Vietnamese player to miss American basketball dream

On April 16, Vy was chosen by Washington in the 21st pick at the WNBA.

Vy became the first Vietnamese woman and the second athlete of Vietnamese origin to join an American professional basketball club, after Jaylin Williams, a 22-year-old center forward selected by Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA.

However, after a month of training, Washington announced the exclusion of Thao Vy (also known as Kaylynne Truong) along with Jakia Browne-Turner and Elissa Cunane from the squad.

Truong Thao Vy in a media shoot of Washington Mystics. Photo by Washington Mystics

In addition to the fierce competition between players, the reason that Vy was not on the list of Washington’s 12 athletes to play the 2024 WNBA is partly due to injury.

During pre-season training, Vy had to compete with 12 athletes in the 2023 squad, two newly drafted players, Edwards Aaliyah and Nastja Claessens, along with a number of athletes who have played professional basketball before. Vy attended all training sessions, played a nine-minute friendly match and scored three points.

Washington only kept one rookie from the draft, Aaliyah. At the same time, the team successfully completed the exchange for defender Jade Melbourne from the Seattle Storm, thereby closing Vy's door to the 2024 WNBA.

"We are disappointed that Thao Vy is on the elimination list," Bullets Forever, a website delivering news on Washington Mystics, wrote.

"However, Thao Vy suffered a slight ankle injury during training, so didn't have many opportunities to prove herself in recent games."

Bullets Forever also highlighted that American basketball clubs often must eliminate many good players because each team are only allowed to register 11 to 12 athletes, depending on salary allocation. New athletes like Vy face tougher competition due to high odds.

Even though she is no longer on the team, Vy could be called back by Washington, or any team in the WNBA mid-season. The rules stipulate that players like Vy can sign short-term deals to replace injured players. In addition, she can go to other developed countries to compete, such as Australia, or in Europe.

Vy was selected thanks to her impressive performance at the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) in the 2023-2024 season.

After 36 games for Gonzaga Bulldogs, Vy contributed an average of 11.4 points, 2.3 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game.

She is 1.77 m tall and is considered to have a similar playing style to superstar Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors in the NBA.

Thao Vy (3rd, L) win the 3x3 women's basketball gold medal at SEA Games 32 in 2023 with her sister Thao My (2nd, L), Huynh Ngoan (L) and Nguyen Thi Tieu Duy. Photo by VnExpress/Hieu Luong

Vy and her twin sister Truong Thao My were nicknamed the "Truong Twins" when they helped Vietnam make history with a silver medal at SEA Games 31 and a gold medal at SEA Games 32, in the 3x3 basketball event.

The twins were born in 2001 in the U.S. to Vietnamese parents. Both have been taught basketball by their father since they were five and have been properly trained since 8th grade. 

While playing at Jersey Village High School, Vy was selected by the American sports channel ESPN as one of the 28 best defenders in the U.S. at high school level.

In 2019, the two went to Gonzaga University. They became mainstays for the school's Gonzaga Bulldogs team in the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 seasons.

Vy has 629 assists, the second-best in the team's history, while My is fourth with 484 assists.