Cecilia Zandalasini Bio
Cecilia Zandalasini (born 16 March 1996) is an Italian basketball player who plays for the Golden State Valkyries of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) and for Famila Basket Schio of the Lega Basket Femminile. She also represents the Italian national team. A versatile forward listed at 6 feet 2 inches, she has built a reputation as a scorer and rebounder at both club and international levels since turning professional in 2010.
Zandalasini gained international recognition as the Most Valuable Player of the 2016 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship for Women. She has since added league titles in Turkey and Italy, a WNBA championship with the Minnesota Lynx, and a WNBA Commissioner’s Cup to her résumé, establishing herself as one of Italy’s most accomplished active basketball players.
Early Life and Background
Cecilia Zandalasini was born on 16 March 1996 in Broni, a town in the Lombardy region of northern Italy. She is the daughter of Roberto Zandalasini and Paola Lombardi, and grew up surrounded by the sporting culture common to the area. From an early age she showed the height, coordination, and competitiveness that would later define her career on the basketball court.
Her youth development began in the Italian club system, where she learned the fundamentals of the game while competing against older players. While playing with Geas Basket as a teenager, she won six Italian youth club championships, an unusually deep run of titles that signaled her potential well before she reached senior level.
Path to Basketball
Zandalasini’s path to senior basketball accelerated during her late teens. After her youth success with Geas Basket, she made the jump to senior competition at the age of 17, playing as a guard for the 2013 to 2014 season. She led the team in scoring with 314 total points across 20 games, averaging 15.7 points per game, a striking start that confirmed she could produce against adult professionals.
In 2014 she joined PF Schio, one of Italy’s top women’s clubs, where she developed into a more complete forward. Her third season with Schio, 2016 to 2017, brought the Coppa Italia title and a Serie A1 playoff final appearance, while she also led the team in scoring during the EuroLeague postseason. That same summer she was named MVP of the 2016 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship for Women, the clearest sign yet that she was ready for the international stage.
Cecilia Zandalasini Career
Early Career (2010-2014)
Zandalasini began her senior career with Geas Basket in the 2013 to 2014 season, where she immediately stood out as a scorer. Her 15.7 points per game as a 17 year old guard marked her as one of the most promising young players in Italian women’s basketball and earned her a move to a larger club the following year.
Her youth achievements with Geas Basket, including six Italian youth club championships, gave her a foundation of winning habits. Those experiences prepared her for the step up to PF Schio and, eventually, for the demands of European and American basketball.
PF Schio Breakthrough (2014-2018)
Zandalasini joined PF Schio in 2014 and quickly became a central figure for the club. In her third season she helped Schio win the Coppa Italia and reach the Serie A1 playoff finals, while also serving as the team’s leading scorer in the EuroLeague postseason with 13.5 points per game.
Her performances in Italy did not go unnoticed in the WNBA. On 28 August 2017, with only three games left in their regular season, the Minnesota Lynx signed Zandalasini as an unrestricted free agent. She played limited minutes down the stretch and during the playoffs, but she was part of the Lynx roster that won the 2017 WNBA Championship, her first major professional title.
Minnesota Lynx Era (2017-2020)
Zandalasini returned to the Lynx in 2018 after being re-signed on 7 February 2018. That season marked her true WNBA breakthrough, highlighted by a buzzer-beating play against the New York Liberty on 16 June 2018. She earned more minutes as the year progressed and settled into a sixth woman role for the defending champions.
She did not play for the Lynx during the 2019 season due to international commitments and an ankle injury, and she also missed the shortened 2020 campaign after the Lynx re-signed her on 29 February 2020. Despite the interruptions, her time in Minnesota laid the groundwork for her long-term WNBA career.
Fenerbahçe Era (2018-2021)
On 4 July 2018, Zandalasini signed a two-year deal with Fenerbahçe of the Turkish Women’s Basketball Super League. Her stint in Istanbul produced multiple trophies, including Turkish Super League titles in 2019 and 2021, Turkish Cup titles in 2019 and 2020, and a Turkish Presidential Cup in 2019.
Playing for one of Europe’s most ambitious clubs allowed Zandalasini to compete regularly in the EuroLeague Women and to refine her game against elite European competition. Her success in Turkey reinforced her status as a leading Italian international.
