Julie Vanloo Bio
Julie Anita Vanloo (born 10 February 1993) is a Belgian professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) and for Çukurova Basketbol of the Turkish Women’s Basketball Super League. A seasoned international guard, she debuted in professional basketball as a teenager and has built a long career across multiple European leagues before reaching the WNBA in her early thirties. With the Belgian national team, she won the EuroBasket Women 2023 and 2025.
Standing 173 cm tall, Vanloo has earned a reputation as a steady perimeter player with deep international experience. Her path from Belgian youth basketball to WNBA rosters and EuroBasket titles makes her one of the most traveled Belgian players of her generation.
Early Life and Background
Early Life and Background
Julie Anita Vanloo was born on 10 February 1993 in Ostend, Belgium. She grew up in a country where basketball sits behind football and cycling in popularity, which shaped her path into the sport through club and youth development systems. Her early years in Ostend provided access to local basketball programs where she developed her foundational skills as a guard.
Belgium’s youth basketball structure gave Vanloo her first taste of competitive play, and she entered organized senior competition at a young age. Her progression through these early stages set the foundation for a career that has since spanned more than two decades across multiple countries.
Path to Basketball
Vanloo began her professional career in 2003 with Blue Cats Ieper, a Belgian club where she played until 2009. This six-year run gave her a long runway to mature as a player while staying close to home. The experience prepared her for a step up in competition within the Belgian league.
From 2009 to 2013, she played for Declercq Stortbeton Waregem BC, where she continued to sharpen her perimeter game and earned her first national team recognition. In 2011, she won the Belgian National League championship with her club, an early validation of her rising profile.
Julie Vanloo Career
Early Career (2003–2013)
Vanloo’s earliest professional years were spent entirely in Belgium, split between Blue Cats Ieper and Declercq Stortbeton Waregem BC. Her long tenure at each stop helped her develop consistency and confidence against senior competition. During this period, she also represented Belgium at the youth level, winning the EuroBasket U18 Women title in 2011.
That youth championship marked her as a player to watch in Belgian basketball circles. By the time she finished her Waregem stint in 2013, she had already accumulated a decade of club experience and was ready to test herself abroad.
European Career and Expansion (2013–2023)
In 2013, Vanloo moved abroad for the first time, signing with USO Mondeville in France, where she played until 2015. The French league offered a higher level of competition and exposed her to a more physical, fast-paced style. Her performances there opened the door to a broader European journey.
From 2015 to 2016, she played for Luleå Basket in Sweden and helped the club capture the Swedish National League championship in 2016. She then moved to Italy’s Virtus Eirene Ragusa for the 2016–17 season, followed by a year at İstanbul Üniversitesi in 2017–18. Short stints at ASVEL Féminin in France and PEAC Pecs in Hungary further broadened her experience across European leagues.
Between 2019 and 2022, Vanloo played for Townsville Fire in Australia, Casademont Zaragoza in Spain, and ŽBK Jenisej Krasnojarsk in Russia, continuing to build her résumé across continents. In 2022, she joined BLMA in France, and the following year she signed with Galatasaray of the Turkish Women’s Basketball Super League on 13 September 2023.
With Galatasaray, Vanloo played some of the most prominent club basketball of her career. She signed a new one-year contract with the Turkish side on 21 July 2024, but the club said goodbye to her on 28 May 2025, publishing a thank-you message at the end of her tenure. She then signed with Çukurova Basketbol for the 2025–26 season.
WNBA Career and the Los Angeles Sparks Era (2024–Present)
Vanloo entered the WNBA in 2024 at the age of 31, joining the Washington Mystics after a long career overseas. On 6 December 2024, she was selected as the Golden State Valkyries’ pick from the Washington Mystics’ 2024 roster in the WNBA’s expansion draft.
After winning the European Championship with Belgium in 2025, Vanloo flew directly from Athens to San Francisco, skipping inauguration festivities at the Royal Palace of Brussels and national team celebrations the following day. Upon arrival in the United States after an 18-hour flight, she learned online that her contract had been waived.
On 3 July 2025, Vanloo was signed by the Los Angeles Sparks, giving her a fresh opportunity in the WNBA. Towards the end of the 2025 regular season, she was featured, alongside players such as Diamond DeShields, Haley Jones, Harmoni Turner, and Shyanne Sellers, in an ESPN article on life at the edge of WNBA rosters given the league’s strict 12-player limit.
Driving Style and Strengths
Vanloo is known as a steady perimeter guard whose game has been refined across multiple European leagues and at the WNBA level. Her experience playing in France, Sweden, Italy, Hungary, Australia, Spain, Russia, and Turkey has given her a versatile skill set adaptable to different systems. She reads the floor well, distributes the ball, and provides dependable guard play in pressure moments.
Notable Events and Milestones
One of the most memorable stretches of her career came in 2025, when she won EuroBasket Women with Belgium and then crossed the Atlantic in time to re-enter WNBA free agency. Her signing with the Los Angeles Sparks on 3 July 2025 capped a dramatic week, and her appearance in ESPN’s roster-fringe feature highlighted her perseverance in the WNBA.
Julie Vanloo Career Wins
Vanloo has built a varied collection of club and national team titles across her long career. Her championships span Belgian, Swedish, and continental competition, with her two EuroBasket Women golds standing as the headline achievements.
Belgian and Swedish Titles
She won the Belgian National League championship in 2011 while with Declercq Stortbeton Waregem BC, marking her first major senior title. She later added the Swedish National League championship in 2016 with Luleå Basket, confirming her ability to win outside her home country.
International Honours
At the youth level, Vanloo won the EuroBasket U18 Women title in 2011 with Belgium. She went on to become a senior mainstay for the Belgian national team, participating at EuroBasket Women 2017, 2021, 2023, and 2025, as well as the 2020 and 2024 Summer Olympics. Her crowning international moments came with EuroBasket Women titles in 2023 and 2025.
Other Wins and Performances
Beyond her major titles, Vanloo reached the latter rounds of multiple European club competitions during stints in France, Turkey, and Russia. Her late-career WNBA breakthrough with the Los Angeles Sparks added another chapter to an unusually global résumé.
Julie Vanloo Family
Family Background and Racing Lineage
Public information about Vanloo’s family background is limited. She is a Belgian native from Ostend who built her career through Belgium’s club basketball system before expanding internationally.
Personal Life
Vanloo keeps her personal life largely private. She is professionally active across Europe and North America, splitting her 2025–26 commitments between the Los Angeles Sparks in the WNBA and Çukurova Basketbol in the Turkish Women’s Basketball Super League.
2025 Season Performance
The 2025 season has been one of the most eventful of Vanloo’s career. She began the year with Galatasaray in Turkey, signed a new contract on 21 July 2024, and finished her Turkish stint when the club said goodbye on 28 May 2025. She then moved to Çukurova Basketbol for the 2025–26 campaign.
Her WNBA year was equally dramatic. Selected by the Golden State Valkyries in the expansion draft on 6 December 2024, she was later waived and signed by the Los Angeles Sparks on 3 July 2025. Her late-season ESPN feature underscored the realities of competing for limited WNBA roster spots.
Internationally, 2025 ended on a high note with a EuroBasket Women gold medal for Belgium. With the Sparks and Çukurova Basketbol, Vanloo enters 2026 looking to build on a year defined by resilience, constant travel, and major silverware.