Atlanta Dream players and coach excited to welcome Madina Okot [VIDEO]

Madina Okot has started life with the Women's NBA side Atlanta Dream, joining a training camp comprised of 19 players ahead of the 2026 WNBA regular season, scheduled to begin on Friday, 8 May.

The Kenyan centre who made a name for herself in the NCAA, despite playing only two seasons, seems to be settling well with the star-studded squad, with the latest videos showing her shooting from range and another dancing with her teammates, including Angel Reese.

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In her senior year with the South Carolina Gamecocks, the 6-foot-6 centre averaged a double-double and career highs of 12.8 points and a conference-best 10.6 rebounds per game. Her 22 double-doubles ranked third nationally.

Madina was denied another year at the NCAA and had to make the step up and enter the draft, and was the 13th overall pick in the first round, going to Atlanta Dream.

Reese was the first teammate to welcome Okot, the two-time WNBA All-Star, taking to X (formerly Twitter) to write, "YAY! MADINA!!! Another walking double-double!! LET’S GOOOO!!!". After the video of the team dance during training camp, she also revealed, "yall, madina made us make that tik tok lmaooo (sic)."

Head coach Karl Smesko, in a video, expressed strong belief in Okot's potential: “I couldn’t be more excited about Okot.

We were really hopeful and maybe a bit pessimistic that she would still be available. Her ability to crash the boards and the way she moves defensively, I think she’ll be a great addition.”

Dream General Manager Dan Padover echoed, “We’re really excited with the way draft night went. Okot is someone we’ve been targeting for a while. We believe her best basketball is ahead of her. She’s a great talent with unlimited upside that Karl and the coaching staff are eager to work with.”