NEWCASTLE (Paul Nilsen's Women's Basketball Worldwide) - I have enjoyed the performances of so many players in 2015 and here are some of those who have made the biggest impression on me.

Maria Vadeeva (Russia)
While in no particular order, Maria Vadeeva is right up there with not only the most exciting players of the year, but one of the best young players I have ever seen. Previously on the radar because of her exploits at youth level, she crashed the senior stage at EuroBasket Women 2015 as a 16-year-old. Some people criticised how much she was utilised, yet she was her team's most efficient player. She is incredible and a potential legend in the making if she continues on this current path. I lost count of her 'and-1s' at Final Round and loved her footwork under the basket. A big credit to the Sparta&K M.R. Vidnoje staff, including Alexander Vasin and Anna Arkhipova von Kalmanovich.

Danielle Page (Serbia)
Sticking with EuroBasket Women, naturalisation is always going to be contentious and there are some dubious examples out there, but Danielle Page shows the very best side of this process. Singing the national anthem of her adopted country in Serbian as loudly (if not more loudly) than her team-mates, she worked hard and invested every last drop of effort she had to fully integrate. Her tireless work fed into a historic first title for Serbia.

Sonja Petrovic (Serbia)
The gold dust was sprinkled by Sonja Petrovic, who returned to the fray from many years in the wilderness. While Ana Dabovic was rightly awarded MVP after exploding down the tournament stretch, possessing the mere world class quality of Petrovic was the difference-maker and she is a player who I could watch all day long. Classy beyond belief and both her and Page make my list.

Savannah Wilkinson (Great Britain)
A little nearer to home is someone who gives me hope that Great Britain can get back on an upward curve and is proof that the UK not only has game and emerging talent - but also a growing appetite for the women's game. Savannh Wilkinson’s interview with the BBC was absolutely awesome and the 17-year-old is a role model to other young women in the UK wanting to play sport and not just basketball – as evidenced by how her facebook video blew up in a big way.

Maya Moore (USA)
Is Maya Moore destined to be the greatest? While still relatively early in her career, there is little doubt that she is going to be in the conversation after another stellar year. Just a great all-round player, watching Moore perform is an absolute pleasure. Even when she isn’t shooting the ball well, it brings out all of her other qualities even more.

Kia Nurse (Canada)
Kia Nurse erupted this year after her initial breakthrough a couple of years ago when she played as a 17-year-old with Canada at the FIBA Americas Women's Championship in Xalapa, Mexico. Since then, she has played at the FIBA Women's World Championship and now has two winners medals in her cabinet after a glorious golden double on home soil. She proved to be the main architect of Canada firstly winning the Pan-Am Games in Toronto and then following it up with the FIBA Americas Women’s Championship in Edmonton. She’s unflappable and with veteran maturity beyond her years, it is frightening how good she could be in a decade from now.

Izabela Nicoletti Leite (Brazil)
Still in the Americas, I have loved everything I have heard and the limited action I have seen in respect of Brazil’s big teenage hope - Izabela Nicoletti Leite. What an astonishing year it was for her as she poured in over 21 points per game at the FIBA Americas U16 Women's Championship as Brazil inflicted a first-ever loss on the previously impeccable USA. She was then accelerated in spectacular fashion to the senior team for the FIBA Americas Women's Championship and that could now mean an appearance in Rio next year - if she impresses Brazil’s new head coach, with Zanon stepping down due to ill health.

Ramu Tokashiki (Japan)
A contender for the best performance of the year at international level must be Japan routing China in the Final of the FIBA Asia Women's Championship to defend their 2013 crown. It was accompanied by MVP Ramu Tokashiki re-establishing herself as the premier player in the Asia region - hot off the back of playing in the WNBA. Those things were so important for what had been a turbulent 12 months or so for women’s basketball in Japan and seeing her play so well and also having an impact Stateside has been great.

A'Ja Wilson (USA)
When questions were asked of the USA at the FIBA U19 Women's World Championship and the momentum around the capabilities of host nation Russia beating the defending champions gathered pace, up stepped A'Ja Wilson. She had already impressed me at the same event when playing against players older two years earlier. Now the team leader, she brought a captain's performance to the table when it was needed and I was left so impressed by the eventual MVP.

Kia Vaughn (USA)
Lastly, the 2015 EuroLeague Women Final was one of the best in memory as underdogs ZVVZ USK Prague won against Russian juggernauts UMMC Ekaterinburg and MVP Kia Vaughn was a colossus. In one of the most enjoyable displays I had seen in quite a while, Vaughn epitomised how the hosts stood up against their more illustrious opponents both physically and mentally. With her quite wonderful smile, it only added to the occasion when she won the biggest MVP trophy the sport has ever witnessed.

Apologies to those who didn't quite make the list and especially the likes of Elena Delle Donne, Ana Dabovic, Daria Kolsovskaia and many more. Here's to an even tougher choice at the end of 2016!

Paul Nilsen

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