Portland Fire Draft German F Frieda Bühner 17th Overall
Frieda Bühner, a forward on Germany's 2024 Summer Olympic team and 2025 EuroBasket team, was drafted 17th overall in tonight's 2026 WNBA Draft.
An hour after selecting 7th overall pick Iyana Martín Carrión, the Portland Fire were back on the clock.
With the 17th overall selection in the 2026 WNBA Draft, Portland invited another promising international prospect to the Rose City: Frieda Bühner.
The 21 year old from Georgsmarienhütte broke out at the 2024 FIBA U-20 EuroBasket, averaging 18.6 points and 9.1 rebounds across 7 games. Later that summer, she played on Germany’s 2024 Summer Olympics team. Since then, the 6’1” forward has continued to play with Germany’s senior national team at the 2025 EuroBasket and 2026 World Cup qualifying.
Previously, Bühner played stateside with the Florida Gators. She appeared in four games during her 2022-23 true freshman season, averaging 1.5 points off the bench. In late November 2022, the German embarked upon a professional basketball career in her native country.
This season, Bühner projects as a backup forward behind first overall expansion draft pick Bridget Carleton and fellow expansion draft pick Emily Engstler.
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Matt Bagley is a professional sportswriter and broadcaster with a passion for women’s sports. Outside of work, he cherishes quality time with his birth family, his chosen family, and one very pesky house panther.
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