Matilde Villa is a professional basketball player from Italy, currently playing for Umana Reyer Venezia in the Lega Basket Femminile. In the 2024 WNBA draft, she was selected by the Atlanta Dream as the 32nd overall pick.
Matilde Villa was born on December 9, 2004, in Lissone, Carate Brianza, Lombardy, Italy. At the age of 6 she began playing mini-basketball in a local team, in which her older brother Edoardo was already playing, together with her twin sister Eleonora.
Matilde Villa grew up in the youth team of Costa Masnaga, still sharing the parquet with her sister Eleonora. She made her debut in the first team at just 14 years old on October 6, 2019, in the 83 to 77 defeat against Vigarano valid as the first day of the 2019-2020 Serie A1, playing 7 minutes. She concluded her first professional season in the top division, which ended prematurely due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with averages of 8.4 ppg, 2.5 rpg and 2 apg, and scored her season highs of points and rebounds (21 and 7 respectively) on February 16, 2020 in the home match won against Virtus Bologna.
She came to the attention of the general public and the media on November 28, 2020, thanks to her great performance in the match won 76 to 57 against Dinamo Sassari, where she scored 36 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists despite not yet having turned 16. She concluded the 2020/21 season with an average of 15.4 points (8th overall, ahead of the Italians), 4.6 rebounds and 5 assists per game and was eliminated in the quarter-finals of the play-offs.
Since 2022, Matilde Villa has been a member of Umana Reyer Venezia in Venice, Italy. During the 2023–2024 season, she topped the Italian Serie A with an average of 10 ppg, 2.6 rpg, and 3 apg. Her shooting statistics include a 52% success rate from two-point range, 36% from beyond the arc, and 78% from the free throw line.
In the 2024 WNBA draft, she was chosen in the third round as the 32nd overall pick by the Atlanta Dream. This made her the fourth Italian player to be drafted into the WNBA, joining her compatriot Lorela Cubaj on the team. Matilde Villa opted to remain overseas for the 2024 WNBA season.
At the 2023 FIBA U20 Women’s European Championship, Matilde Villa was recognized as a standout player by FIBA. She achieved an impressive average of 18.9 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 4.9 apg, and 2.6 spg.
Matilde Villa photos
