Former Opal and WNBA star Tully Bevilaqua wants to help build something from the ground up in New Zealand's new-look Women's National Basketball League.
abc.net.au/news/tully-bevilaqua-basketball-new-zealand-fiba-womens-world-cup/101449204One of the greats of Australian basketball is helping to grow the women's game in New Zealand, making her mark as head coach.
This season was also the first time New Zealand female basketballers were paid equal to their male counterparts. Bevilaqua says she's already seeing the great impact the league is having on basketball in New Zealand. "The monetary value is helping now that we can pay players, it's still semi-professional and not all players receive the same amount, but I feel it's just elevated the level of play because of the imports each team can get," she said.A top-tier player in the New Zealand league is paid $13,000 to $16,000 a season, which is similar to the WNBL salary.
Some of the accolades include an Olympic silver medal, a World Cup gold medal and a WNBA championship won during her time at the Storm with teammate and fellow Aussie Lauren Jackson. "My philosophy was if you concentrate more on the statistics than you do on the overall team aspect, you'll have a short career," she said.
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