Behind the Glow: Nell Angloma
WNBA Connecticut Sun

Behind the Glow: Nell Angloma

Published on August 20, 2026 under Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Connecticut Sun News Release


At 19 years old, Nell Angolma crossed an ocean and entered a world entirely unfamiliar to her. The 2026 WNBA Draft was her first time in the United States.

For Nell, it wasn't just a new country. It was a new language, new teammates, new routines and according to Nell, not particularly impressive food. When asked if there was anything she had grown to love since arriving in the United States, she really drove that point home.

"Not the food for sure."

But underneath the joke about the food is the reality of what Angloma has been navigating since arriving in Connecticut; learning how to exist somewhere that does not yet feel like home. For Angloma, adjusting has meant learning Connecticut Sun basketball, certainly, but also learning how to communicate, how to ask questions and how to find her footing in a place where so much is unfamiliar.

Slowly, though, the unfamiliarity has started becoming familiar.

"Now it's better."

Part of that is because Angloma has not been expected to figure everything out alone. Her teammates have been a fountain of support and have gone above and beyond to make sure that she knows she belongs.

"They take care of me, all of them. They're really nice."

Belonging is not always created through grand gestures. Sometimes, it is built in rides home and sometimes it is someone noticing what you need before you have figured out how to ask for it.

For Angloma, one of those people has been Leïla Lacan.

The two knew each other before Connecticut, giving Angloma something invaluable, when nearly everything else around her was new: familiarity.

"I would say Leïla," Angloma said of her biggest source of support. "I knew her since few years ago, and she helps me to understand more. She already did one year here, so she knows some. She gives me some advice."

Lacan understands what it means to leave France for the United States. She understands the language adjustment, the cultural differences and, most importantly given their shared opinions, the disappointment of American bread.

But their relationship is not defined only by guidance. They laugh. They joke. They bother each other.

Angloma's personality emerges quickly when she feels comfortable, something she believes people might not expect when they first meet her.

"I'm really funny."

And her teammates know that now. Kennedy Burke has become another person Angloma has gravitated toward. Angloma describes Burke as "really funny" and "a little bit crazy," before she revealed the part of their relationship that means even more.

"You know when someone takes care of you because you're younger?" Angloma said. "She did this with me."

Being taken care of shows up every time Angloma talks about Connecticut.

Maybe that is the story of her first months in America. At 19, independence could easily be mistaken for proving you do not need anyone. Moving across the world certainly provides enough opportunity to try. But growing up also means discovering the people who make independence possible, the ones who allow you to venture somewhere unfamiliar because you know there are people willing to catch you while you find your footing.

Some of those people are in Connecticut now. Others remain an ocean away.

Angloma misses France. She misses her friends. She misses her family. And, yes, she really, really misses the food. Distance has changed the way her family supports her, but it has not diminished it.

Her mother and brother have traveled to the United States to see her. When they cannot be there, they call. They watch her games. They continue reminding her that the life she is building thousands of miles away is still connected to the one that established her.

"They watch all of my games, and they give me a lot of support."

When asked what she wanted them to know, her answer was simple.

"Thank you for supporting me every day. I hope I make you proud."

Moving to the United States showed Angloma that she was capable of many different things. She can miss home and still find happiness somewhere new. She can become more independent and still need people. She can cross an ocean by herself without ever truly doing it alone. Connecticut will not replace France for Nell Angloma. It does not have to. But little by little, Connecticut has become something else-a place where she is cared for.

And sometimes, that is how belonging begins.

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Women's National Basketball Association Stories from August 20, 2026


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