Dominique Malonga's dunk, a big step for women's Basketball

Dominique Malonga thinks big and has consistent ideas. “It will really be soon”warned the athletic player of the French women's Basketball team on July 12, after a preparatory match for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games (OJ), against Serbia, in Décines-Charpieu (Rhône). The youngest of the Blues was referring to the action which, a few minutes earlier, had led the spectators to get up from their seats to encourage her: going on a counter-attack, she had attempted a dunk. Without succeeding.

“I’m disappointed, it wasn’t far, I just needed a little juice” to put – or crush – the ball in the basket, the player concluded. “But it shows that he will eventually pass, especially since in training, it’s 100%”, she warned. Less than four months later, Dominique Malonga kept his word.

Wednesday October 30, the young interior (18 years old) from Asvel took advantage of the Rhone club's big victory at home in the Eurocup (115-54) against Limassol (Cyprus) to become the first French woman in history to dunk during a match. “I had it in my legs for a few matchesrecounted afterwards the tall player (1.98 m), cited by The Team. When I was doing it during the warm-up for several weeks, I heard the crowd cheering for me, I knew they were waiting for it, me too. »

If it is commonplace among men, the dunk, or smash, remains more than rare among women. The basketball players capable of this technical gesture can be counted on the fingers of both hands. Among the professionals, it was performed for the first time on July 30, 2002 by the American Lisa Leslie, playing for the Los Angeles Sparks, in the WNBA (the women's counterpart of the NBA).

“This moment broke down a barrier”, reported in 2021 to The Athletic the former Miami player, Ruth Riley, in the front row that evening, because on the opposing team. “We could no longer say that women were not capable of dunking. Somehow this has disarmed some critics and young women can see the image and be inspired by it. »

Whatever their level, basketball players grow up hearing the refrain about the alleged athletic deficit of their discipline. And even at the highest level, players have often internalized the observation that their sport is of little interest. “We are well aware that we girls still have difficulty filling the basketball halls”relayed Dominique Malonga during the preparation for the Olympics.

“If I can bring this spectacle to women’s basketball, that’s ideal”

In this context, the dunk, because it is a spectacular action and because it constitutes one of the expressions of creativity in basketball, can be likely to attract attention. “It remains two points, but basketball, if it is watched so much among boys, it is also for this spectacle, and if I can bring that to women's basketball in Europe, it is ideal”insisted the Asvel player on Wednesday.

” When [Dominique Malonga] going to dunk, it will run for a long time », warned Nicolas Batum, the captain of the French men's team, during the Olympic summer. It will be a good thing for her and for women's basketball which is exploding. »

If she plans to do this action “something recurring”the player however refuses to be confined to the role of “the one who only dunks”. She intends to highlight “lots of other facets” of his game.

After being crowned best hope of the 2023-2024 season, with Tarbes, Dominique Malonga has delivered a more than successful start to the 2024-2025 financial year in the Lyon region (18.3 points and 10 rebounds on average). She could then cross the Atlantic to play in the WNBA – she is among the great hopes of the next draft, a sort of scholarship for young players.

“This generation will make [le dunk] banal, almost daily, and it won’t be so crazy anymore”augured, in 2021, the former American player Candace Parker, one of the pioneers of the dunk. Like Dominique Malonga, young basketball players, who have the physical capabilities, have now understood that dunk is no longer a dream, but a reality.