Carla Leite

Carla Leite

No. 0 – Villeneuve d'Ascq
Position	Guard
League	La Boulangère Wonderligue
Personal information
Born	(2004-04-16) April 16, 2004 (age 20) Poissy, Yvelines, France
Listed height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Career information
High school	Tony Parker Academy (France)
WNBA draft	2024: 1st round, 9th overall pick
Selected by the Dallas Wings
Playing career	2022–present
Career history
2022–2024	Tarbes
2024–present	Villeneuve d'Ascq

Carla Leite (born 16 April 2004) is a French professional basketball player for Villeneuve d'Ascq of the La Boulangère Wonderligue. She was selected ninth overall by the Dallas Wings in the 2024 WNBA draft. Her WNBA rights are currently held by the Golden State Valkyries.

Early life

Leite was born on 16 April 2004.^[1] She grew up in Poissy, Yvelines, and played several sports growing up, including association football and tennis.^[2][3] She first tried out basketball at age nine and said she "started to get serious" beginning at age 13.^[3] She started with the club ES Lorguaise and later moved to Draguignan UC, where she started with the U11 team but quickly moved up to the U13.^[4] She moved an hour away from home at age 13 to join the club Pôle d'Antibes, and spent several seasons there.^[3]

Leite began attending Tony Parker Academy in 2019 while playing for the junior team of Lyon ASVEL.^[3][5] She played three years for Lyon and began receiving attention after scoring 27 points in the finals of the 2022 U18 French Cup, in a close loss to USO Mondeville.^[3][6]

Professional career

France

Soon after her performance in the French Cup, Leite signed her first professional contract at age 18, with Tarbes in the Ligue Féminine de Basketball (LFB), the top women's league in France.^[5] In the 2022–23 season, she averaged 11.8 points and 2.9 assists per game and was named the league's best young player.^[3][7][8] In her second season with Tarbes, Leite averaged 15.8 points, 5.5 assists and 2.5 rebounds and was named to the league all-star team.^[9][10]

In June 2024, Leite signed with Villeneuve d'Ascq.^[11]

WNBA

Leite was selected in the first round (ninth overall) of the 2024 WNBA draft by the Dallas Wings.^[9][12] She chose to remain overseas for the 2024 season.^[13]

On December 6, 2024, Leite was selected as the Golden State Valkyries' pick from the Dallas Wings' 2024 roster in the WNBA's expansion draft.^[14]

International career

Leite first played internationally at the 2021 U17 3×3 European Cup ^[5] She was selected for the 2022 FIBA U18 Women's European Championship but had to withdraw due to injury.^[5] She later competed at the 2023 FIBA U20 Women's European Championship, where she averaged 18.4 points and 4.3 assists while helping France win the title over Latvia, with Leite being named an all-star and the most valuable player of the tournament.^[3][15]

Leite was on an 18-player candidate list for the 2024 Paris Olympics,^[16] but she did not make the final 12-player roster.^[17]

References

1. "Carla Leite". Women's National Basketball Association.
2. Baron, Maxim (September 23, 2023). "Basket. LFB : Carla Leite, l'étoile montante du basket français" [Basketball. LFB: Carla Leite, the rising star of French basketball]. Ouest-France (in French).
3. Cruse, Hunter (December 20, 2023). "From France to the WNBA: Carla Leite emerges as a 2024 prospect". The Next Hoops.
4. L., J. (December 30, 2019). "Pur produit du Draguignan Union Club, Carla Leite intègre la Tony Parker Academy" [A pure product of the Draguignan Union Club, Carla Leite joins the Tony Parker Academy]. Var-Matin (in French) – via PressReader.com.
5. Collé, Morgane (19 March 2023). "Qui est Carla Leite, le talent brut de Tarbes Gespe Bigorre ?" [Who is Carla Leite, the raw talent of Tarbes Gespe Bigorre?]. BeBasket.fr (in French).
6. Guérineau, Julien (23 April 2023). "Le triplé pour Mondeville" [The hat-trick for Mondeville] (in French). French Federation of Basketball.
7. "Basket-ball: qui est la Varoise Carla Leite, élue meilleure jeune de la LFB avec Tarbes?" [Basketball: who is Varoise Carla Leite, elected best young person in the LFB with Tarbes?]. Nice-Matin (in French). 17 June 2023.
8. Perrot, Valentin (2 May 2023). "Carla Leite (Tarbes) élue meilleure jeune de la saison en LFB : " Je m'étais fixée l'objectif de gagner ce trophée "" [Carla Leite (Tarbes) voted best young person of the season in LFB: “I set myself the goal of winning this trophy”]. BasketEurope.com (in French).
9. Freedman, Pete (April 15, 2024). "Wings bolster backcourt, choose guards Jacy Sheldon and Carla Leite with Nos. 5 and 9 picks in WNBA Draft". WFAA.
10. "Découvrez le palmarès des Trophées LFB 2024" [Discover the winners of the 2024 LFB Trophies] (in French). French Federation of Basketball. 11 April 2024.
11. "Officiel : Carla Leite a signé à Villeneuve d'Ascq". BasketEurope.com (in French). 2024-06-13. Retrieved 2024-10-02.
12. "Carla Leite, ce sera les classes à Dallas" [Carla Leite, it will be classes in Dallas]. La Dépêche du Midi (in French). 17 April 2024.
13. Feinberg, Doug (May 14, 2024). "Kate Martin one of four second round WNBA draft picks to make opening day rosters". WICS. Associated Press.
14. Henderson, Cydney; Horrow, Ellen J. (December 6, 2024). "WNBA expansion draft live updates: Golden State Valkyries pick their players for 2025". USA Today. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
15. "French leader Leite claims MVP crown to headline All-Star Five". FIBA. 6 August 2023.
16. "Podium chasers France have plenty of star power in exciting squad list". www.fiba.basketball. 2024-05-16. Retrieved 2024-10-02.
17. "Jeux Olympiques : La France avec l'ex-pivot tarbaise Malonga, sans Leite ni Foppossi". nrpyrenees.fr (in French). Retrieved 2024-10-02.