# Mwadi Mabika

Mwadi Mabika (born July 27, 1976) is a Congolese-American former basketball player. She was an All-Star in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).

## Career
### National and club career in Zaire/DRC

Mabika represented Zaire at the 1996 Summer Olympics.
She won a silver medal with the Democratic Republic of the Congo at the 2003 All-Africa Games.
In December 2005, she again represent the DR Congo's women's national basketball team - known as Simba Ladies - at the 2005 FIBA Africa Championship for Women.
For six seasons prior to joining the WNBA, Mabika played for the Tourbillon club in Kinshasa.

### WNBA

Mabika was brought to the United States by NBA star and fellow Zairean Dikembe Mutombo, who personally appealed to the government officials in Zaire for permission to bring her to the U.S.
She played for the Los Angeles Sparks during the WNBA's inaugural season in 1997. Her debut game was played on June 21, 1997 in a 57 - 67 loss to the New York Liberty where she recorded 8 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 steals. In her rookie season, Mabika played in 21 of the team's 28 games, averaging 6.0 points and 2.6 rebounds while the Sparks finished with a 14 - 14 record and missed the playoffs.
After her rookie year, Mabika would become the flagship starting guard for the Sparks for the next ten years. From 1998 - 2006, she started in 90% of the games she played for the Sparks (269 out of 298 games) and averaged 11.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.5 assists while playing 27.8 minutes per game throughout that 10-year span. Mabika had the most successful years of her career from 2000 to 2002, being selected as an all-star in 2000 and 2002, and winning consecutive championships with the Sparks in 2001 and 2002.
After 11 seasons playing with the Sparks, Mabika signed a free agent contract with the Houston Comets on February 20, 2008. She expressed great interest in signing with the team, stating "I can't wait. I've played with the same team for 11 years and now to have a new opportunity with a new team is exciting. Starting from training camp, I want to offer my leadership experience and the mental toughness that I know teams need to be successful."
Her season with the Comets would coincidentally not only be Mabika's final season in the league, it would also be the Comets' final season as a franchise as the team ceased operations after the 2008 season. She played in 20 of the team's 34 games and averaged 4.6 points and 1.9 rebounds. The Comets finished the season 17 - 17 and missed the playoffs. Her final WNBA game ever was also the Comets' final game as a franchise. This game would be played on September 15, 2008 with the Comets defeating the Sacramento Monarchs 90 - 81.

## Personal life

Mabika studied biology and chemistry at the Massamba School in Kinshasa.
Mabika became a U.S. citizen in 2011. in 2011 she gave birth to a baby girl named Heliana.

## Career statistics
### Regular season

| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
| 1997 | Los Angeles | 21 | 1 | 15.5 | .390 | .184 | .542 | 2.6 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 1.3 | 6.0 |
| 1998 | Los Angeles | 29 | 23 | 24.5 | .339 | .308 | .698 | 4.4 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 1.3 | 8.2 |
| 1999 | Los Angeles | 32 | 28 | 29.3 | .372 | .281 | .718 | 4.8 | 3.5 | 1.4 | 0.5 | 1.8 | 10.8 |
| 2000 | Los Angeles | 32 | 32 | 29.4 | .388 | .384 | .820 | 5.6 | 3.1 | 1.8 | 0.6 | 1.6 | 12.3 |
| 2001$^†$ | Los Angeles | 28 | 24 | 29.6 | .387 | .382 | .861 | 4.6 | 3.1 | 1.4 | 0.4 | 1.6 | 11.2 |
| 2002$^†$ | Los Angeles | 32 | 32 | 32.8 | .423 | .366 | .839 | 5.2 | 2.9 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 1.9 | 16.8 |
| 2003 | Los Angeles | 32 | 30 | 32.6 | .407 | .264 | .866 | 4.4 | 2.6 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 2.3 | 13.8 |
| 2004 | Los Angeles | 31 | 31 | 31.1 | .415 | .404 | .824 | 3.9 | 2.4 | 1.2 | 0.1 | 1.6 | 14.4 |
| 2005 | Los Angeles | 17 | 14 | 21.6 | .320 | .224 | .500 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 0.9 | 0.0 | 0.8 | 5.8 |
| 2006 | Los Angeles | 32 | 32 | 21.2 | .377 | .333 | .889 | 2.0 | 1.5 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 1.2 | 8.5 |
| 2007 | Los Angeles | 33 | 23 | 23.1 | .364 | .310 | .754 | 3.8 | 2.2 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 2.2 | 8.1 |
| 2008 | Houston | 20 | 11 | 16.4 | .303 | .274 | .714 | 1.9 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 4.6 |
| Career | 12 years, 2 teams | 339 | 281 | 26.3 | .385 | .327 | .799 | 3.9 | 2.3 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 1.6 | 10.5 |

### Playoffs

| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
| 1999 | Los Angeles | 4 | 4 | 31.8 | .378 | .176 | .000 | 4.5 | 2.8 | 3.3 | 0.3 | 2.5 | 9.3 |
| 2000 | Los Angeles | 4 | 4 | 34.0 | .543 | .531 | .750 | 5.3 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 17.5 |
| 2001$^†$ | Los Angeles | 7 | 7 | 33.0 | .318 | .250 | .786 | 6.6 | 2.4 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 1.4 | 9.0 |
| 2002$^†$ | Los Angeles | 6 | 6 | 35.3 | .378 | .320 | .692 | 6.8 | 4.2 | 1.3 | 0.2 | 1.7 | 14.7 |
| 2003 | Los Angeles | 9 | 9 | 38.2 | .438 | .353 | .846 | 5.6 | 2.3 | 1.6 | 0.2 | 2.2 | 14.3 |
| 2004 | Los Angeles | 3 | 3 | 35.7 | .370 | .350 | .938 | 2.7 | 3.3 | 2.3 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 18.7 |
| 2005 | Los Angeles | 1 | 1 | 11.0 | .250 | .000 | .000 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| 2006 | Los Angeles | 5 | 4 | 28.0 | .388 | .433 | .706 | 4.0 | 2.0 | 1.4 | 0.0 | 1.6 | 15.4 |
| Career | 8 years, 1 team | 39 | 38 | 33.5 | .400 | .350 | .769 | 5.2 | 2.5 | 1.6 | 0.4 | 1.8 | 13.4 |