Who was Margo Dydek? Everything You Need to Know

Quick Facts

Also Known As: Małgorzata Dydek

Died At Age: 37

Family:

Spouse/Ex-: David Twigg (m. 2008)

father: Jan Dydek

mother: Marianna Marcinkiewicz

siblings: Katarzyna Dydek, Marta Dydek

children: David

Born Country: Poland

Basketball Players Polish Women

Height: 2.18 m

Died on: May 27, 2011

place of death: Brisbane, Australia

Notable Alumni: University Of Texas At El Paso

Cause of Death: Cardiac Arrest

City: Warsaw, Poland

More Facts

education: University Of Texas At El Paso

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Career

UKS Huragan Wolowin was the first basketball team that Margo Dydek played for professionally. In 1992, she started playing for Olimpia Poznan in Poland and helped them win two Polish league titles. In 1994, she moved to France to play for Valenciennes Orchies. She played a crucial role in helping the team reach the finals of EuroLeague Women in 1994. She played for them for two seasons.

During a short span of two years, her basketball skills were noted by everyone. During the FIBA U18 Women’s European Championship in 1992, she came in third place. The following year, she took part in FIBA U19 Women’s Basketball World Cup and came in third position. In 1993, she averaged 14.4 points while playing at the FIBA Women’s EuroBasket tournament.

In 1996, she again changed club and started playing for Pool Getafe, a Spanish basketball team. She played a crucial role in helping the team win the league crown for two seasons. Pool Getafe also reached the finals of EuroLeague Women Basketball tournament in 1998.

In 1998, Margo Dydek took a big leap in her career when she was selected for WNBA pre-draft camp. She was drafted by the Utah Starzz, a franchise which later came under the control of San Antonio. While playing for WNBA, she also played for her homeland team, Arka Gdynia. She helped her Polish team win six consecutive Polish league crowns from 1999 to 2005. In 2002 and 2004, she helped Arka Gdynia reach the final of EuroLeage Women Basketball Tournament. In 2000, she was part of the team that played in Olympics

Her exceptional basketball skills won her many awards and titles during this period. During the 1999-2000 season of Polish League Finals, she was named the Most Valuable Player. In 1999, she was cited as the best female basketball player in Europe by La Gazzetta dello Sport, which is an Italian sports magazine.

During her ten years with WNBA, she achieved many feats and broke many records. She started playing for Utah Starzz in 1998. Though she could dunk the ball, she instead focused on perfecting her defense game and improving her scoring skills inside the rim. In no time she gained a reputation of a serious shot blocker.

In 2005, Margo Dydek was traded by San Antonio Silver Stars to Connecticut Sun. She was with the team till 2008. She left the game for a short while to give birth to her first child. In 2008 she returned after childbirth and joined the Los Angeles Sparks. The same year she ended her WNBA career. Later on, she moved to Australia and became a coach for the Northside Wizards, which is part of the Queensland Basketball League.

Though she stopped playing in 2008, she still finds mention in top 25 of several categories in basketball. For example, she is the first when it comes to block percentage. She holds the seventh rank in Defensive Rating category. As far as Player Efficiency Rating category is concerned, she is ranked at 21st place.

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Personal & Family Life

Margo Dydek was born on April 28, 1974 in Warsaw, Poland. Her father was 6 foot and seven inches tall, while her mother was 6 foot and 3 inches tall. So it is no wonder that she turned out so tall. Even her sisters were above six foot and six inches and they were both basketball players.

Early on in life she had no interest in basketball. However, her older sister, Katarzyna, used to play basketball and it was she who dragged her to basketball game. Over a period of time she became infatuated with the game and there was no looking back.

She was married to David Twigg and had two sons. Her first son, David, was born in 2008 and her second son, Alex, was born in 2010. In 2011, she was in the early stage of her third pregnancy when she suffered a heart attack. She was put in a medically induced coma but on May 19, 2011 she passed away in Brisbane, Australia.

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