Biography of Malgorzata Dydek

Malgorzata Dydek (born on April 28, 1974 in Poznan, Poland), is a Polish professional basketball player who has competed internationally. In the United States, she is known as Margo Dydek of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA).

Since 1998, she played for the Utah Starzz/San Antonio Silver Stars franchise. In 2005, she joined the Connecticut Sun WNBA team. At 7’2” (2.18 m), she is the tallest player in WNBA history.

Profile

Nickname: “Margo”, “Large Marge”, “Ptys”

Position: Center

Height: 7’2” / 2,18 m

Weight: 223 lbs / 101,2 kg.

College: (Akademia Wychowania Fizycznego) (University School of Physical Education), located in Wroclaw.

Teams (jersey number):

Polish National Team (12), Poznan Olympia (Poland)

Valenciennes Ochies (France), Pool Getafe (Spain), Fota Porta/Polpharma VBW Clima/Lotos VBW Clima/Lotos Gdynia, Utah Starzz (12), San Antonio Silver Stars (12).

Speaks Polish, French, Spanish, English, Russian.

Personal;

Started playing basketball at age 12. Considers Magic Johnson to be her basketball role model. Dydek was 22 inches long at birth. Her shorter sister, 6’3” (1.905 m) Kashka, played for the Colorado Xplosion of the ABL for the 1996-1997 season.

Career history

Dydek played for Poznan Olympia from 1992 to 1994, before playing for Valenciennes Ochies in France from 1994 to 1996. She then moved to Spain and played for Pool Getafe from 1996 to 1998, and moved back to Poland to play for Fota Porta Gdynia for the 1998-99 season.

Dydek made her first trip to the United States in May of 1998 for WNBA pre-draft camp. She made her American national television debut on NBC’s Tonight Show with Jay Leno on June 12, 1998. Dydek would be drafted in the 1st round of the 1999 WNBA Draft by the Utah Starzz, 1st overall. After her first WNBA season, she would represent Poland in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia.

In 1999-2001, she played for Polpharma VBW Clima Gdynia in Poland, averaging 18.5 points and 10.7 rebounds in Euroleague play. She was named Most Valuable Player of the Polish League Finals of the 1999-2000 season. She was also named the best female basketball player in Europe by the Italian sports magazine La Gazetta dello Sport. Dydek was chosen as Poland’s Sports Woman of the Year and has long been a member of the Polish National Team. In the seasons 2001-04, Dydek played again for Lotos VBW Clima Gdynia, which in 2002 and 2004 were runners-up in the FIBA Euroleague. In the 2004-05 season, she has played for Lotos Gdynia.

On April 16, 2005, during the 2005 WNBA Draft, the San Antonio Silver Stars traded Dydek to the Connecticut Sun in exchange for the Sun’s first-round draft pick, Katie Feenstra from Liberty University.