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Who is Megan Gustafson? Meet Spain's 6'3" center who erupted for 29 points vs China in Paris 2024 Olympics
In a tight matchup between Spain and China in women's basketball at the Paris 2024 Olympics, Spain's six-foot-three center Megan Gustafson stunned everyone. She poured on an incredible 29-point performance to help secure a 90-89 victory for her team.
Aside from making a strong impression in this year's Olympics, Gustafson made a name for herself as one of the prominent basketball players for the Iowa Hawkeyes. In the four seasons that she played for the team, the center averaged 20.8 points (65.6% shooting) and 10.8 rebounds per game.
Before she entered the WNBA in 2019, Gustafson finished her collegiate career in Iowa by scoring 1000 points in her senior year, taking home the Honda Sports Award. She would then get drafted 17th overall by the Dallas Wings, where she spent two seasons.
Megan Gustafson journeyed across the league, playing for various teams such as the Washington Mystics and the Phoenix Mercury. This season, she found a home with the back-to-back champions Las Vegas Aces.
In 21 games she's played with the team, the Spanish center has put up 2.8 points (45.8% shooting, including 25.9% from beyond the arc) and 2.1 rebounds per game.
Her international career started with the Olympiacos Piraeus back in the 2022-23 season. She then took her talents to the London Lions, where she was a crucial piece in delivering the EuroCup championship against Besiktas.
Following her latest accomplishment, she secured a Spanish passport to be included in their Olympic roster as a naturalized citizen.
Megan Gustafson talked about the process of helping Spain secure a spot in the Olympic Women's Basketball
Before she dropped an electric 29-point outing against China in the Olympics, Megan Gustafson debuted for the Spanish national team in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament. During that run, she averaged 14.3 points (58.6% shooting) and 3.3 rebounds per game.
In her anticipation of playing in the Olympic Women's Basketball, the WNBA center credited Spain's basketball program for how she envisioned her role on the team. She said, as per an article from Women's British Basketball League:
"I have to give a lot of credit to Spain," Gustafson said, "and what their vision was for me. They know I'm a scorer and that's what I bring to a team, so they put me in positions where I can help them out, whether it's inside or from the perimeter. I've had enough experience by now of how to fit into new teams in different countries very quickly ..."
At this stage in her career, Megan Gustafson knows the kind of player that she needs to be in order to be an effective contributor to a team. Scoring comes naturally to her at this point and she is more than ready for the Olympic stage.
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