“Big Mama,” Stefanie Dolson, is one of the more dynamic centers in all of professional basketball. She was born on January 8, 1992, in Port Jervis, New York. While growing up in Orange County, she developed her basketball skills and quickly became a standout player at Minisink Valley High School. Her impressive height and length combined with her skill set, earned her national recognition, which eventually led her to attending the University of Connecticut. At UConn is where Dolson would establish a name for herself. Dolson thrived under the guidance of Hall of Fame coach Geno Auriemma and became an integral part of two NCAA championship-winning teams in 2013 and 2014. During her collegiate career, Dolson averaged 10.9 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game. Her senior season was where she stood out the most, as she averaged 12.5 points and 9.3 rebounds, earning her the 2014 AAC Defensive Player of the Year award. She was also named a First-Team All-American and won the Senior Class Award for her contributions on and off the court. Dolson was selected sixth overall in the 2014 WNBA Draft by the Washington Mystics.
Over the course of her WNBA career, she has played for the Mystics, Chicago Sky, and New York Liberty. I love Dolson’s game because she isn’t your traditional big that just sits in the paint and occupies space. She excels in multiple facets of the game that includes scoring, rebounding, and facilitating. In 2024 she rejoined the team that had drafted her and for the season she averaged 8.0 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game which goes to show she can still produce on this level. Another one of her career highlights was helping the Chicago Sky secure their first WNBA championship in 2021 and she was also a key contributor internationally, as she won a gold medal with Team USA in the 3×3 basketball event at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Dolson’s unique point-center play style that’s coupled with her international 3v3 experience will work wonders for any roster she’s placed on for the Unrivaled league. At her incredible height of 6’5” she can see the whole floor extremely well thanks to her vision and basketball IQ. She’s also a reliable low-post scorer that possesses a sweet touch around the rim and is effective in pick-and-roll situations. Dolson also contains a pretty consistent mid-range jump shot that opposing bigs have to respect when she sets ball screens. Defensively she can make an impact not only because of her size, but her exceptional positioning whenever she rotates in help, makes her a formidable presence against other elite centers.
