MIES (Switzerland) - One of the most influential players in Polish, European, WNBA and international basketball, Malgorzata Dydek is being inducted into the 2019 class of the FIBA Hall of Fame.

Dydek is among eight former players being enshrined into the Hall of Fame alongside Janeth Arcain (Brazil), Atanas Golomeev (Bulgaria), Alonzo Mourning (United States), Fabricio Oberto (Argentina), Jose "Piculin" Ortiz (Puerto Rico), Mohsen Medhat Warda (Egypt) and Jiri Zidek (Czech Republic). Joining them are coaches Natalia Hejkova (Slovak Republic), Bogdan Tanjevic (Montenegro) and Mou Zuoyun (China - posthumously). They were selected from a list of more than 150 candidates. 

Dydek, who went by the name Margo, had a successful career in Europe before starring in the WNBA in the United States. She also reached the pinnacle in Europe with the Polish national team and performed on the biggest global stages before passing much too early.

One of Dydek's most characteristic traits was her size, as she was the tallest professional female basketball player in the world at 7ft 2in (2.18m). This came from being born in Warsaw to tall parents. Her father stood 6ft 7in (2.01m) and her mother was 6ft 3in (1.91m). Dydek also had two sisters who both played basketball and rose to at least the Polish youth national team ranks: 6ft 7in (2.01m) Katarzyna and 6ft 6in (1.98m) Marta. Margo initially had no interest in basketball and it wasn't until Katarzyna dragged her along to play that Margo changed her mind.

After starting with UKS Huragan Wolowin, Dydek moved to Olimpia Poznan in 1992 and helped them to two Polish league crowns. She left Poland in 1994 for France and played two seasons with Valenciennes Orchies, reaching the EuroLeague Women Final in 1994.

Dydek had already shown her skill level internationally, taking third place in the FIBA U18 Women's European Championship 1992 and third place again the following year in the FIBA U19 Women's Basketball World Cup. In 1992 she played for the Polish senior national team in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Women and a year later averaged 14.4 points at the FIBA Women's EuroBasket 1993. She collected 12.6 points and 9.5 rebounds at the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 1994.

Dydek took the next step in her club career in 1996 and played for Spanish side Pool Getafe, winning the Spanish league crown in both seasons and helping Getafe get to the EuroLeague Women Final in 1998.

Following her final season in Spain, she moved back to her homeland and was also selected with the number one pick in the 1998 WNBA Draft. The Poland-WNBA connection lasted six years as she helped Arka Gdynia to six consecutive Polish titles from 1998 to 2005, reaching the EuroLeague Women Final two more times in 2002 and 2004. In the WNBA, Dydek ruled the paint, leading the league in total blocks nine seasons and eight times in blocks per game for Utah, San Antonio and Connecticut between 1998 and 2007.

Dydek's national team career also took off. She played a major role in Poland getting back to the Women's EuroBasket in 1999 and even captured the title at home in Poland. The crown was all the sweeter as she won it alongside her older sister Katarzyna. The sisters got to march together at the 2000 Olympic Opening Ceremony and play at the Women's Olympic Basketball Tournament – Poland's first and only appearance in the Olympics. Dydek was also dominant at the Women's EuroBasket 2001, leading the tournament in scoring, rebounds and blocks though Poland could not get past the Quarter-Finals. She played in one more Women's EuroBasket in 2003.

While she was named to two WNBA All-Star teams and helped Connecticut to the 2005 WNBA Finals, Dydek's European career shifted from Poland to Russia. In 2005, she played for one season at UMMC Ekaterinburg before heading back to Spain to play for Ros Casares Valencia. She won her final Spanish league title and also guided Valencia to the EuroLeague Women Final.

Dydek left the game for the birth of her first son but returned in June 2008, signing with the Los Angeles Sparks. This late-season run ended up being the close of her basketball career, finishing as the WNBA's all-time leader in blocks with 877 in 323 games. 

Dydek would eventually move to Australia and worked as a coach for the Northside Wizards of the Queensland Basketball League. On May 19, 2011, while pregnant with her third child, Dydek suffered a cardiac arrest and was induced into a coma. She never regained consciousness and died on May 27, 2011 at the age of 37.

The Connecticut Sun, for whom she played three seasons, included Dydek in the club's All-Decade Team in 2012 and had her number honored in the Sun's Banner of Honor. The Sun has also given out the Margo Dydek Award each year since her passing to a woman who "has distinguished themselves while positively impacting the community".

The 2019 Class will be enshrined into FIBA's Hall of Fame during a special ceremony taking place in Beijing, China, on August 30, on the eve of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 tipping off.

FIBA