BASKETBALL

Serbian women basketball players who played in the WNBA

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Sonja Vasic playing for Serbian Women's national basketball team

Serbia is a basketball nation — a fact proven not only by numerous medals won by its national teams and clubs but also by the impressive number of Serbian players who have appeared in the NBA, placing the country among the most successful in the world in that regard. What’s particularly encouraging is the growing number of Serbian women who have played in the women’s version of the NBA, the WNBA — especially in the past decade, during which the Serbian women’s national team has achieved remarkable success under head coach Marina Maljković.

So far, 15 Serbian women basketball players have appeared in at least one WNBA game since the league was founded in 1996 — including two naturalized American players, Danielle Page and Yvonne Anderson, who both won a European gold medal with Serbia. Below is an overview of all 15 Serbian women who have played in the WNBA.

Milica Vukadinovic

The first Serbian woman to play in the WNBA was Milica Vukadinović from Belgrade, who appeared in one game for the Charlotte Sting during the inaugural 1997 season. In that match, she scored three points in 14 minutes before a back injury forced her to end both the game and her season.

Milica had previously played college basketball for the California Golden Bears, where she was named Player of the Decade. She was supposed to return to the WNBA in 1999 with the Los Angeles Sparks, but visa issues during that turbulent period prevented her from joining the team.

Jasmina Perazic-Gipe

In the same season, another Serbian, Jasmina Perazić, also played in the WNBA. A former University of Maryland standout who played in the 1982 NCAA championship game, she joined the New York Liberty in 1997, appearing in nine games and averaging 1.1 points per game. In 2014, she became the first Serbian woman inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

With the Yugoslav national team, she won the bronze medal at the 1980 Moscow Olympics and silver at EuroBasket 1987 in Cadiz. She was also inducted into the University of Maryland Hall of Fame in 2003, and her jersey is one of only three retired in the school’s history. She currently works as a coach at the University of Georgia.

Mila Nikolic

The first Serbian woman to win a WNBA championship was Mila Nikolić, who accomplished the feat with the Houston Comets in 1999. Although she was not drafted, she appeared in seven games and averaged 1.4 points per game.

In January 2000, she was traded to the Portland Fire but never played for them, returning instead to Europe. Mila also played college basketball at Abilene Christian University.

Gordana Grubin

The first Serbian woman to play in the WNBA without prior U.S. college experience was Gordana Grubin, who joined the Los Angeles Sparks in 1999 after playing for Hemofarm, Vojvodina, and clubs in Hungary. In her rookie season, she ranked fifth in the league in three-point shooting percentage — not surprising, considering that she later led the EuroLeague in scoring during the 2003–04 season with Italian club Parma.

When the Indiana Fever were founded in 2000, they selected Grubin as their first-ever player in the Expansion Draft. She played for Indiana in 2000 and 2001, then had stints with Phoenix Mercury (2002), Houston Comets (2004), and again Los Angeles Sparks (2005).

Nina Bjedov

A proven international player who won World Championship silver (1990) and EuroBasket silver (1991) with Yugoslavia, Nina Bjedov joined the Los Angeles Sparks in 1999.


She played 27 games that season, scoring 121 points in total — an average of about 4.5 points per game.

Katarina Lazic

Katarina Lazić represented FR Yugoslavia at two EuroBaskets (1997 and 1999) before moving to the WNBA after stints with Crvena zvezda and Hemofarm.
She played for the New York Liberty in 2001, appearing in eight games and scoring 17 points total before returning to Crvena zvezda. Her career ended soon after due to recurring injuries.

Slobodanka Tuvic

The first Serbian woman to spend four consecutive seasons with one WNBA team was Slobodanka Tuvić, who played for the Phoenix Mercury from 2001 to 2004.


She appeared in 106 games, scoring 358 points for an average of 3.4 per game. Tuvić also represented Yugoslavia/Serbia at four EuroBaskets (1997, 1999, 2001, and 2003).

Daliborka Vilipic

Daliborka Vilipić joined the Los Angeles Sparks in 2006 upon the recommendation of WNBA legend Lisa Leslie, her former teammate at Spartak Moscow. However, she played only two games and did not score.
She represented her national team at EuroBaskets in 1995, 1997, 1999, and 2003, as well as the 2002 FIBA World Championship.

Danielle Page

The first naturalized Serbian player, Danielle Page, played three games for the Connecticut Sun in 2008, scoring six points.


After continuing her career in Europe, she joined the Serbian national team under Marina Maljković — a partnership that proved highly successful. Page helped Serbia win EuroBasket 2015 gold and a bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Sonja Petrovic (Vasic)

One of the first Serbian women drafted into the WNBA, Sonja Petrović was selected 26th overall in 2009 by the San Antonio Stars.
She joined the Chicago Sky in 2012 and later played for the Phoenix Mercury from 2016 to 2018, totaling 63 WNBA games.

With Serbia, Petrović won two EuroBasket golds (2015, 2021), a bronze (2019), and an Olympic bronze (Rio 2016). She is widely regarded as one of the greatest Serbian women’s basketball players of all time.

Jelena Milovanovic (Brooks)

Selected 24th overall by the Washington Mystics in the 2009 WNBA Draft, Jelena Milovanović joined the team in 2014, playing one season with 16 appearances and averaging 4.4 points per game.


Like Petrović, she won two EuroBasket gold medals, one bronze, and an Olympic bronze medal in Rio 2016.

Ana Dabovic

After being named MVP of EuroBasket 2015, Ana Dabović joined the Los Angeles Sparks the same year and went on to win the WNBA championship in 2016.


She was named to the All-Rookie Team in 2015 and returned to the Sparks in 2018. In 55 WNBA games, she averaged around 6 points per game.

Nikolina Milic

Although undrafted, Nikolina Milić, the Serbian national team center, played for the Minnesota Lynx during the 2022 and 2023 seasons, appearing in 70 games and averaging about 6 points per game. Her WNBA career-high was 23 points against Indiana.

Milić won the 2024 EuroLeague with Fenerbahçe and earned a EuroBasket 2019 bronze with Serbia.

Tina Krajisnik

Tina Krajišnik was named the Best Serbian Female Player of 2022 by the Basketball Federation of Serbia. That same year, she made her WNBA debut with the Chicago Sky, playing two games and scoring two points.


With Serbia, she became a European champion in 2021.

Yvonne Anderson

Following the success of Danielle Page, coach Marina Maljković added another naturalized player — Yvonne Anderson, a dynamic point guard who debuted for Serbia in 2020.


Anderson played a key role in Serbia’s EuroBasket 2021 gold run and impressed in both Europe and the WNBA.

She made her WNBA debut with the Connecticut Sun in 2022, playing 11 games and averaging 3.2 points per game.
After winning the 2024 EuroLeague with Fenerbahçe, Anderson signed a two-year deal with the Connecticut Sun but was waived three months later without playing a game in her second stint.

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