At 20 years old, Dominique Malonga is already becoming accustomed to being first. In June, the Seattle Storm star scored a career-high 37 points against the Dallas Wings, making her the youngest player in league history to score at least 30 points in a game. Her sophomore season has now brought another first: a trip to the WNBA All-Star Game.

Malonga admits she never saw the selection coming. A concussion forced her to miss games earlier in the season, leaving her unsure if she had played enough to earn consideration; but then came a call from WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert. “It was amazing actually,” Malonga says during our Zoom conversation. “I was really proud. It was a really emotional moment for me. I called my parents right away because I was really not expecting that at all.”

Now, in her second season, Malonga is averaging 16.9 points and 7.3 rebounds per game while ranking among the league’s top centers in scoring. She has also become the youngest player to reach 500 career points and 200 rebounds. After playing a smaller role during her rookie season, increased minutes have given her an opportunity to display the game she spent years developing.

“I don’t think I changed much in my preparation of how I work,” Malonga explains. “I always worked hard and I’ve always been ready for my moment, and I feel like this year was just my moment. I just have way more minutes, a different role, but I don’t think that I change anything in terms of how I get prepared.”

In what has been an interesting journey, basketball has already taken Malonga far from where her story began. She was born in Cameroon and spent much of her childhood there before growing up in France. Today she represents France internationally after helping the national team win silver at the 2024 Paris Olympics, but her ambitions extend well beyond professional sports. Malonga is pursuing a degree in computer engineering, a decision connected to an interest she had before basketball became a viable career. Continuing her education allows her to prepare for a future she already knows will eventually exist outside the sport.

“Even before having pro basketball dreams, I had a degree dream,” she notes. “I wanted to go to school. I wanted to go to a higher level school. So that’s just something that was like, even if I chose a dream, I don’t want to get away from the other one.” Technology offers the possibility of a completely different career once basketball ends. “I know that I’m giving my all to basketball right now, and I feel like when I’m done, I want to do something else. I want to have a completely different life in another area.”

In speaking with her, I realized the Storm star’s interests away from the game offer another glimpse of her personality. Malonga jokes shopping ranks second only to basketball among her favorite activities, and she prefers assembling outfits piece by piece. Cooking keeps her connected to Cameroon, with a “peanut sauce served with rice and chicken” ranking as her favorite dish to prepare.

While many people know Seattle as the home of the Seahawks, and ground zero for the alternative grunge rock scene in the 80s and 90s, the city has also proven to be an easy fit for Malonga. Its scenery draws parallels to Europe, and its famously rainy weather suits her. “It just reminds me a lot of home,” she says of Seattle. “I feel like that’s the most European thing you could do for an American city. You get everything, get the water, you get the mountains, you can bike, you can walk—there’s a lot of hills though.”

“My journey was just so different, though,” she continues. “I was born in Africa, moved to France. I wasn’t really into basketball, and then I was really into basketball. I didn’t really believe in myself at first, and people talked to me and encouraged me, and now after I figured out that I could be something.”

At an age where she’s still finding herself, Malonga has already reached milestones most players spend years pursuing. She isn’t interested in treating them as an endpoint. Her message to girls following her career comes directly from how unpredictable her own path has been.

“Choose your own path and believe in what you think you’re capable of,” Malonga says. “I think… I know that’s what got me here today.”

Author: Okla Jones

Read the original article on Essence.