Laeticia Amihere, basketball player of Ghanaian descent picked in first round of WNBA Draft

Laeticia Amihere, 21, was selected eighth overall by the Atlanta Dream in the first round of Monday’s WNBA Draft.

She becomes the first-ever player of Ghanaian descent to achieve this feat.

Born in Canada to a Ghanaian father and an Ivorian mum, Laeticia at age 15 caught the NBA world’s attention with her viral dunks while playing college basketball.

At 15 years old, Laeticia Amihere caught the world's attention with a viral dunk ⛹🏾‍♀️

Now she's been selected 8th overall in the 2023 WNBA Draft 🏀

From humble beginnings to becoming a force on the court, this is Amihere's story!#Breakthrough presented by @ToyotaCanada pic.twitter.com/ruWBFkbfvo

— CBC Olympics (@CBCOlympics) April 11, 2023

The 21-year-old forward declared for the draft after completing her fourth season with the University of South Carolina, where she won a national championship in 2022

She averaged 7.1 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.1 blocks while shooting 48.7 per cent in 36 games for the SEC champions this season. She also set the school record for most blocked shots in an NCAA Tournament game with nine against Texas in 2021.

A six-foot-four forward, Amihere has represented Canada on the international stage multiple times and was a part of the 2020 Canadian Olympic team.