Marta Krystyna Dydek (born 11 March 1982) is a Polish former professional

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.

Career

College

From 2003–2005, Dydek played her college career at

University of Texas at El Paso The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a public research university in El Paso, Texas. It is a member of the University of Texas System. UTEP is the second-largest university in the United States to have a majority Mexican American stud ...

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the county seat, seat of El Paso County, Texas, El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau w ...

for the

UTEP Miners The UTEP Miners is the name given to the sports teams of the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). They are informally referred to as the Miners, UTEP, or Texas–El Paso. UTEP was a member of the Western Athletic Conference from 1967 to 2005, ...

Spain

After college, Dydek began her professional career in Spain's

Liga Femenina de Baloncesto The Liga Femenina de Baloncesto, also known as Liga Femenina Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of league competition for women's basketball in Spain. It is the women's equivalent of the men's Liga ACB and is run by the Spanish Ba ...

, with USP-CEU Adecco Estudiantes. After moving to Mann-Filter Zaragoza for the following season, she would then move down to

Liga Femenina 2 de Baloncesto Liga Femenina 2 is the second division of the women's league of basketball in Spain. It was founded in 2001. Competition format Teams in this league are divided into two groups by geographical criteria. The top four teams of each one, qualify to t ...

. Over two seasons, she played across four teams. After a season away in Australia, Dydek returned for the 2010–11 season.

Australia

In 2009, Dydek was signed by the Logan Thunder in the Women's National Basketball League. Dydek's older sister,

Margo *** People * Margo (actress) (1917–1985), Mexican-American actress and dancer * Margo (magician), American magic performer and actress * Margo (singer), Irish singer * Margo (given name), including a list of people and characters with the name ...

, lived and coached in

Brisbane, Australia Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

and was instrumental in her signing. Dydek was not re-signed for the 2010–11 season.

National team

Born and raised in Poland, Dydek would follow in the footsteps of her older sisters and represent the Poland national team. She made her debut at the

1997 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship The 1997 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship (known at that time as 1997 European Championship for Cadets) was the 14th edition of the FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship. The cities of Pepinster, Kortrijk and Quaregnon, in Belgium, hosted the tourn ...

. Three years later, she would play at the

2000 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship The 2000 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship was an international basketball competition held in Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = " Lijepa n ...

in Poland, where as the host nation, they would win the bronze medal. At the 2001 FIBA Under-19 World Championship in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

, Poland would place 10th.

Personal life

Dydek was the youngest of three girls, all of whom were professional basketball players and represented the Polish national team. Her two older sisters were,

Katarzyna Katarzyna is a Polish given name, equivalent to English "Catherine". Its diminutive forms include Kasia, Katarzynka, Kasieńka, Kasiunia, Kasiulka; augmentative – Kaśka, Kacha, Kachna. Individuals named Katarzyna may choose their name day ...

and Małgorzata. The younger of the two, Margo, was the 1st pick overall in the 1998 WNBA draft.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dydek, Marta 1982 births Forwards (basketball) Polish women's basketball players Polish expatriate basketball people in Spain Polish expatriate sportspeople in Australia Logan Thunder players Living people People from Wołomin Sportspeople from Masovian Voivodeship