Nastja Claessens is the daughter of Belgian basketball coach Frederic Claessens and former Belgian Cat Irina Medvedeva, who comes from Turkmenistan. Nastja has both Belgian and Russian nationality. In her youth, she did ballet and played basketball. At the age of 11, she firmly chose the latter.[2]
Claessens plays on the power forward position. At the age of 14, she made her debut in the first team with the ladies of the Belgian club Ion Basket Waregem, where she played her first season in the Belgian Women's Basketball League in the 2020/21 season at the age of 15. In May 2023, she became only the second player in Belgian women's basketball to be voted Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year in the same season.[3] That year Claessens switched to Castors Braine, but the 2023/24 season turned out to be a disappointment due to a persistent injury to the left wrist, which she sustained in November 2023 during the preparation with the Belgian Cats for the European Championship preliminary round. She underwent surgery in the spring of 2024. She played just eight games for Braine that season.[citation needed]
On 15 April 2024, Claessens was selected 30th overall by the Washington Mystics in the 2024 WNBA draft. She opted to stay overseas for the 2024 season.[4]
National team
Claessens in 2025
Claessens went through various youth series for Belgium. In 2022, she was called up to the Belgian women's national basketball team for a European Championship preliminary round match. On November 22, the power forward conceded North Macedonia her debut with the first team of the Belgian Cats. In less than eight minutes of playing time, she scored three three-pointers and two free throws; and made two rebounds, two assists and a steal.[5][6]
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