 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 11, 1962 (1962-03-11) (age 63) Osvaldo Cruz,São Paulo, Brazil |
| Listed height | 174 cm (5 ft 9 in) |
| Listed weight | 60 kg (132 lb) |
| Women's Basketball Hall of Fame | |
| FIBA Hall of Fame | |
Maria Paula Gonçalves da Silva (born March 11, 1962, inOsvaldo Cruz,São Paulo), nicknamed "Magic Paula", is a retired Brazilianwomen's basketball player. She is considered one of the greatest players in her country, along withHortência Marcari andJaneth Arcain. ForBrazil women's national basketball team, Paula is the second biggest scorer, with 723 points (behind Hortência) and holds the record for caps with 45 games, being in twoOlympic Games and sixWorld Championships.
Paula became a member of theWomen's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006[1] and of theFIBA Hall of Fame in 2013.
Paula begun playing basketball at the age of ten, and in 1974, was invited to joinAssis Tênis Clube. One year and a half later, the team folded and Paula went toJundiaí to play for Colégio Divino Salvador, and a few months later, was drafted for the first time by the national team despite being only fourteen. In 1988, Paula went to play inSpain, but an injured knee and difficulties of adaptation brought her back to Brazil in 1991.
In 1979, she helped her team to a fourth place at thePan American Games, held inPuerto Rico. During the1983 World Championship hosted by Brazil, reporter Juarez Araújo compared Paula's play toMagic Johnson, leading to her long-lasting nickname of "Magic Paula".[2] That same year, Paula and the national team improved their previous Pan American performance by winning a bronze medal at theVenezuela games, and, in 1987, went yet one more step further by winning a silver medal at the 1987Indianapolis Pan Americans. In 1991, Paula and the Brazilian women's national basketball team won the gold medal at that year's Pan American tournament, held inCuba, being the player which most impressed Cuban presidentFidel Castro.
In 1992, Paula helped her team qualify for theOlympic Games for the first time. Brazil finished in seventh place at theBarcelona Olympics.
In 1993, Paula went toAssociação Atlética Ponte Preta, where she played along withHortência and won the World Championship for clubs. After discussions with Hortência, Paula returned toPiracicaba.
In 1994, Paula won the women's world basketball championship inAustralia, making Brazil the only country other than theSoviet Union or theUnited States to win the title (Australia became the fourth in 2006), and was named the most valuable player of that tournament. In 1996, she won a silver medal at theAtlanta Olympics, and retired from the national team after winning the 1997FIBA Americas Championship for Women. She still played for clubs before retiring in 2000.
After retirement, Paula became an entrepreneur, director of the Centro Olímpico do Ibirapuera, and worked for a while in the Brazilian Ministry of Sports. She also commentated the basketball tournaments of the2011 Pan American Games and2012 Summer Olympics forRede Record,[3] theNBA playoffs andAll-Star Game forSpace in 2014 and 2015,[4] and the2016 Summer Olympics forESPN Brasil.[5]
 | ||
| ||
