Uljana Semjonova
(Born 1952)
Hall of Fame Induction: 1993
Card Shown:
1993 Action Packed
Hall of Fame
Position: C
Height: 7’0″
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Uljana Semjonova was a seven-foot center and the most dominant women’s basketball player in the history of the game. In a career that spanned 18 years (from 1968-1986), Uljana played for the USSR women’s national team and never lost a game in international competition. She was known as a fierce competitor and was beloved in her home country of Latvia.
Awards and Honors
- Uljana led the USSR to two Olympic gold medals. They won in 1976 in Montreal and again in 1980 in Moscow.
- Semjonova led her team to the World Championship three times: Sao Paulo in 1971, Columbia in 1975, and Brazil in 1983.
- She was also a eleven-time European Champion including the following ten in a row: Italy in 1968, Netherlands in 1970, Bulgaria in 1972, Italy in 1974, France in 1976, Poland in 1978, Yugoslavia in 1980, Italy in 1981, Hungary in 1983, and Italy in 1985.
- Uljana led her club team, TTT Riga, to fifteen Soviet National Championships.
- Semjonova collected an incredible 45 medals during her eighteen-year basketball career.
Points of Interest
- In the fifteen years from 1970-1985, Uljana was voted the most popular athlete in her home country of Latvia twelve times.
- After playing for her Soviet club team, TTT Riga, for the majority of her career, Semjonova also played for Tintoretto (a Spanish club team) and Orchsi (a French club team).
- Uljana scored over 15,000 points during her illustrious career. In 1975 she scored a career-high 54 points against GEAS of Italy.
- Semjonova became the first international women inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame when she was enshrined in 1993.
- Uljana was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 1999 and the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2007.