Janeth Arcain

Janeth dos Santos Arcain (Portuguese pronunciation: [ʒaˈnɛtʃi dus ˈsɐ̃tuz aʁˈkɐ̃j], born April 11, 1969, in São Paulo, Brazil) is a retired Brazilian professional women's basketball player. She played in the United States for the Houston Comets in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) from 1997 to 2005.

Arcain is one of the players inducted in the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015. She was inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2019.

WNBA career

Arcain was one of the original players selected from the WNBA's inaugural season in 1997. She was selected 13th overall in the second round of the Elite draft by the Houston Comets. She played every Comets game in the first seven seasons of the WNBA before skipping the 2004 season to prepare for the Olympics. A key piece of the Comets dynasty that included four championships from 1997 to 2000, Arcain had her best season in 2001, averaging 18.5 points per game en route to Most Improved Player and First Team All-WNBA honors.

Arcain's final WNBA game was played in Game 2 of the 2005 Western Conference Finals on September 10, 2005 against the Sacramento Monarchs. Arcain recorded 12 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 steals but her team would lose the game 65 - 74 and be eliminated from the playoffs.

National team career

With the Brazil national team, Arcain won the FIBA World Championship for Women in 1994 and two medals in the Olympic Games: silver in 1996, and bronze in 2000. Arcain also finished fourth in 2004, where she became the highest-scoring female player ever of the Olympics with 535 points, a record broken in 2012 by Lauren Jackson. She decided to retire after two big events to be hosted in Brazil, the 2006 FIBA World Championship for Women (fourth) and the 2007 Pan American Games (silver).

Arcain was named mayor of the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic Village.