Virtus Bologna Era (2021-2024)
On 5 May 2021, Zandalasini signed a two-year deal with Italian club Virtus Bologna. The move quickly produced history, as Virtus reached the Italian league finals for the first time in 2022 and qualified for the EuroLeague Women, although they fell 3-1 to Famila Schio in the national championship series.
The following season, Virtus played in the EuroLeague Women for the first time but was eliminated in the regular season with a 5-9 record. Domestically, the club finished first in the regular season but again lost the Italian finals to Famila Schio, this time by 2-0. Zandalasini also helped Virtus win the Italian Supercup in 2023 before departing the club in 2024.
Galatasaray and Return to Schio (2024-2025)
On 24 July 2024, Zandalasini signed with Galatasaray of the Turkish Women’s Basketball Super League. The Turkish club said goodbye to her on 28 May 2025 with a public thank you message, ending a one-season stint in Istanbul.
In 2025, Zandalasini returned to Famila Basket Schio, the club where she had first established herself as a senior star, rejoining the Italian league and EuroLeague Women competition.
Golden State Valkyries Era (2025-Present)
On 6 December 2024, Zandalasini was selected as the Golden State Valkyries’ pick from the Minnesota Lynx roster in the 2024 WNBA expansion draft, becoming one of the founding players of the WNBA’s newest franchise.
Earlier in 2024, on 19 April, she had signed a training camp contract with the Minnesota Lynx and made the final roster on 14 May, helping the team win the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup that year before being claimed by the Valkyries in the expansion draft. Her move to the Bay Area marked the start of a new chapter in her WNBA career.
Notable Events and Milestones
Zandalasini’s signature international moment came at EuroBasket Women 2017, where she averaged 19.0 points and 9.6 rebounds per game, placing second and third respectively in those categories across the tournament, and earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team. A FIBA.com writer described her performance as the greatest FIBA EuroBasket Women debut of all time. Her list of career milestones also includes a 2017 WNBA Championship with the Lynx, the 2016 FIBA Under-20 MVP award, and multiple league and cup titles in Turkey and Italy.
Cecilia Zandalasini Career Wins
Cecilia Zandalasini’s trophy case spans club and country. She is a WNBA Champion with the Minnesota Lynx and a WNBA Commissioner’s Cup Champion in 2024, while abroad she has captured Turkish Super League titles, Turkish Cup titles, a Turkish Presidential Cup, and the Italian Supercup, alongside deep playoff runs in both Serie A1 and EuroLeague Women.
WNBA Highlights
Zandalasini’s first WNBA title came in 2017, when she joined the Minnesota Lynx late in the regular season and remained with the team through their championship playoff run. After a 2018 season that included a memorable buzzer-beater against the New York Liberty, she added a WNBA Commissioner’s Cup title in 2024 before being selected by the Golden State Valkyries in the expansion draft.
European Highlights
In Europe, Zandalasini has won the Coppa Italia and reached multiple Serie A1 finals with PF Schio, captured Turkish Super League, Cup, and Presidential Cup trophies with Fenerbahçe, lifted the Italian Supercup with Virtus Bologna, and helped Galatasaray compete in the Turkish Super League. Her 2025 return to Schio reunited her with the club that launched her senior career.
Cecilia Zandalasini Family
Family Background and Racing Lineage
Cecilia Zandalasini is the daughter of Roberto Zandalasini and Paola Lombardi. She grew up in Broni, in the Lombardy region of Italy, and was raised in a family environment that supported her early commitment to competitive basketball.
Personal Life
Zandalasini keeps her personal life largely private. Publicly available details about her residence, marital status, spouse, and children are not confirmed, and she is known primarily through her professional achievements on the court.
2025 Season Performance
The 2025 season marks a fresh start for Cecilia Zandalasini on two fronts. In the WNBA, she joined the Golden State Valkyries as one of the franchise’s foundational players after being selected in the 2024 expansion draft, giving her the chance to help shape a new team’s identity in its inaugural campaign.
In Europe, her return to Famila Basket Schio in 2025 reconnected her with the club where she first became a senior star. She will once again compete in Serie A1 and the EuroLeague Women, balancing her Turkish and Italian schedule after a one-year stint with Galatasaray that ended on 28 May 2025.
Coming off a 2024 WNBA Commissioner’s Cup title with the Minnesota Lynx and a long run of European finals appearances, Zandalasini enters 2025 with momentum and the experience of a player who has won at every level. Her combination of scoring, rebounding, and international pedigree positions her as a central figure for both the Valkyries and Schio in the seasons ahead.