President William Ruto and First Lady Rachel Ruto watched Kenyan basketball star Madina Okot help Atlanta Dream defeat New York Liberty 83-65 in their final WNBA regular-season match.
The Kenyan First Family attended Wednesday night’s game at Barclays Center in Brooklyn to support the 22-year-old centre, who is completing her rookie season in the world’s leading women’s basketball league.
Okot entered the game from the bench and finished with two points and two rebounds in just over three minutes on the court.
She capped her appearance by collecting an offensive rebound and scoring a lay-up with 37 seconds remaining, giving Atlanta an 83-63 lead before New York scored the final two points.
The victory secured the No. 4 playoff seed for Atlanta, which ended its regular season with a 30-14 record. New York finished eighth at 26-18 and will face Minnesota in the opening round of the playoffs.
Allisha Gray led Atlanta with 24 points, while Naz Hillmon added 16. Jonquel Jones recorded 10 points and 14 rebounds for New York before leaving the game with an ankle injury.
Atlanta led 41-26 at halftime after restricting New York to just seven points in the second quarter.
The Dream maintained control after the break despite losing Angel Reese, who did not play in the second half after taking a blow to the face shortly before halftime.
From Mumias to the WNBA
Okot’s appearance before the President and First Lady marked another high-profile moment in her rapid rise from Kenyan basketball to the WNBA.
The 1.98-metre centre was selected by Atlanta with the 13th overall pick in the first round of the 2026 WNBA Draft, becoming the first Kenyan woman drafted into the league.
Before moving to the United States, Okot played for Kenya Ports Authority and represented Kenya in both 3×3 and five-on-five basketball.
She later played college basketball for Mississippi State and South Carolina before joining Atlanta.
Her first WNBA campaign has placed her among Kenya’s most prominent emerging sports stars while offering young basketball players a visible route from the local game to the sport’s highest professional level.
Atlanta will now turn its attention to the first round of the WNBA playoffs, which begins on Sunday. Its opponent will be determined by the remaining results.
