STOCKHOLM (Sweden) - For most, growing up is a handful, particularly in the early stages of teenhood. The early teen years bring on a lot of conflict, learning, and accountability for anyone in the world dealing with life’s ebbs and flows.
But, add into the mix an outlier, another task to tackle: the addition of standing at 2.03 cm (6ft 7in) when just 14 years old.
But in this case, it’s an aid to blossoming into an adult for Tyra Johansson, the center on Sweden’s U18 team that competed in the 2026 FIBA U18 Women's EuroBasket in Stockholm.
She's the future of Swedish basketball
Johansson's early years looked different because of it. Standing out physically before her game had caught up and meant she spent time not sure if she even belonged on the same floor as players who had been playing up levels for years. "I was like, should I play here?" said Johansson.
This is a big enough feeling for a young player thrown into a higher tier of competition, but for the towering Johansson, the question was ‘heightened’.
However, that second-guessing did not last. By the first of August, in her first run with the U18 squad, Johansson was one of the anchors of Sweden's defense, using her wingspan and physical frame to deny entry feeds, swat weak layups, and be a Victor Wembanyama-like paint negator. She was, by her head coach's account, a constant over the course of the entire tournament - often the difference between Sweden competing or getting run off the floor.
"She's the future of Swedish basketball," said head coach Daniel Nilo. "And I feel like if she gets another crack at this, getting a little bit more teaching [in her home environment], she'll be so, so good. He added: "She had three or four games where she was an absolute difference-maker for us. I'm happy to see her keep developing." Sweden entered the 2026 FIBA Women’s U18 EuroBasket as hosts and as a team on the way up, having secured promotion back to Division A after winning the Division B title 12 months earlier.
Placed in a Group B alongside Belgium (3-0), Finland (2-1) and Italy (1-2), things did not go their way. Neither did the Round of 16, nor the Classification Rounds that followed. Sweden ultimately finished the tournament 1-6, which resulted in 14th place, an outcome that sends the team back down to Division B for 2027. The final numbers were not kind to Sweden as a whole, but Johansson's line was a different story altogether. She was in the top 10 for rebounds per game among all centers and led Sweden in blocks per game.
Across the tournament field, her 3.2 blocks per game ranked fourth among all players, ahead of nearly every center who played quantifiable minutes - and she did it while logging just 13.6 minutes per contest, the second-fewest of anyone near the top of that chart. Her breakout performance came in Sweden's sole win of the tournament, a 66-65 thriller over Montenegro in the Classification Round. Johansson went off for 19 points and 10 rebounds, netting 9-of-13 from the field. The double-double held up as the deciding factor for the one-point victory.
"This last game was an important game," Johansson said after Sweden's subsequent Classification Game loss against Türkiye that closed out tournament play.
"Going down to the B division is sad," she reiterated. The disappointment was evident on the face of the U18 first-timer, but it did not overstate what the two weeks meant to her.
"[I'm] grateful to be here - these are the absolute best players," she stated. The star center was not just focused on the on-court production, though - even if there were 7 games in 9 days. Playing a home Women's EuroBasket meant weeks of practices and shared hotel meals with the same dozen teammates.
"It was fun, and I really liked the group," she said when asked about the experience overall.
The relationships, built in Sweden’s “home” gym, were an unconventional yet memorable first national experience. At just 14, she was younger than each of the players she spent the tournament guarding and rebounding against, and younger than all of her own teammates. That gap is not new to her. Back home in Norrkoping, Johansson attends Prolympia, a school that focuses on academics and athletics, and both there and with her club team, she regularly practices against players as old as 19, growing used to the four to five year age gap.
As she told Jonathan Ahman of vt.se, she has played up an age group for most of her career and credits it with accelerating her growth as a player: "You learn a lot from playing with those who are better." The height, the poise, and the ability of Johansson made most of the attendees in Stockholm over the week forget about her age.
Johansson may just be blossoming into the star center that Sweden and Nilo will need for them to continue their upward trajectory for many years to come. FIBA