Maria Alexandrovna Stepanova (russian: Мари́я Алекса́ндровна Степа́нова; born 23 February 1979) is a Russian professional and Olympic

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player. In the United States, she played for the Phoenix Mercury in the

Women's National Basketball Association The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is an American professional basketball league. It is composed of twelve teams, all based in the United States. The league was founded on April 22, 1996, as the women's counterpart to the Natio ...

(WNBA). At a height of 203 cm, she has been the fifth-tallest player in the league (along with Liz Cambage, Zheng Haixia and Lindsay Taylor).

Margo Dydek Małgorzata Dydek (known as Margo Dydek in the United States, 28 April 1974 – 27 May 2011) was a Polish professional basketball player. Standing tall, she was famous for being the tallest professional female basketball player in the world. Sh ...

, 7 ft 2 in (218 cm), Bernadett Határ, 6 ft 10.5 in (210 cm),

Han Xu Han Xu (May 26, 1924 – July 19, 1994) was a Chinese diplomat who served as the Chinese Ambassador to the United States from 1985 to 1989, and as Vice Foreign Minister of China from 1982 to 1985. Early life Han was born May 26, 1924, in Ji ...

, 6 ft 10 in (208 cm), and

Brittney Griner Brittney Yevette Griner (; born October 18, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She is a two-time Olympic gold medalist with the U.S. women's natio ...

, 6 ft 9 in (206 cm), are taller than her. Heidi Gillingham, also 6 ft 10 in, and Allyssa DeHaan, 6 ft 9 in as well, never played in the WNBA. She wears size 15 (US) / 48 (EU) shoes. Though in the Russian national team, she has been overtaken by Ekaterina Lisina in being the tallest member. Stepanova was born in the village of Shpakovskoye (now the town of Mikhaylovsk, in Stavropol Krai of the former

Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...

of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

, and grew up in

Tosno Tosno (russian: То́сно) is a town and the administrative center of Tosnensky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the Tosna River, southeast of the center of St. Petersburg. Population: History The village of Tosno was fi ...

Leningrad Oblast Leningrad Oblast ( rus, Ленинградская область, Leningradskaya oblast’, lʲɪnʲɪnˈgratskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ, , ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). It was established on 1 August 1927, although it was not until 194 ...

Honours and awards

* Honoured Master of Sports of Russia *

Medal of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" The Medal of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" (russian: Медаль ордена «За заслуги перед Отечеством») was established on 2 March 1994 by Presidential Decree No.442. Its award criteria were modified on 6 ...

, 1st class (2 August 2009) - for outstanding contribution to the development of physical culture and sports, high achievements in sports at the Games of the XXIX Olympiad in Beijing in 2008 *3× FIBA Europe Women's Player of the Year (2005, 2006, 2008)

External links

WNBA Player Profile
1979 births Living people Basketball players at the 1996 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Centers (basketball) Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic basketball players of Russia Olympic bronze medalists for Russia Olympic medalists in basketball People from Stavropol Krai Phoenix Mercury draft picks Phoenix Mercury players Recipients of the Medal of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" I class Russian expatriate basketball people in the United States Russian women's basketball players Sportspeople from Stavropol Krai {{Russia-basketball-bio-stub