What happened to 6’8” WNBA star Maria Stepanova?

There aren’t too many women who stand above 6’ (183cm), let alone 6’8” (203cm), yet Maria Stepanova did and was able to use her height and basketball prowess to carve out a career in her chosen sport, let’s take a look at her story.

Born in 1979 in what was then the Soviet Union, Stepanova grew rapidly from an early age, and her talent on the basketball court was obvious. Aged just 17, she made her Olympic debut, playing one minute for Russia in a 73-63 win over Japan at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, per FIBA.

Stepanova’s height didn’t go unnoticed by the WNBA, where such natural gifts are at a premium. In 1998, the Russian was selected eighth overall by the Phoenix Mercury per Basketball Reference.

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Per the Spanish publication 20 Minutos, Stepanova became the fourth-tallest woman ever to play in the WNBA following her selection by the Mercury. Her shoe size of 48 (12 ½ UK/13 ½ US) must be one of the biggest the league has seen, too!

That same year, Stepanova helped her country reach the FIBA World Championship final where they lost to the USA 71-65, with FIBA describing her as Russia’s, “most recognizable figure, and most reliable player”.

With the US not involved for obvious reasons, Russia were able to exert their dominance on the European basketball scene, with Stepanova leading her teammates to gold at the EuroBasket Women in 2003. They repeated the success in 2007 and 2011, making them the unquestioned force in European women’s basketball.

2006 saw Stepanova at her peak, putting up a stat line of 13 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks as she once again carried her team to victory, this time over the heavily favoured US in the semi-final. Things unravelled in the final, however, with Russia succumbing to Australia 91-74, per FIBA.

Despite Stepanova and Russia’s dominance in the European scene, they were unable to win a Summer Games gold or a World Championship. She was able to secure two bronze medals at the Olympics, in 2004 and 2008, which, in itself, is a remarkable achievement!

Stepanova’s services to Russian basketball have been acknowledged, with the giant centre receiving a Medal of the Order “For Merit to the Fatherland”, 1st class for “outstanding contribution to the development of physical culture and sports, high achievements in sports at the Games of the XXIX Olympiad in Beijing in 2008,” per Alchetron.

Stepanova’s professional basketball career lasted 20 years, with the Russian winning ten Russian league titles and one cup, one Czech league title and two Euroleague titles along the way, per 20 Minutos. She left the sport as a legend of Russian and Olympic basketball.

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