Matilde Villa | |
Birth Date: | 9 December 2004 |
Birth Place: | Lissone, Carate Brianza, Lombardy, Italy |
Height Ft: | 5 |
Height In: | 7 |
Height Cm: | 170 |
Draft Year: | 2024 |
Draft Round: | 3 |
Draft Pick: | 32 |
Draft League: | WNBA |
Career Start: | 2022 |
Team: | Atlanta Dream |
Position: | Shooting Guard |
Number: | 6 |
Years1: | 2022–2024 |
Team1: | Reyer Venezia |
Wnba Profile: | matilde-villa |
Matilde Villa (born 9 December 2004) is an Italian basketball player who was drafted by the Atlanta Dream of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).[1] She previously played for Reyer Venezia in Italy.
At age 14, she debuted in Serie A1 with the Costa Masnaga sports club first team in the position of point guard. In 2020, she scored 36 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists in a match against Dinamo Sassari.[2] Her Serie A record is 20 wins and 3 losses.[3]
Villa played for Umana Reyer Venezia in Venice, Italy from 2022 to 2024. In the 2023–2024 season, she led the Italian Serie A with a per-game average of 10 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 3 assists. She had a 52% shot rate from two points, 36% from three, and 78% from the free throw line.
She was selected in the third round, 32nd overall, by the Atlanta Dream in the 2024 WNBA draft. She was the fourth Italian player to be selected in the WNBA, and joins fellow Italian Lorela Cubaj on the team.
At the FIBA U20 Women's European Championship in 2023, Villa was named a stand-out player by FIBA. She accumulated an average of 18.9 points per game, 6.7 rebounds per game, 4.9 assists per game, and 2.6 steals per game.[4]
Matilde was born in Lissone, Carate Brianza, Lombardy, Italy. Her older brother Edoardo[5] and her twin sister Elonora are both basketball players, with Eleonora currently playing in the NCAA with the Washington State Cougars. Her and her sister Eleonora wanted to be professional dancers growing up, but were discouraged by her dance teacher and advised to change to basketball.[6]