“Belongs on a W Roster”: Turkey Star’s FIBA World Cup History Draws Strong Appeal From Veteran ESPN Studio Host

Turkish guard Sevgi Uzun set a record on the very first day of the 2026 FIBA World Cup, and her performance has drawn a bid for her to be in the world's largest women's basketball league, the WNBA. During the FIBA World Cup game between Belgium and Turkey, Uzun's record-setting play has drawn attention from all over the basketball world, and for one analyst, it signals a move to bigger things for the guard.

While Turkey went down 75-89 on September 4, guard Sevgi Uzun had a game for the ages. She finished the game with 11 points, four rebounds, and 11 assists with zero turnovers in 33 minutes, becoming the second player to log double-digit assists in a game this tournament. It drew the attention of ESPN studio host Cindy Brunson, who posted her reaction on X .

"[Uzun] belongs on a W roster," she wrote. "Just proves that it's hard to find a spot in the best league in the world & find a good fit for one's skill set too. #WNBA #FIBAWWC."

When asked about the potential for where she could play, Brunson was clear: expansion teams.

"More WNBA teams are on the way! Cleveland, Detroit & Philly (2028, 2029 & 2030)," she wrote. "The Cleveland Sirens rollout was top tier!"

Expansion teams, which will look for new players to cement a competitive roster, could be a great fit for an efficient guard with international experience like Uzun. With her posting double-digit assists, she joined USA guard Caitlin Clark as the player with the most assists in a World Cup debut and became the second player to drop 10 or more assists without turning the ball over a single time, following Clark. Clark did so against China on the same day as Uzun's game.

With her record, the 28-year-old Uzun has become the eighth player to record 11 or more assists in a single game, joining the elite company of Julie Allemand, Dawn Staley, and Yuka Harada alongside Clark.

Notably, the international stage is not an unfamiliar one for Uzun. The 28-year-old has been a part of Turkey's senior national team since 2018 and has been on this stage before. She has represented the country in EuroBasket in 2021, 2023, and 2025, and has shown major improvement with each iteration of the tournament.

In the 2025 edition of EuroBasket, she averaged 13.7 points on 44.4% from the field and 40% from long range, along with 4.2 assists on 2.2 turnovers. Her skill set is easily translatable: a capable playmaker who can stretch the floor to open lanes for stars to operate inside the arc. In her most recent international matchup against Belgium in the 2026 FIBA World Cup, she was the second-highest scorer on the Turkish side, behind Kennedy Burke, who also plays for the Connecticut Sun as a guard.

However, Uzun isn't fighting to make the WNBA for the first time; she's trying to cement her spot in the league.

Why Sevgi Uzun Has Yet to Find Her WNBA Fit

Despite her solid international and club career in Europe, Sevgi Uzun has struggled to establish herself in the WNBA.

She signed with Dallas in 2024 as an undrafted free agent, playing all 40 games and averaging over 20 minutes per night. However, her efficiency was rough, since she ended up averaging just 4.4 points on 34.2% from the field and 23.8% from three.

Then, in the following offseason, she was traded to the Phoenix Mercury as part of a four-team trade that sent Satou Sabally and Alyssa Thomas to the Mercury. She played 25 games for the Mercury, with her efficiency getting even worse and her minutes reduced as a result.

She was traded midseason to the Chicago Sky, finishing the season averaging 3.1 points per game on 32.6% from the field. Lastly, ahead of the 2026 season, after she was waived by the Sky, she signed a training camp contract with the Los Angeles Sparks, but didn't end up making the final roster.

"We're looking forward to having Sev here in Los Angeles," then-Sparks General Manager Raegan Pebley said in a press release on April 18. "She's had a great season with [Fenerbahce], and we are eager to experience her impact on our organization."

Across her 65 games in the WNBA over 2 seasons, Uzun has averaged 3.9 points, but shoots from the field with 33.7% accuracy. As her 2.8 prove, Uzun's playmaking has never been in question. What she needs to do is improve her offensive efficiency, especially from three. If she can consistently space the floor, there's no doubt teams would pursue her for a bench spot, if not more.

What breaking the record does for Uzun is put more eyes on her, something that can help generate the buzz needed for WNBA GMs to take notice. Brunson's comments do just that.