Madina Okot Closes Rookie Season With a Win and Kenya’s First Couple Courtside

Madina Okot closed her first WNBA regular season on Sept. 23 with a win, as Kenyan President William Ruto and First Lady Rachel Ruto watched from courtside.

Her Atlanta Dream beat the New York Liberty 83-65 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn to clinch the No. 4 playoff seed.

Six years ago, Okot had never dribbled a basketball.

Today, the 22-year-old from Mumias is Kenya’s highest WNBA draft pick ever, and a clear example for Kenyan girls who want to compete on the world stage.

Okot Closed Her Rookie Season on a Winning Night

Okot came off the bench and scored two points with two rebounds, according to the official box score.

Allisha Gray led Atlanta with 24 points.

With the victory, the Dream finished 30-14 and earned home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

Across the regular season, Okot averaged 5.4 points and 3.3 rebounds per game, Education News reported.

Those numbers reflect a rookie playing behind established starters such as Angel Reese.

She showed what she can do early, posting 14 points and 11 rebounds in her first preseason game in April.

Kenya’s First Couple Came to Her Game

Ruto and the first lady were in New York for the 81st U.N. General Assembly.

According to Nairobi News, the president came to Brooklyn to see Okot play.

NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum and members of NBA Africa sat with the couple, The Associated Press reported.

After the game, Okot greeted them on the court, and the president took a selfie with both women.

She told AP the visit was an honor.

Okot also noted that she is the only Kenyan on her team.

“I hope that this opens up opportunities for other girls,” she said.

She Started Playing at 16 and Rose Fast

Okot’s story does not follow the usual path to the WNBA.

She grew up playing volleyball and did not start dribbling until she was 16, as The Africana Voice reported in April.

Her first taste of the game came at Kaya Tiwi Secondary School on Kenya’s coast, according to her South Carolina biography.

Within a few years, she was playing for the Kenya Ports Authority club and Zetech University, and for Kenya’s national teams in both 3×3 and five-on-five.

Getting to the United States took patience.

According to The Athletic, she was denied a U.S. visa four times and succeeded on her fifth try before leaving home in August 2024.

Back in Mumias, her family keeps her jerseys and gear on display at home, the Daily Nation reported.

College Turned Her Size Into a Complete Game

Okot began her U.S. college career at Mississippi State, averaging 11.3 points and 9.6 rebounds in 2024-25.

She also led the Southeastern Conference in field-goal percentage that season, shooting 64.9 percent.

South Carolina came next, and she helped the Gamecocks reach the NCAA championship game, which they lost to UCLA in April.

Under coach Dawn Staley, she added a three-point shot, making 44.8 percent from beyond the arc, FIBA reported.

That range helped the 6-foot-6 center stand out ahead of the draft.

In the United States, she is known as “Big Mama,” the Daily Nation reported.

Okot Is Kenya’s Highest Draft Pick, Not Its First

Atlanta selected Okot 13th overall in April, making her the first Kenyan picked in the WNBA draft’s first round.

Two Kenyan women came before her, according to FIBA.

Josephine Owino went in the third round in 2009, and Kenyan-American Olivia Nelson-Ododa went in the second round in 2022.

Nelson-Ododa, whose father played for Kenya’s national team, now plays for the Connecticut Sun.

Okot extends that line and sets a new mark for how high a Kenyan player can go.

Young Kenyan Players Now Have a Face to Follow

Girls who play basketball in Kenya can now point to someone from their own country in the world’s top women’s league.

Her path also shows that a late start does not close the door.

After the game, Okot’s words shifted the spotlight from herself to the girls coming next.

Clubs and schools like the ones that trained her will shape how many can follow.

Atlanta now opens the playoffs at home.

For Okot, the postseason is one more stage in a journey that began on a school court at Kaya Tiwi only six years ago.