For most Americans, the Fourth of July needs no introduction. For an international WNBA guard like Carla Leite, however, it apparently came with a little bit of a question mark.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
Like many other international players in the league, Carla Leite grew up far away from the United States. She’s, therefore, not familiar with its biggest national holiday. And that gap in cultural familiarity showed when she got asked what the Fourth of July meant to her. In the video, which the WNBA Got Game shared on Instagram, Leite’s candid response became one of the more amusing moments of the day.
“What that means?” she said, with a smile. “A special day? I mean, don’t know, I will be happy for my teammates and my American teammates. I will celebrate with them, that’s it.”
It’s really quite understandable why Carla Leite might not be familiar with the United States’ Independence Day. The 22-year-old was born and raised in Poissy, France. She started her basketball career in the country and even played there professionally before making the move to the WNBA. Neither the journey nor her adaptation was particularly easy.
“It’s complicated because it’s my first time playing in a foreign place. I have just played in France. So I think I need to adapt myself,” she told the San Francisco Chronicle in May last year. “We have a nice group, it’s a safe place. The girls have helped me a lot, and I am grateful for that.”
Leite played with Tarbes Gespe Bigorre in the Ligue Féminine de Basketball from 2022 to 2024. And then with Villeneuve d’Ascq from 2024 to 2025. It was while playing for Tarbes that she got noticed and was selected ninth overall in the 2024 WNBA Draft. She, however, opted to remain overseas for an additional season to continue her development, transferring to Villeneuve d’Ascq before officially transitioning to the WNBA.
Since entering the league, Carla Leite has gradually evolved from a rookie bench player into a breakout star and franchise leader. The new expansion franchise, the Portland Fire, selected her from the Golden State Valkyries as the third overall pick in the 2026 Expansion Draft that took place at the beginning of the season. And since her acquisition, she’s been putting up impressive numbers. She’s currently leading her team with 15.1 points per game while also ranking eighth league-wide with 5.7 assists per game.
As for celebrations, Leite will be more delighted with her team’s victory on the Fourth of July. It ended a concerning three-game losing streak for the Portland Fire, beating the Seattle Storm 77-72, to which she contributed a team-high 20 points, three rebounds, and four assists. Maybe she really did get to celebrate the Fourth of July with her teammates after winning what proved to be a tight game.
Carla Leite Gives Honest Verdict on Portland Fire’s Fourth of July Victory
Portland’s win over the Seattle Storm wasn’t exactly a smooth-sailing game. They had to come from behind after losing the first quarter by 10 points, and it turned into an incredibly messy, low-scoring battle dominated by poor shooting from both sides.
Speaking in the postgame press conference, Carla Leite didn’t shy away from making peace with that reality. For her, even though it was quite an ugly affair, the most important part was that they won.
“I think it was an ugly game to be honest,” she said. “The most important part is that we didn’t give up until the end of the game, and we made tough shots. So yeah, that’s the most important thing. Sometimes the game’s going to be ugly and not in a good way. But the most important is that we won the game.”
And the numbers really showed it. Starting from the low-scoring scoreline, neither team could find its rhythm offensively. Portland shot just 36.8% from the field, while Seattle was even worse at 33.8%. In fact, Leite’s team finished a dreadful 4-of-25 (16%) from beyond the arc, starting the game by missing all eight of their first-quarter three-point attempts. The two teams also combined for 33 turnovers, 19 by Portland and 14 by Seattle. They spent the entire game disrupting any hope of offensive flow.
Yet at the end of the day, as Carla Leite said, they came away with a win, which is the most important part. Their next test comes against the Las Vegas Aces, which is the kind of game where they must disrupt their opponents’ attack.