Mia Hopkins will be playing professional basketball this March in Brazil for the city of Blumenau of the Lega Basket Femminile.
SAN ANTONIO — Mia Hopkins has been dreaming about playing professional basketball ever since she could remember growing up in Pittston.
There have been a lot of twists and turns in her career, but she’s always been focus on playing pro ball. In a little over two weeks, her dream will come true.
Hopkins, who is a dual citizen of both the U.S.A and Brazil, will board a plane from Texas and fly to Brazil to play professional basket for the city of Blumenau of the Lega Basket Femminile (LBF League).
According to Hopkins, the league preseason starts in February with the regular season kicking off in March and running through to July.
“I’ve been wanting to play in Brazil since 2019, so it’s almost five years in the works,” Hopkins said. “That’s been the plan since before COVID hit. Actually, I was heading to Brazil the week before COVID shut down the world for a year-plus, so everything changed.”
Coming out of the pandemic, Hopkins tried out for the WNBA but wasn’t picked up, so she headed back to San Antonio, where she played in a traveling basketball league.
Tragically, in her first game with San Antonio against a team from Oklahoma, she dislocated her right shoulder and in doing so, tore her labrum. From there, Hopkins decided to do rehab on her shoulder over surgery.
During rehab, she received a call to try out for the world famous Harlem Globetrotters in Atlantic City.
“I miraculously became a Globetrotter out of nowhere,” Hopkins exclaimed. “I didn’t plan for that, it kind of just happened for me. My coach Isaiah Walker called me out of nowhere and told me I had a tryout with the Harlem Globetrotters.”
Hopkins was at a pretty low spot in her life with the injury, uncertain if she would ever play basketball again, and adding insult to injury, she was sleeping on a teammates couch without a place to stay when the opportunity came up to try out for the Globetrotters.
“I literally had no idea if I was ever going to make it in basketball at that point in time,” admitted Hopkins.
Uncertain how her tryout would go, Hopkins said she “played out of her mind” impressing Globetrotter officials.
She ended up with an offer to play on one of the Globetrotter teams where she has been a member for the past two years.
“The whole time I was on the Globetrotters I really wanted to keep playing (pro basketball), I knew how good I was becoming because all I would do was shoot to perfect my game,” Hopkins said. “I feel like while I was growing up, I had a competitive will that was channeled towards basketball. Even in high school I was a savage on the court.”
Hopkins scored over 1,000 points in high school while at Pittston Area.
“I always felt with basketball I could express myself and be free,” Hopkins admitted. “I saw through the years how I developed my skills and how much better I got at the game. I could feel it in my heart and blood like an artist, and just be free.”
During this past offseason with the Globetrotters, Hopkins’ yearning to play pro ball in Brazil was getting stronger and she knew she had to act.
She contacted a representative from the Brazilian Basketball Confederation stating she had a Brazilian citizenship, due to her father being a citizen of Brazil, and she would be available to play in 2024.
A Brazilian sports agent then contacted Hopkins and the two hit it off and eventually signed her. She was one of his first pro female athletes he’s signed.
Recently Hopkins turned 29, and she believes she’s has five or six years before she peaks with her basketball skills, noting many of the NBA superstars are in the mid-30s.
Hopkins other focus is on her clothing brand STARMIA, featuring sports bras as well as t-shirts and shorts.
Locally, you can purchase STARMIA clothing at Nearme Yoga & Cafe, 700 Main St., Moosic, or order online at www.starmia-unveilyourtruth.com.
You can follow Hopkins on her life’s journey on Facebook or Instagram.
“Being on the Globetrotters was a good experience was good,” Hopkins said. “I was able to travel the world, really inspire people, saw a lot of things and landmarks, but this is want I want to do and have always wanted to do. I’m really excited and blessed.”
