Svetlana Abrosimova

Svetlana Olegovna Abrosimova (Russian: Светлана Олеговна Абросимова, born 9 July 1980) is a Russian basketball player who has played in college, the Olympics, and in professional leagues. She most recently played for the Seattle Storm in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She is usually called by her nickname, "Svet" or "Sveta".

Svetlana Abrosimova

Abrosimova in 2012
Personal information
Born	(1980-07-09) 9 July 1980 Leningrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Nationality	Russian
Listed height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Listed weight	169 lb (77 kg)
Career information
College	UConn (1997–2001)
WNBA draft	2001: 1st round, 7th overall pick
Selected by the Minnesota Lynx
Position	Small forward
Career history
2001–2007	Minnesota Lynx
2008	Connecticut Sun
2010, 2012	Seattle Storm
Career highlights and awards
WNBA champion (2010) Russian Player of the Year (2009) NCAA champion (2000) First-team All-American – AP (2000) 2x Second-team All-American – AP (1999, 2001) 3x Kodak All-American (1999–2001) 3x All-American – USBWA (1999–2001) Big East Player of the Year (1999) 3x First-team All-Big East (1999–2001) Big East All-Freshman Team (1998)
Stats at WNBA.com
Stats at Basketball Reference
Medals Representing Russia Women's Basketball Olympic Games 2008 Beijing Team Competition World Championships 1998 Germany Team 2006 Brazil Team European Championships 1999 Poland Team 2005 Turkey Team 2007 Italy Team 2009 Latvia Team 2011 Poland Team

Abrosimova was born in Leningrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union (today St. Petersburg, Russia), to Oleg and Ludmilla Abrosimov. Her father Oleg works as a welder in a shipyard and her older sister, Tatiana, was a professional ballroom dancer. While attending school she was trained for the then Soviet Olympic team. She was named the MVP of the 1996 European Basketball Championship (also known as Eurobasket), averaging 18 points, six rebounds and three assists per game. She was also a member of all-star teams that won the 1995 and 1996 European Championship.

Abrosimova was a member of the Russian national basketball team that placed sixth at the 2000 Summer Olympics and won a silver medal in the 1998 Basketball World Championship.

College

In her freshman season (1997-1998) at the University of Connecticut, Abrosimova's team went 28–2 in the regular season, losing only to Tennessee and Rutgers. The team went on to win the Big East tournament, avenging the loss to Rutgers by beating Rutgers in the tournament championship. The team won their first three NCAA games, but Abrosimova was injured in the regional final against NC State, and the team lost, ending their season.

After a standout collegiate career, which included an NCAA national collegiate title in 2000, Abrosimova was selected in the first round (seventh overall pick) by the Minnesota Lynx during the 2001 WNBA draft despite a foot injury. She was a 3-time Kodak first team All-American while at UConn. Svetlana was a member of the inaugural class (2006) of inductees to the University of Connecticut women's basketball "Huskies of Honor" recognition program. She was unable to attend the ceremony in 2006 to honor her. However, UConn inducted the 2001–02 team into the Huskies of Honor on 29 December 2011. Abrosimova was a graduate assistant on that team so was invited to the ceremonies. She flew in from Russia to be part of the ceremony, and the school reprised her 2006 induction, covering up the plaque with her player number (25), then unveiling it as she was introduced.

International

While still a junior in college, Abrosimova played for her native Russian Olympic team at the 2000 Summer Olympics, where her team finished sixth. She won a bronze medal at the 2008 Olympics.

Professional

Like many other WNBA players, Abrosimova has played in various professional teams and leagues during the offseason. Following the Olympics, she was signed by the WNBA's Connecticut Sun for the remainder of the 2008 season.

She played for Ekaterinburg in her native Russia during the 2008–09 WNBA off-season.

Abrosimova helped the Seattle Storm win their second championship in 2010.

WNBA career statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game	RPG	Rebounds per game
APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game	BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game
TO	Turnovers per game	FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
Bold	Career best	°	League leader

†	Denotes seasons in which Abrosimova won a WNBA championship

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	TO	PPG
2001	Minnesota	26	23	32.5	.391	.260	.727	6.7	2.0	1.6	0.3	3.3	13.3
2002	Minnesota	27	27	29.8	.377	.333	.483	5.4	2.2	1.6	0.4	3.4	11.6
2003	Minnesota	30	25	26.4	.393	.305	.704	4.7	2.7	1.5	0.4	3.0	10.6
2004	Minnesota	22	11	21.0	.353	.377	.609	3.4	2.0	1.4	0.1	2.0	6.6
2005	Minnesota	31	31	25.1	.395	.402	.726	3.5	1.9	1.5	0.2	2.6	9.8
2006	Minnesota	34	2	21.2	.411	.369	.661	3.1	1.6	1.0	0.0	1.8	7.7
2007	Minnesota	34	29	24.8	.443	.446	.837	4.4	2.5	1.3	0.1	2.0	10.1
2008	Connecticut	6	0	17.8	.306	.167	.833	3.3	2.0	1.3	0.0	1.8	5.7
2010†	Seattle	34	1	20.2	.415	.376	.568	3.1	2.0	1.2	0.1	1.8	7.6
2012	Seattle	19	4	17.3	.347	.222	.458	2.9	1.6	1.1	0.2	2.1	4.6
Career	10 years, 3 teams	263	153	24.2	.396	.351	.654	4.1	2.1	1.3	0.2	2.4	9.2

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	TO	PPG
2003	Minnesota	3	3	23.0	.273	.429	1.000	1.7	1.3	1.3	0.3	2.7	7.7
2004	Minnesota	2	2	33.5	.348	.250	.500	4.5	1.5	0.5	1.0	1.5	10.0
2008	Connecticut	3	2	21.0	.458	.000	.500	3.7	1.3	1.3	0.0	1.0	8.0
2010†	Seattle	7	0	15.1	.387	.375	.556	1.7	0.9	0.3	0.1	1.9	5.0
2012	Seattle	2	0	3.5	.500	.000	.000	1.5	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.0
Career	5 years, 3 teams	17	7	18.4	.373	.306	.680	2.4	1.0	0.6	0.2	1.6	6.1

UConn statistics

Svetlana Abrosimova Statistics at University of Connecticut
Year	G	FG	FGA	PCT	3FG	3FGA	PCT	FT	FTA	PCT	REB	AVG	A	TO	B	S	MIN	PTS	AVG
1997–98	37	191	372	0.513	34	80	0.425	122	184	0.663	235	5.4	114	158	7	90	972	538	14.5
1998–99	34	204	425	0.480	38	101	0.376	118	186	0.634	226	6.6	127	132	6	91	888	564	16.6
1999-00	37	181	369	0.491	43	108	0.398	91	122	0.746	229	6.2	154	105	8	64	1051	496	13.4
2000–01	19	100	186	0.538	26	58	0.448	41	58	0.707	124	6.5	78	33	0	54	466	267	14.1
Totals	127	676	1352	0.5	141	347	0.406	372	550	0.676	814	6.4	473	428	21	299	3377	1865	14.7

Off the court

Personal life

In 2017, Svetlana gave birth to twin girls, Maria Vladimirovna and Margarita Vladimirovna, fathered by Russian journalist and propagandist Vladimir Solovyov.

See also

• Connecticut Huskies women's basketball
• List of Connecticut women's basketball players with 1000 points

External links

• WNBA player profile
• Svetlana Abrosimova WNBA stats
• Svetlana Abrosimova Fan discussion group
• Svetlana Abrosimova University of Connecticut player profile
• Vladimir Solovyovs' American secret (Американский секрет Владимира Соловьева)