Awak Sabit Bior Kuier (born 19 August 2001)[ Kuier Awak Sabit Bior, legabasketfemminile.it][ Awak Kuier teki sopimuksen uuteen italialaisseuraan: "Halusin kovempaan liigaan", Yle, Ossi Saarinen, 12 June 2022] She competes internationally for the Finnish national team. Selected by the Wings with the second overall pick in the 2021 WNBA draft, she was the second Finnish player in the history of the league after Taru Tuukkanen to be drafted, and she became the first Finnish player to play in the WNBA in May 2021.
Career
Peli-Karhut (2016–2017)
Growing up in the city of
Kotka, Kuier was discovered for basketball by a neighbour at age 10, when she stood already 180 cm tall. The man contacted Mikko Kokkola, who was coaching basketball at the local , and Kokkola invited her to practice.
Kuier joined the club. She was named the U16-league Player of the Season in 2015–16. She debuted in top-tier Naisten Korisliiga with PeKa first team in the 2016–17 season.
[ Awak Kuier, basketi.fi] At the age of 14, a video of her dunking went viral online.
HBA-Märsky (2017–2020)
In 2017, at the age of 16, she joined the Helsinki Basketball Academy team HBA-Märsky.
Kuier played in Naisten Korisliiga with HBA team, and was named the Most Improved Player in the league in 2019. She was also named the league's Player of the Month in January 2020.
[ HBA-Märskyn Awak Kuier on Naisten Korisliigan tammikuun pelaaja, basket.fi, 5 February 2020]
Virtus Eirene Ragusa (2020–2022)
She then later declined offers from American universities to sign a professional contract with Lega Basket Femminile (LBF) team (Passalacqua Ragusa) in 2020.
Dallas Wings (2021–2023)
Selected 2nd overall in the 2021 WNBA draft by the Dallas Wings, she was the first non-American player since Australia's
Liz Cambage in 2011 to be selected in the first five picks of the draft.
After missing the first few games of the 2021 season, she made her debut for the Wings on 27 May 2021, scoring a point, a rebound, and an assist in seven minutes of game time in a 101–95 loss to the Atlanta Dream.
In addition to her speed and resilience, Kuier's features also include an exceptionally large wingspan of about seven feet.
[ YLE: Awak Kuierin poikkeuksellinen ominaisuus herättää ihastusta amerikkalaislapsissa – suomalaista ylistetään Dallasissa, vaikka kausi on ollut haastava (in Finnish)] On 10 June 2022, in a game against the
Seattle Storm, Kuier became the 8th woman in WNBA history to dunk a basketball.
On 22 January 2024, Kuier announced that she would skip the 2024 WNBA season.[ Awak Kuier voi joutua tekemään pian kovan ratkaisun WNBA:sta – Suomen uusi päävalmentaja näkee tilanteessa hyvääkin, Yle, 6 November 2023][ Mitä tapahtui kohutun ja hehkutetun Awak Kuierin WNBA-unelmalle? – ”Läpilyönnin tekeminen Amerikassa vaikeaa jatkossakin”, Apu, apu.fi, 6 May 2024] Kuier has stated that her dream is to compete in the EuroLeague Women.
Reyer Venezia (2022–2025)
Since June 2022, Kuier has also played for Italian team Reyer Venezia during winter seasons in Europe, competing in Lega Basket Femminile and
EuroCup Women.
In May 2024, Kuier helped Reyer Venezia to win the Italian championship title. She was also named the Finals MVP with her 24-point performance in the decisive third final match.[ Ilmiömäinen Awak Kuier johdatti Venezian koripallomestaruuteen – suomalaistähti palkittiin finaalisarjan parhaana, Yle, 22 May 2024] The team also advanced to the semi-finals of the EuroCup. In July 2024, Kuier extended her contract with Venezia.[ Awak Kuier jatkosopimukseen mestariseuran kanssa, Yle, 4 July 2024][ KUIER RINNOVA IL CONTRATTO CON L’UMANA REYER, reyer.it, 3 July 2024][ Italian finaalien MVP Awak Kuier jatkosopimukseen Reyer Venezian kanssa, basket.fi, 3 July 2024] In September, she was named the Best Foreign Player in the Italian league.[ Awak Kuierille merkittävä kunnianosoitus, mtvuutiset.fi, MTV Oy, 16 September 2024]
On 10 October 2024, Kuier made her debut in the EuroLeague Women for Venezia, recording 14 points, six rebounds, three assists and two blocks in an 80–59 win over Hungarian UNI Győr.[ Awak Kuier häikäisi Euroliiga-debyytissään, basket.fi, 11 October 2024][ Awak Kuier ja Reyer Venezia jatkavat voittojen tiellä Euroliigassa, basket.fi, 18 October 2024]
Galatasaray (2025–)
On June 4, 2025, she signed with Galatasaray of the Turkish Women's Basketball Super League (TKBL).
