Dominique Malonga balances WNBA life with a computer science bachelor’s, injury recovery, Unrivaled play, and a renewed mindset.
A WNBA star is proving that the best “next play” might be the one happening off the court, too.. Dominique Malonga. a center for the Seattle Storm. is spending her days doing what many fans only see in game highlights: building systems. routines. and skills.. And at the center of that longer game is her computer science degree—an ambition she’s pursuing with the same seriousness she brings to training.
Malonga’s focus isn’t just athletic.. At the apartment complex where many Seattle Storm players live. there’s a piano space nicknamed “Dom’s Room. ” and she’s been retreating there when practice and games leave her mind too full.. After workouts. after matches. and even after long weeks packed with both basketball and classes. she returns to piano to “reset and calm” herself.. She had learned piano as a child. relearned it years later. and—using what she found online—teaches herself pieces until she’s ready to be present again.
Her mainstream spotlight has still been driven by basketball.. Listed at 6-foot-6. the French center was drafted second overall by the Storm last year and entered the league as its youngest player at the time.. Her combination of size, mobility, and the ability to dunk drew attention immediately.. During her rookie season. she spent much of her time studying the game quietly from the sidelines and behind a roster full of veterans. then gradually became a bigger factor off the bench.. Over that period, she became the youngest player to post a double-double and reach 100 career points.
Still, basketball is only one part of how she defines progress.. While she’s learning the league. she’s also building a path that extends beyond it. including a bachelor’s degree in computer science.. She is enrolled at Southern New Hampshire University. an online program. and she expects it will take five or six years to complete.. Rather than treating school as an afterthought. she chose it to fit her lifestyle—effectively making sure the degree could grow alongside a professional sports schedule.
During the off-season, Malonga’s training and recovery have been shaped by a series of demanding turns.. In October, she underwent wrist surgery and spent time working through both physical and mental recovery.. She described that period as the first real stretch in years where she felt she had time for herself.. From there, she moved through a fast sequence of competing opportunities and travel.
She spent the first two months of this year in Miami playing in Unrivaled, a 3-on-3 league.. Then she returned home to France to take part in the FIBA World Cup Qualifying Tournament.. In that tournament, she suffered a concussion two games in, which sent her back into recovery mode.. After that, she used the rest of her time off to be with family in France.
At home, Malonga’s routine isn’t only about workouts and tournaments.. She’s part of a family that has long been connected to basketball. and she also keeps her competitive energy alive through card games—something she says her father is especially into.. In their household. even casual games like Skyjo can turn into small tournaments. reinforcing the idea that preparation and focus aren’t reserved solely for practice.
When it comes to her decision to pursue a degree, Malonga’s timing reflects the realities of eligibility and opportunity.. Domestic WNBA players do not strictly need a degree to go pro. but they are required to be 22 and to have exhausted their college eligibility.. That often pushes many players toward earning a degree during that time window.. International players like Malonga, by contrast, only need to turn 20 in their draft year.. Because she began playing professionally in the Ligue Féminine de Basketball with ASVEL Féminin and also represented the French national team at age 16. her calendar has been crowded for years. and choosing to complete her bachelor’s now is something she says she can decide for herself.
Her interest in computer science is also practical and forward-looking.. She excelled in math and science as a student, and adding tech felt current.. She has also pointed to uncertainty about what the world will look like in the next five or 10 years. and she wants the ability to navigate that shift as she transitions out of basketball while still leaving a mark beyond the court.. For her, the tech path isn’t just education—it’s preparation for life after the sport.
Her next step includes building toward a goal she hasn’t fully defined yet.. She says her ultimate aim is to create an app—“any type of app”—even if she hasn’t locked in the concept or whether it will connect back to sports.. For now, she’s focused on finishing the degree and finding a rhythm with studying.. Early in the program, she said she had only been in class for about six weeks.. With assignments due every Sunday. her plan is to start her weekly modules on Wednesdays. though she admits that with the demands of a professional schedule. she sometimes ends up finishing assignments late on Sunday night.
