Janelle Illona Salaün (born 5 September 2001) is a French professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player for the

Golden State Valkyries The Golden State Valkyries are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Valkyries compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference. The team began play in the 2025 se ...

of the

Women's National Basketball Association The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is a women's professional basketball league in the United States. The league comprises 13 teams (scheduled to expand to 15 in 2026). The WNBA is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan. The WNBA w ...

(WNBA) and

USK Praha USK Praha (, University Sports Club Prague), formerly known as Slavia VŠ Praha (), is a Czech Republic, Czech professional basketball Club (organization), club that was founded in 1953 in the city of Prague. USK Praha plays in the National Bas ...

of the

Czech Women's Basketball League Czech Championship women's basketball (Czech language, Czech: ''Česká ženská basketbalová liga'') - basketball tournament among Czech women's teams. The first draw took place in 1993, which became the champions of the Prague team USK Praha (wo ...

. Salaün plays for the

France women's national basketball team The France women's national basketball team () represents France in international women's basketball and is administered by the French Federation of Basketball. The team is nicknamed ''Les Bleues'' . However, after their unexpected triumph at th ...

and was part of the French team at the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

, where she won a silver medal.

Professional career

Europe

Salaün trained at the Centre Fédéral, averaging 9.4 points, 7.7 rebounds in 27 minutes of play in Ligue 2 in 2018-2019, she signed her first professional contract with the

Flammes Carolo The Flammes Carolo Basket Ardennes is a French professional women's basketball club from Charleville-Mezieres, that currently plays in the La Boulangère Wonderligue (French's first division for women's basketball). Team history Honours * Li ...

. Disappointed with the lack of playing time, she joined

Villeneuve-d'Ascq Villeneuve-d'Ascq (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department in northern France. With more than 60,000 inhabitants and 50,000 students, it is one of the main cities of the Métro ...

the following year. Salaün scored 17 points on 3 October 2021 against Charnay and 14 points on 2 December against

Tarbes Tarbes (; Gascon language, Gascon: ''Tarba'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region of southwestern France. It is ...

. Her 2023–2024 season with Villeneuve-d'Ascq was very successful. Playing a major role in her team, Salaün managed to reach the

EuroLeague The EuroLeague is a European men's professional basketball club competition. The league is widely recognised as the top-tier and the most prestigious men's basketball league in Europe. The league consists of 20 teams, of which 16 are given lon ...

final and won the national title in the LFB. She joined

Famila Schio Pallacanestro Femminile Schio, also known as Beretta Famila Schio for sponsorship reasons, is an Italian professional women's basketball team based in Schio that competes in Serie A. Team history Founded in 1973, Schio enjoyed its first succes ...

of the

Lega Basket Femminile Lega Basket Femminile (LBF) is the premier national league for women's basketball clubs in Italy, founded in 1930. Pool Comense is the competition's most successful club with fifteen championships, followed by AS Vicenza with twelve and Geas Bas ...

for the 2024–2025 season. She helped the team win the league championship and was named Finals MVP, averaging 13.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 1.2 steals over the five-game series. Over the course of the season, she played in 30 games and averaged 13.5 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 1.8 assists in 27.3 minutes per game. Salaün signed with

of the

for the 2025–2026 season.

WNBA

Golden State Valkyries (2025–present)

On 5 February 2025, Salaün signed a training camp contract with the

of the

. Although she missed training camp as she was finishing her season in Italy, she still made the final Valkyries roster.

National team career

Salaün represented the France national under-16 team at the 2018 U16 European Championship, where she won a gold medal. She also won a silver medal at the 2018 U17 World Cup alongside

Iliana Rupert Iliana Rupert (born 12 July 2001) is a French basketball player for the Golden State Valkyries of the Women’s National Basketball Association and Çukurova Basketbol of the Turkish Super League. Professional career On December 6, 2024, Ruper ...

and Marine Fauthoux. With the U20 Euro 2021 cancelled for health reasons,

FIBA The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French language, French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. FIBA defines the rules of basketball, specifies the Basketball equipment ...

organised the European Challengers in which Salaün stood out, notably against

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

with 26 points at 11/17 shooting success, including 2/4 at 3-pointers, 21 rebounds and 4 assists.

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

finished the Challenge undefeated with 5 wins and Salaün averaged 17.0 points at 57.9% shooting, 10.2 rebounds and 2.0 assists, in which she was named the tournament's MVP. Salaün was part of the squad for the Paris Olympics tournament. She started in all 6 games during France's road to the silver medal, averaging 18.4 minutes, 6.0 points, and 3.0 rebounds per game.

Player profile

A tall player trained as an interior, Salaün's mobility allows her to be a complete winger thanks to her good exterior address.

Personal life

Salaün's parents both played basketball. Her brother

Tidjane Salaün Tidjane Abdoul Salaün (; born 10 August 2005) is a French professional basketball player for the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Professional career Cholet Basket Salaün began playing for Cholet Basket's youth te ...

, plays for the

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team ...

. She is of

Guadeloupe Guadeloupe is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre Island, Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Guadeloupe, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galant ...

an descent.

Orders

Ordre national du Merite Chevalier ribbon

Chevalier in the French Order of Merit: 2024.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Salaun, Janelle 2001 births Living people Basketball players from Paris French women's basketball players Power forwards Small forwards Basketball players at the 2024 Summer Olympics Olympic basketball players for France Medalists at the 2024 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for France Olympic medalists in basketball French people of Guadeloupean descent 21st-century French sportswomen Golden State Valkyries players Undrafted Women's National Basketball Association players French expatriate basketball people in the United States Knights of the Ordre national du Mérite