury The Phoenix Mercury are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded before the league's inaugural 1997 season ...

in the

Women's National Basketball Association The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is an American professional basketball league. It is composed of twelve teams, all based in the United States. The league was founded on April 22, 1996, as the women's counterpart to the Natio ...

(WNBA). At a height of 203 cm, she has been the fifth-tallest player in the league (along with

Liz Cambage Elizabeth Folake Cambage (born 18 August 1991) is an Australian professional basketball player who last played for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Cambage currently holds the WNBA single-game scorin ...

Zheng Haixia Zheng Haixia (; born March 7, 1967) is a Chinese retired professional women's basketball player for the China women's national basketball team and the Women's National Basketball Association. International career In 1983, Haixia made her debut ...

and Lindsay Taylor).

Margo Dydek Małgorzata Dydek (known as Margo Dydek in the United States, 28 April 1974 – 27 May 2011) was a Polish professional basketball player. Standing tall, she was famous for being the tallest professional female basketball player in the world. Sh ...

, 7 ft 2 in (218 cm), Bernadett Határ, 6 ft 10.5 in (210 cm), Han Xu, 6 ft 10 in (208 cm), and

Brittney Griner Brittney Yevette Griner (; born October 18, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She is a two-time Olympic gold medalist with the U.S. women's natio ...

, 6 ft 9 in (206 cm), are taller than her. Heidi Gillingham, also 6 ft 10 in, and Allyssa DeHaan, 6 ft 9 in as well, never played in the WNBA. She wears size 15 (US) / 48 (EU) shoes. Though in the Russian national team, she has been overtaken by Ekaterina Lisina in being the tallest member. Stepanova was born in the village of Shpakovskoye (now the town of Mikhaylovsk, in

Stavropol Krai Stavropol Krai (russian: Ставропо́льский край, r=Stavropolsky kray, p=stəvrɐˈpolʲskʲɪj kraj) is a federal subject (a krai) of Russia. It is geographically located in the North Caucasus region in Southern Russia, and is ad ...

of the former

Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...

of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

, and grew up in

Tosno Tosno (russian: То́сно) is a town and the administrative center of Tosnensky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the Tosna River, southeast of the center of St. Petersburg. Population: History The village of Tosno was f ...

Leningrad Oblast Leningrad Oblast ( rus, Ленинградская область, Leningradskaya oblast’, lʲɪnʲɪnˈgratskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ, , ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). It was established on 1 August 1927, although it was not until 1 ...

Honours and awards

* Honoured Master of Sports of Russia *

Medal of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" The Medal of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" (russian: Медаль ордена «За заслуги перед Отечеством») was established on 2 March 1994 by Presidential Decree No.442. Its award criteria were modified on 6 J ...

, 1st class (2 August 2009) - for outstanding contribution to the development of physical culture and sports, high achievements in sports at the Games of the XXIX Olympiad in Beijing in 2008 *3×

FIBA Europe Women's Player of the Year The FIBA Europe Women's Player of the Year Award was a yearly Player of the Year (POY) award that has been given out by FIBA's (the international governing body of the sport of basketball) European Division, to the best female basketball ...

(2005, 2006, 2008)

External links

WNBA Player Profile
1979 births Living people Basketball players at the 1996 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Centers (basketball) Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic basketball players of Russia Olympic bronze medalists for Russia Olympic medalists in basketball People from Stavropol Krai Phoenix Mercury draft picks Phoenix Mercury players Recipients of the Medal of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" I class Russian expatriate basketball people in the United States Russian women's basketball players Sportspeople from Stavropol Krai {{Russia-basketball-bio-stub