The subject matter has also turned out to be more demanding than she expected.. In her current coursework, she’s studying digital community and learning how to navigate online spaces.. She describes reading many articles. using resources. and writing responses—while also wishing she had more immediate “math” built into the work.. Still. she finds value in the way the assignments connect to her lived experience. especially when topics align with how she already approaches challenges.
She says that growth mindset, overcoming setbacks, and setting goals are concepts she practices daily.. Because of that, the coursework can feel familiar rather than distant.. In a way. her athletics and her studies are starting to mirror one another: the same drive that helps her manage pressure in games also helps her engage with school material that asks her to reflect on how she moves forward.
Her off-season preparation has also included a return to what fans most associate with her highlight reel: dunking.. She did it for the first time in a game in the U.S.. during Unrivaled on January 24, then added two more dunks that season.. She expects to bring that rare women’s basketball skill into her WNBA season as well. describing the move as something that has become more natural in her game—no longer requiring the same level of effort as before.
Malonga links the change not only to the skill itself but to strength gains.. She says she feels stronger and can tell the difference since she arrived in the States.. She has been “living in the gym. ” and her work has focused heavily on her core and building muscle mass across her body.. For a post player, that matters because she is routinely facing the league’s most physical opponents.. Her plan was to match up with those players first, and then build outward into other refinements.
She’s also paying closer attention to the technology used to track performance.. Her computer science study has sparked more curiosity about how the Storm uses data. and she has even bought an Oura Ring to analyze elements of that process herself.. She isn’t only interested in the measurements the device provides. but also in the software behind how those insights are produced.
The off-season games in Unrivaled have contributed in a different way, too.. She says her first season there improved her speed and conditioning. noting that full-court 3-on-3 is played at a quicker pace than traditional 5-on-5.. With more space and a different rhythm. she says she had greater freedom to experiment on the court. try more things. and express her skill set.
For Malonga, the biggest shift may be mindset.. Her off-season came with a pattern of injury and recovery in close succession. and she says that experience taught her not to assume things will always follow the plan in her head.. She has learned to find ways to make progress even when circumstances change. framing it as a guiding principle that shaped how she approached everything afterward.
That mindset ties back to the way she approached her first arrival in the States as a rookie.. Instead of pushing immediate expectations, she chose to take time to acclimate to an entirely new country and organization.. She describes that transition as fundamentally different. and she says that if someone isn’t comfortable internally. they won’t perform at their best on the court.. In her case. trusting the process also meant trusting the Storm coaching staff to put her where she needed to be while she learned. listened. and prioritized the team’s needs.
The people around her also mattered.. She says she feels lucky to have had a group of experienced teammates. including Nneka Ogwumike. Skylar Diggins. and fellow French national team member Gabby Williams.. With that leadership already in place, she didn’t feel forced to carry a team the way some rookies must.. Her playing time grew gradually, which she viewed as a steady and intentional transition rather than a sudden leap.
Looking ahead, the league’s shifting landscape adds urgency to her role.. This year’s free agency means those veteran figures are now wearing different jerseys. and Malonga says it is now her time to step up for a rookie class that includes star draft pick Flau’jae Johnson.. She appears ready to meet that moment with a positive attitude and a goal of bringing energy every day.
As the Storm moves into a new phase, Malonga describes her approach to leadership as something quieter than speeches.. Even on difficult days. she says teammates don’t know it’s a bad day. and she frames that consistency as natural.. She believes she doesn’t need to talk to lead; instead, she leads through the way she shows up.
Her definition of a successful season is team-first.. While she wants the Storm to win it all, she doesn’t want to reduce the year to personal checkboxes.. She says she focuses on impacting the team as much as possible, giving everything she has.. Much like her computer science app idea that doesn’t yet have a concept. her future piano pieces she hasn’t learned. or the dunks she believes are only beginning. her method stays the same: don’t project too far ahead.. Do the work in front of you. and trust that the rest will follow as she figures it out step by step.
For a player turning her ambition into a schedule—classes and assignments, recovery and training, study and sound practice—this is the point that stands out most. Dominique Malonga is not only playing a longer game. She’s learning how to live one.
Dominique Malonga Seattle Storm computer science degree WNBA off-season Unrivaled wrist surgery digital community