Jana El Alfy

About

Egyptian basketball player, known for becoming the first African woman and second-ever woman to be invited to attend the NBA Global Academy in Australia in 2022. She plays center for the UConn Huskies women's basketball team and the Egypt Women's National Team.  

Before Fame

She was introduced to both basketball and volleyball when she was three years old, and began playing organized basketball because her dad was a coach. In 2022, she was awarded the MVP honor alongside Thierry Darlan by the NBA's Golden State Warriors' coach, Steve Kerr, at the NBA's Basketball Without Borders Camp's event in Cairo. In January 2023, she joined the UConn Huskies women's basketball team, but was forced to redshirt her first year because of an injury suffered during international play. 

Trivia

In 2023, she represented Egypt at the FIBA U19 Women's Basketball World Cup 2023 that was held in Madrid, where she scored 29 points in her first game. Her performance contributed to Egypt beating China for the first time at the women's youth level. She suffered a knee injury in the Madrid series. In the Spring of 2025, she was in the news for balancing her participation in the NCAA March Madness tournament for UConn with the fasting restrictions of Ramadan

Family Life

She was born in Cairo, Egypt, to Dina Gouda and Ehab El-Alfy, the head coach of the Egyptian women's national basketball team.

Associated With

She is roommates and teammates with the predicted first overall pick in this year's WNBA Draft, Paige Bueckers, who has supported her fasting during Ramadan by waking up with her before sunrise to eat.