Another Boise State basketball star signs with professional team in Europe
One of the most entertaining ball handlers in Boise State history will make her professional basketball debut in Sweden this fall.
Point guard Jayde Christopher recently signed with the Visby Ladies of the Basketligan dam, which is Sweden’s top professional women’s league.
“When I saw Jayde, there were suddenly no other alternatives. She is one of a kind,” Visby coach Anders Pettersson said in a press release. “One of the few players who combines efficiency and speed with shows. That Jayde chooses us instead of a big club in Europe is a good rating.
“She will most likely end up in one of the major leagues in Europe after her rookie season. Now we can only hope that we get to bring in the audience at the matches this autumn so many can enjoy this artist.”
Christopher is the second player from the Broncos’ 2020 senior class to sign a pro contract. Fellow senior guard Braydey Hodgins signed with the Saarlouis Royals of Germany’s Damen-Basketball-Bundesliga in June.
Christopher, a 5-foot-8 native of Federal Way, Washington, set a program and Mountain West single-season assists record with 270 assists in 33 games this past season. She also owns Boise State’s best career assists average at 6.92 per game and is No. 2 in career assists (457) despite only playing two full seasons with the Broncos.
Boise State won two Mountain West Tournament championships and one regular-season title with Christopher in the starting lineup. The Broncos would have made their fourth straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament this spring if not for the coronavirus pandemic.
Christopher finished the 2019-20 season ranked second in the nation with her 270 assists and an 8.2-assists-per-game average. The only player to rank above her was Oregon’s Sabrina Ionescu, who was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 WNBA Draft. Christopher was named to the All-Mountain West Team and the All-Defensive Team as a senior.
The Swedish Basketball League is set to begin play in early October, and Christopher anticipates she’ll head to Sweden in September to get situated and potentially quarantine for 14 days because of the restrictions in place due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“I’m trying to do really well, but of course that’s the goal for everybody,” Christopher told the Idaho Statesman by phone Saturday. “I want to get enough exposure to hopefully get seen by WNBA teams.”
NCAA.com recognized Christopher as one of the top five passers in the country last season along with Ionescu, DePaul’s Kelly Campbell, Virginia Tech’s Taja Cole and South Carolina’s Tyasha Harris.
This story was originally published July 11, 2020 at 2:19 PM.
