Ryneldi Becenti

Navajo (Diné) · athletes

Ryneldi Becenti (born August 11, 1971) is a Diné (Navajo) basketball legend from Fort Defiance, Arizona, on the Navajo Nation. She made history as the first Native American to play in the WNBA when she was drafted by the Phoenix Mercury in 1997. Before going pro, Becenti was a two-time All-Pac-10 selection at Arizona State University and was the first Native American woman to receive a full Division I basketball scholarship. She was inducted into the American Indian Athletic Hall of Fame in 1996 — the first woman ever honored. Becenti became a hero across the Navajo Nation and throughout Indian Country, proving that Native women could compete at the highest levels of professional basketball. She later became a coach and mentor to young Native athletes.