Basketball

Việt Nam's Kayleigh Truong (left) competes against Philippines' Jack Danielle Animam (R) in their women's final basketball 3x3 match during the 32nd SEA Games in Phnom Penh on May 7, 2023. AFP/VNA Photos

HÀ NỘI — Kaylynne Truong has become the first Vietnamese player in history to play at the American Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), the world's largest basketball league for women.

The Washington Mystics selected Truong whose Vietnamese name is Trương Thảo Vy from Gonzaga University in the 2024 WNBA Draft on April 16.

Vy, a 1,77m point guard from Houston, Texas, played five seasons for the Bulldogs, the university team. In the 2023-24 season, she averaged 11.4 points, 5.8 assists, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.3 steals per game while shooting 42 per cent from the floor and 42 per cent from three-point range. She knocked down 282 three-pointers during her career and started 78 games.

Kaylynne Truong aims the Hanes Women's 3-Point Shooting Championship on April 4 at Global Credit Union Arena in Phoenix, Arizona.

Vy was the 2023 West Coast Conference (WCC) Player of the Year. She was given All-WCC First Team honours in her last two years. She is second of all time in career assists at GU with 623 as she scored 1,508 points in her career to rank 10th overall in Gonzaga history.

She has also appeared in the most games in GU history with 161 games as she was an Associated Press All-American honourable mention during the 2022-23 season.

Kaylynne Truong (No 14) of the Gonzaga Bulldogs shoots during the match against Texas Longhorns in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament at Moda Center on March 29.

Born in 2001 in Houston, Texas to Vietnamese parents who have lived and worked in the US for a long time.

In 2022, Vy and her twin sister returned Việt Nam and joined the national team to win the ASEAN Basketball League 3x3 International Champions Cup for the first time.

At the 32nd SEA Games last May, Vy scored the championship point for Việt Nam in the 3x3 basketball event. It was the first time that Việt Nam basketball won at the regional sporting event. VNS