The player who the Washington Mystics owe their only title to is returning to US Basketball after three years of hiatus. Emma Meesseman, the 2019 WNBA Finals MVP, is back, but this time it will be with the New York Liberty. The exact timeline for her return is unknown, but Liberty GM Jonathan Kolb said that they are “going to try and do it as quickly as possible.” Meesseman helped Belgium win the EuroBasket title last month to qualify for next year’s World Cup. However, she has another basketball legend in her family. Let’s learn about her superstar mother and father. 

Who is Emma Meesseman’s mother, and what is her basketball background?

Emma Meesseman is the daughter of Sonja Tankrey and Gil Meesseman. Sonja Tankrey was an acclaimed basketball player in her own right, representing Belgium at the EuroBasket Women 1980 and EuroBasket Women 1985. Under Werner Rotsaert in the 1980s, Tankrey led BBC Koksijde to five consecutive title-cup doubles.

In 1983, she achieved a personal highlight as player of the year. “I intend to surpass my mother, but I realize I’m still quite a ways behind. On the other hand, time is on my side.” Emma Meessamen said in 2010, when she was a young Belgian phenom winning the rookie of the year title playing for the Lotto Young Cats and already had played for the national youth teams. 

“Of course I’m proud of my daughter,” Tankrey had said. She further pointed out what exactly she likes in her daughter’s basketball, saying, “She excels as a team player. She scores easily, but she also makes the team tick, and that’s fun. Her strengths? She’s fast, has a good dribble, and an excellent shot. But above all, she sees the game, and that’s a very important quality that’s almost impossible to train. You either have it or you don’t.”

She further concluded that her daughter has inherited her skills on the court, saying, “I dare say you can draw some similarities with me in that respect.”

However, Emma has maintained that her mother did not push her to pursue basketball. The fact that it came naturally to her meant that it was the right path. She said, “The main thing for me and my brother was to play a sport. But as I grew up, I think my talent for basketball began to show more and more, so it was an easy choice for me to become a basketball player. But it was not because my mom pushed me to play basketball – she always let me have a choice.”

Her legacy could have been a burden or a blessing to a young Emma, but she has carved out a pretty successful career with her guidance. And arguably, she has achieved the goal of surpassing her mother with a WNBA Title, a WNBA Finals MVP, and six EuroLeague titles, leading the Belgium side to a remarkable resurgence. While the WNBA wasn’t around in her mother’s time, Emma has solidified her legacy at the highest level. 

Was Sonja Tankrey involved during Emma’s WNBA playoff run?

Yes, Sonja Tankrey played an active role during Emma’s WNBA playoff run in 2019 with the Washington Mystics. She traveled from Belgium to attend the entire series in person and celebrated with Emma after the Mystics clinched their first-ever title. During Game 4, ESPN mistakenly identified another woman as Tankrey, leading to a mildly awkward moment on air.

ESPN shared an anecdote about Tankrey waking up at 1 a.m. to watch games at home, only to become so locked in that she couldn’t fall back asleep. Except while they shared this, cameras showed a woman who was not  Emma’s mother. Fortunately for them, Emma did not take any offense and was humorously kind about it the next morning on Twitter, writing, “I am sure she is a great mother, but she is not mine 😏 @espn.” ESPN broadcaster Rebecca Lobo had a straightforward apology, replying, “You have handled this perfectly. In Game 5, so will we.#GreatMotherNotMineEither”. The WNBA star spent quality time with her mother during that time, including meals and playful moments captured on Instagram Stories.

What is known about Emma Meesseman’s father?

Emma Meeseman’s father is Gil Meesseman, who is a physiotherapist by profession, kinesiologist to be exact. Considering how often Emma tweets about her dad, they seem to be pretty close. She even posted a photo of a fun moment involving her dad and her brother with the caption, “My dad was eating Camembert, a cheese of which my brother can’t stand the smell 🙂 After this, he put two pieces of paper in his nose for an hour and a half until dad was done eating.” The dad seems to be a fun parent. 

Meesseman will join the superteam i New York and hopefully propel them to another title. The team already boasts stars like Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu, and Natasha Cloud — and Meesseman will bring even more veteran experience to the mix. The last time she played in the WNBA was in 2022 with the Chicago Sky, playing 36 games and averaging 12.4 points, 3.8 assists, and 5.6 rebounds as a center.