Maria Paula Gonçalves da Silva

Magic Paula was born in Osvaldo Cruz, São Paulo, Brazil, on March 11, 1962, as Maria Paula Gonçalves da Silva. She is considered one of the greatest basketball players in the world. She is the youngest athlete in history to have been summoned to the adult female Brazilian team: 14 years old, in 1976. Later, she received from the journalist Juarez Araújo the nickname of Magic Paula, in reference to the American player Magic Johnson. The greatest player in the history of national women's basketball, alongside Hortência, played in the Barcelona 1992 and Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games, in addition to three editions of the Pan American Games and six world championships. After leaving the courts in 2000, Paula founded the Passe de Mágica Institute in 2004, offering activities, especially sports, to children and adolescents with social vulnerability.