The second overall pick in 2025 showed elite speed and athleticism, which earned Dominique Malonga All-Rookie honors. She even made history at Unrivaled by dunking for the first time in a game. But her time off from work turned into a disaster.

She has had a hard time getting back to the Seattle Storm because of a contract dispute with a Turkish team and a wrist injury that needed surgery.

Meanwhile, Malonga has shared how the speed difference between European and American basketball means that she has to keep adjusting.

“I think what’s good with me is that I’m really fast for a player. I can really run the floor well, and all my athleticism and speed are really my force on the court,” she explained on the Sports Illustrated YouTube Channel. “It’s so different, the physicality between here in the States and Euro basketball. I know that this league is really physical, too, and I need to improve on that. So that’s going to be helpful too. We have the one-on-one tournament, so we’re going hard. It’s just about going hard, giving 100%, and really putting the work in to improve.”

The situation around Malonga’s comments shows why she stresses adaptation.

In her first season with the Seattle Storm in the WNBA, she averaged 7.7 points and 4.6 rebounds per game and stood out among her draft class. These numbers got her on the All-Rookie Team, which showed that the team had made a good investment and that she had an immediate effect.

Her ability to run the floor and create possessions was useful in the faster-paced American game compared to European competition.

But the change hasn’t been easy.

Dominique Malonga ended her three-year contract with the Turkish club Fenerbahçe on her own, saying she had to because she needed surgery to fix a dislocated tendon in her wrist.

The team revealed that she ended the contract “without any just cause” and that they would “exercise all our legal rights to seek compensation for any material and moral damages.”

This could keep her from coming back for the 2026 WNBA season.

International rules say that both the league and the teams in other countries must agree to let players move between them. At first, the Turkish club got WNBA approval, but now they’re saying they won’t let her play if she breaks her contract.

Amidst all these controversies, Malonga is putting on a show at Unrivaled.

Malonga shines at Unrivaled while legal battle looms

Dominique Malonga has shown that legal problems off the court won’t stop her from dominating on it by playing for the Breeze in the faster-paced 3-on-3 format. Her performances show that she’s ready for a strong second season in the WNBA as soon as the clearance issue is worked out.

The numbers speak for themselves.

Malonga scores 15.9 points per game in only 14.4 minutes and shoots between 56 and 69 percent from the field. That kind of efficiency in a short amount of time shows that she’s making the most of every possession. On January 24, she scored 21 points on 9-16 shooting and grabbed 8 rebounds. On January 26, she scored 18 points on 8-13 shooting and grabbed 11 rebounds. Even on a slow night like January 30, she got 12 rebounds and 10 points.

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It’s not just scoring that makes Malonga special.

She also plays defense, averaging 1–2 steals per game and always working hard on that end of the floor. She is a complete player that any team would want.

Malonga’s game isn’t affected by the contract mess. What scouts saw when she was picked second overall is what she has already shown at Unrivaled – that’s all that matters!