Five years have passed since Tanaya Atkinson came to Spain and began to delight us with her talent, from the Women’s League 2 to the present in the highest category.
The American has become one of those extra-community players who come to our basketball to stay and become ‘one more of us’. She is not the typical American who comes by for a season or two without stepping foot in the league again. This is Atkinson’s fifth consecutive season playing here.
His arrival was at CB Clarinos when they were still in the second division, and his role was key to achieving promotion with 22.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game. She only needed one season with the Canarian team to propel it to the Endesa Women’s League.
Then came the big stage of the top flight, although his first season was unable to finish due to the pandemic. When the league had to be cut, the Clarinos led by Atkinson, was in playoff positions with 11 wins and 11 losses. While the American averaged 19.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2 steals per game.
In the following campaign, 2020-21, Tanaya was still among the league’s top scorers and helped Clarinos finish in sixth position. Something that changed without her in 2021-22, being penultimate and having to stay in the offices instead of doing it on the pitch.
And it is that Atkinson was in a certain way the engine of the purple team and its greatest asset in order to compete every day. Since he left for Araski, Tenerife has a record of 10 wins and 28 losses.
The Clarinos coach already said it at the time: “Tanaya Atkinson is not only our offensive leader, she is also an important part of the club’s history.”.
Currently, Kutxabank is the group that enjoys the talent of Tanaya, who after the eighth day is the most valued and top scorer of the squad trained by Made Urieta.
At 26 years old, and after a good career in both LF2 and LF Endesa, we can say that Atkinson is on her way to becoming a legendary player in our basketball. Many years have passed since she arrived, and let’s hope she leaves soon. She is one of the players that is a pleasure to watch every game because of her great individual technique and scoring ability.
His last match before writing this was against his previous team, in Tenerife’s match against Araski, and he visited the island that was his home for several years before moving to Vitoria. That’s why it was a good time to remember how vital she was for the island team and how now, in her second season at Kutxabank, she continues to do well to become one of the Americans who has been most fond of at LF Endesa.
Images via: Tanya Atkinson on Instagram and CB Clarinos
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