International career
She represented Finland at the 2019 U18 B FIBA Women's European Championship tournament, winning the championship and being named tournament MVP. She was then named to the All-Star Five at the 2019 U20 B FIBA Women's European Championship, helping Finland to a second-place finish. Since 2019, she has represented Finland senior national team.
[ Awak Kuier profile, FIBA]
WNBA career statistics
Regular season
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2021
| style="text-align:left;"|
Dallas Wings
| 16 || 0 || 8.9 || .308 || .167 ||
.786 || 2.4 || 0.6 || 0.3 || 0.8 || 1.0 || 2.4
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2022
| style="text-align:left;"| Dallas
| 33 || 0 ||
12.6 || .395 ||
.190 || .613 ||
2.5 ||
0.9 ||
0.4 ||
0.9 ||
0.6 ||
2.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2023
| style="text-align:left;"| Dallas
|
37 ||
4 || 10.8 ||
.396 || .087 || .778 ||
2.5 || 0.5 || 0.2 || 0.6 ||
0.6 || 2.6
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| Career
| style="text-align:left;"| 3 years, 1 team
| 86 || 4 || 11.1 || .380 || .145 || .708 || 2.5 || 0.7 || 0.3 || 0.8 || 0.7 || 2.6
Postseason
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2021
| style="text-align:left;"| Dallas
| 1 || 0 || 8.0 || .000 || — || — ||
3.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 1.0 || 0.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2022
| style="text-align:left;"| Dallas
| 3 || 0 || 5.0 || .000 || .000 || — || 1.7 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.7 ||
0.0 || 0.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2023
| style="text-align:left;"| Dallas
|
5 || 0 ||
10.4 ||
.643 ||
.286 || .000 || 1.4 ||
0.2 ||
0.6 ||
0.8 || 0.8 ||
4.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| Career
| style="text-align:left;"| 3 years, 1 team
| 9 || 0 || 8.3 || .500 || .200 || .000 || 1.7 || 0.1 || 0.3 || 0.7 || 0.6 || 2.2
Career statistics
EuroLeague
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2024–25
| style="text-align:left;"| Umana Reyer Venezia
|
2 || ||
30.1 ||
.522 ||
.273 ||
.333 ||
5.0 ||
2.5 ||
1.5 ||
1.5 ||
2.5 ||
14.0
|-
EuroCup
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2022–23
| style="text-align:left;"| Umana Reyer Venezia
|
14 || ||
27.4 ||
.508 ||
.333 || .605 ||
5.1 ||
1.9 ||
1.1 ||
1.5 ||
2.4 ||
12.4
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2023–24
| style="text-align:left;"| Umana Reyer Venezia
| 12 || || 21.5 || .400 || .222 ||
.737 || 4.4 || 1.7 || .8 ||
1.5 || 1.5 || 8.7
Personal life
She was born in
Cairo,
Egypt and is of
origin.
She moved to
Finland as a refugee with her family when she was two years old,
first settling in the city of
Kotka.
[ Kotkalaislähtöinen Awak Kuier varattiin WNBA:han historiallisesti toisella varausvuorolla – Tie vie nyt Dallasiin – Kymen Sanomat (in Finnish)] Today, her family has settled in the coastal town of
Uusikaupunki and she holds dual Finnish and Egyptian citizenship.
[ YLE: Sudanilaislähtöinen Kuierin perhe teki kaikkensa tyttären koripallouran eteen – varaus huippusarjaan herkisti ylpeät vanhemmat ja pyyhki vaikeat ajat mielestä (in Finnish)] She speaks Italian, Arabic, Finnish, and English.
Kuier has four older brothers and her parents are Jehovah's Witnesses.
Kuier and her family are close friends with Federiko Federiko and his family, who share a similar background.
[ Painajainen vaatekaupan myyjälle – Federiko Federikon kehossa on piirre, joka on todellinen harvinaisuus, Iltalehti, 4 August 2023][ ”Äiti pakotti lopettamaan jalkapallon” – Susijengissä kasvaa uusi tähtipelaaja, Helsingin Sanomat, 22 May 2023]
External links
