The Women’s EuroBasket 2025 is set to kick off later in four European cities. Pireus, Bologna, Brno, and Hamburg will host the preliminary round games before the knockout round in Greece.
Belgium come into this tournament as the defending champions. They won their first EuroBasket title in 2023, and the Belgian Cats aim to repeat. Belgium are in Group C alongside Czechia, Montenegro, and Portugal.
Greece, Turkey, France, and Switzerland comprise Group A. Slovenia, Serbia, Italy, and Lithuania are in Group B, and Great Britain, Germany, Sweden, and Spain – the runners-up in the previous edition of the competition – are in Group D.
Familiar faces and future basketball stars are headlining this tournament, so read on below as SBOTOP looks at some of the top players to watch.
Emma Meesseman, Belgium
Emma Meesseman is a huge reason Belgium remain one of the favorites, per the Women’s EuroBasket 2025 odds, following their first Women’s EuroBasket title in 2023. The 32-year-old forward was the MVP in the previous tournament, boasting averages of 21.7 points, 8.7 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 4.3 steals, and 1.3 blocks per game.
Before returning home to Europe, Meesseman played nine years in the WNBA with the Washington Mystics and Chicago Sky. Some of her notable accolades include a WNBA title, WNBA Finals MVP, two WNBA All-Star selections, six EuroLeague championships, and three EuroLeague MVPs.
Meesseman is essentially the Nikola Jokic of women’s basketball because she is a threat to score, shoot, and pass. Surround her with smart cutters, tough defenders, and reliable shooters, and Belgium will make it far in any tournament.
Janelle Salaun, France
Janelle Salaun will play in her first Women’s EuroBasket this year, and she will be tasked with assuming a huge role for France. She was part of the national team in last year’s Olympics, starting in all six matches during their road to the silver medal, averaging 6.0 points and 3.0 rebounds in only 18.4 minutes per contest.
Salaun has won club championships in France and Italy and won a Finals MVP with the latter. She is now playing for the Valkyries, a new WNBA expansion club, where she is one of the team’s top scoring options. Basketball runs in the family, as her younger brother, Tidjane, is the sixth overall pick in last year’s NBA Draft and is playing for the Hornets.
Salaun will team up with fellow WNBA stars Leila Lacan and Iliana Rupert. Lacan was the 10th overall pick in last year’s WNBA Draft, while Rupert is Salaun’s teammate in Golden State. All of them are young and hungry to restore glory for France.
Awa Fam, Spain
Awa Fam is set to lead Spain’s frontcourt in the upcoming Women’s EuroBasket. The 19-year-old already boasts a stellar CV, as the 6’4″ center was last year’s U20 Women’s EuroBasket MVP after averaging 11.3 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per contest, guiding Spain to a silver medal finish. With her ability to stretch the floor with her three-point shooting and inside finishing, many expect Fam to be a future WNBA star.
She will join forces with Iyana Martin, a EuroLeague Women Young Player of the Year awardee, and fellow center Raquel Carrera. Carrera is back with La Roja after a long spell on the sidelines, and her previous tournament experience will come in handy this year.
Yvonne Anderson, Serbia
Serbia will need Yvonne Anderson’s veteran leadership if they are to make it far in this tournament. Anderson just turned 35 last March, and she aims to make this tournament count because this might be her last hurrah.
The 5’9″ guard makes up for her height with her heady playmaking, superb ball handling, and impeccable scoring. Anderson is a certified winner, having the EuroLeague championship, Turkish Cup, and Turkish League championship in her extensive CV.
Cecilia Zandalasini, Italy
Cecilia Zandalasini took the basketball world by storm when she made her Women’s EuroBasket debut in 2017. Now more experienced at 29 years old, Zandalasini remains Italy’s key to success with her elite shot creation and outside shooting, and she is expected to be a regular in the Women’s EuroBasket 2025 highlights reel.
Zandalasini had been around in Europe and the WNBA. She currently plays for the Valkyries alongside France’s Iliana Rupert and Janelle Salaun. Some of her notable accolades on her resume include a WNBA Commissioner’s Cup championship, a WNBA championship, two Turkish Super League championships, two Turkish Cups, a Turkish Presidential Cup, an Italian Supercup, and winning the 2016 U20 Women’s EuroBasket MVP.
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