The FIBA World Cup in Berlin was a big tournament for Portland Fire players. Carla Leite made it to the final with France. Frieda Bühner, Luisa Geiselsöder, and the German national team upset Belgium in the quarterfinals. Megan DiLeo won bronze with Spain, and Amy Okonkwo played for the Nigerian national team.
It also offered the franchise a glimpse at an exciting future. Iyana Martin, their first-ever draft pick, put together an impressive tournament. Portland drafted the 20-year-old Spaniard seventh overall in this year’s draft, but she wasn’t quite ready to come to the WNBA yet. So, the biggest question about her was when she would be ready to contribute to the Fire.
Martin’s World Cup run left little doubt about her ability to compete with the best players in the world and make an immediate impact once she joins the Fire in the WNBA.
Iyana Martin played well for Spain
Martin finished the tournament fourth in points per game with 17.5 over six games and second in total points scored behind Gabby Williams. They were the only two players to crack the 100-point mark. Martin got her points efficiently, too. She shot 63.6% inside the arc and 45.5% from 3-point range. Moreover, she finished tenth in assists per game and fifth in steals per game.
Martin’s most productive game was a 22-point performance in the bronze medal game, as she led Spain to a big win over Germany. She also added 4 rebounds, 9 assists, and 2 steals.
She also played well in the semifinals against the USA, recording 17 points on 5-8 shooting, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals.
After facing Germany twice and the U.S. and Australia once each, Martin played against plenty of WNBA players on one of the biggest stages in the world. If she can do that, she should also find her footing in the W fairly quickly.
Carla Leite and Iyana Martin should give the Fire a fun guard duo
The Fire already have a young guard who is gradually growing into a star. After playing just 17 minutes per game off the Valkyries’ bench last season, Leite has become a full-time starter with the Fire and emerged as the team’s most productive player.
Leite is also just 22 years old. Between her and Martin, the Fire have two very promising young guards to develop and build around. There may be some questions defensively, but Leite and Martin could be an electric offensive combo—whether next to each other or with Martin backing up Leite off the bench—from day one.
The Fire will also get a pretty high pick in next year’s draft and will have a chance to add a strong wing or maybe even a young big to their core.
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