Érika Cristina de Souza (born 9 March 1982) is a Brazilian professional women's basketball player with the Chicago Sky of the WNBA in the United States.[1] Prior to joining the Dream for their inaugural 2008 season, DeSouza was a member of the Los Angeles Sparks in 2002, with whom she won the WNBA title despite not playing the 2002 finals. Leaving the WNBA thereafter, de Souza traveled to Spain, where she won the 2005–2006 MVP of the Spanish women's league while playing with UB-Barça. In 2007, she returned to the WNBA with the Connecticut Sun. With the Sun, she played in 32 games, with 2 starts.[1] With the Dream, de Souza has participated in two WNBA Finals and two All-Star Games.
Biography
Erika de Souza was born in Rio de Janeiro, and grew up in poverty, with a single mother and three sibling.[2] She began playing basketball at the age of 16, she also played volleyball, handball, and ran track. Her abilities led to a contract with a professional team from Osasco, where she met future teammate Izi Castro Marques.[3]
She signed her first pro contract in 2001 with a team in Spain who then helped her sign with the LA Sparks. Following that she won the championship with the Sparks, in which her idol Lisa Leslie played.[4] After she won the championship in 2002 she remodeled her mother's home.[5] In 2004 she made the Brazilian national team in the Athens Olympics. She decided to play in Spain for four seasons in Spain under Carme Lluveras 2004–2008.[6] Erika purchased a bakery in her home town of Rio de Janeiro for her family to have local income there. Erika's mother died in 2008 following a long battle with cancer.
In 2008 she was in the expansion draft to the Atlanta Dream. Erika has an uncanny rebounding ability, a physical presence in the paint, and leads the Dream in rebounds per game; almost half are offensive boards.[5] Erika fractured her lower leg May 27, 2008 against the Washington Mystics and was out for the rest of the basketball season, the record for the Dream that season without Erika was 4-30 and in 2009 when she returned their record was 18-16; biggest single-season turn around in WNBA league history and the Dream made the play offs for the first time.
On July 27, 2015, de Souza was traded to the Chicago Sky as part of a three-team deal.[7]
Erika is compared in her country to Dennis Rodman, given both are basketballers with multiple tattoos, piercings, and dyed hair.[4]
International competitions
A member of the Brazil women's national basketball team, DeSouza competed in two editions of the Olympic Games, 2004 and 2012 Summer Olympics, and four World Championships.[8] She was due to represent her country in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament where Brazil qualified for the 2008 Summer Olympics but missed it due to injury and was officially ruled out of playing in the Olympics on 29 July.[9]
She was a member of the team which competed for Brazil at the 2011 Pan American Games, winning a bronze medal.[10]
She is currently playing for Perfumerías Avenida Salamaca in Spain during the 2011-12 WNBA off-season.[11]
Awards and achievements
- 2002 WNBA Championship – 2002 WNBA Finals
- Atlanta's all-time leader in rebounds (1,034), blocked shots (171) and field goal percentage (.535)
- 2009 WNBA All-Star Selection
- 2009 Ranked first in WNBA in offensive rebounds (119) and total rebounds (309) … Ranked second in WNBA in rebounding percentage (9.1).
- 2010 Recorded a career high in rebounds (20) against Minnesota on July 14
- 2005 & 2006 Spanish MVP
References
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- East
- ATL
- CHI
- CON
- IND
- NY
- WAS
- West
- LA
- MIN
- PHO
- SA
- SEA
- TUL
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- Owner: Ron Terwilliger
- Kathy Betty
- Dream Too LLC
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