Tamara Abalde

Playing career

Abalde grew up in a basketball family, attending Compañía de María school from 1998 to 2003 and San José de la Guía in Vigo before joining Celta de Vigo Baloncesto's youth teams in 2003. She made her debut in the Spanish top-tier league at age 15. At Lamar, she became just the sixth player in program history named to the Southland Conference First Team and only the second to earn SLC Freshman of the Year honors. During the 2007–08 season she was the only freshman on the All-Southland Conference First Team, recording five double-doubles and eight games with at least 20 points.

She scored a single-game high and school record‑tying 44 points against Wiley College on 24 November 2007. Her 16.0 points per game ranked sixth in the league, and she averaged 7.1 rebounds while shooting 42.4 percent from the field. After one season at Lamar, she left to pursue a professional career in Europe. She spent time at Baloncesto Rivas, UNB Obenasa Navarra, and several seasons in France before signing with Perfumerías Avenida in 2013, where she won two Spanish Cups and two Spanish Supercups and finished as runner‑up in the league twice.

Seeking more playing time, she moved through Cadí La Seu, CREFF ¡Hola!, and Mann‑Filter Casablanca over three seasons, then signed with newly promoted Valencia Basket in 2018.

Did You Know?

• Her father, Alberto Abalde Rodríguez, played professional basketball from 1980 to 1993, and her brother, Alberto Abalde Díaz, plays for Real Madrid.
• She won five youth medals with Spain from 2003 to 2009, including MVP of the 2009 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship.