Sina Höllerl before jumping to the USA

Sina Höllerl likes to distribute baskets. But she is not a heartbreaker, her passion is basketball. Despite being only 18 years old, the Lower Austrian is already one of them best players in Austria’s highest league. The 1.83 meter tall super talent is considered the country’s greatest hope for the future.

Family ties

Basketball is a family affair in the Höllerl house: “Everyone played.” Dad Stefan is a coach at the Basket Flames Vienna – a possible final opponent for Sina’s Klosterneuburgers at the Cup Final Four today and tomorrow in Graz. But she wasn’t allowed to go basket hunting in the club until she was eight years old. So until then she kept herself entertained by playing other sports such as tennis, golf and football. But actually she always just wanted to throw baskets, which was initially only possible in the garden with her big brother Nico. He now plays in Germany at Coburg.

When Sina turned eight, she was allowed to play in the club, but the next hurdle arose: “There was no girls team,” she remembers. She didn’t let that stop her – and played with the boys. “That was pretty cool. I also grew up mostly with boys, so that wasn’t a problem.”

At 14 she switched to the girls. “That’s when I realized that I could do it quite well.” From then on, things moved quickly: in 2021 she made her debut among adults, and in 2022 and 2023 she became champion with Klosterneuburg.

Another milestone in Sina Höllerl’s stellar career followed in 2024: The NBA invited 40 young talents from 25 countries to the training camp in Phoenix, Arizona – the then 17-year-old Höllerl was there. Training took place with former NBA stars – and “very intensively, sometimes for five hours at a time”.

In the land of unlimited possibilities, the Klosterneuburg resident has left a lasting impression. And she probably laid the foundation for the fulfillment of her big dream. “In 2026, when I finish school, I want to go to college in the USA.” The chances are good. Possible universities will be visited as early as this June. And after college? “I want to go to the WNBA.” The women’s professional league in the USA is the big goal.

At the moment the focus is still entirely on Klosterneuburg. Höllerl, who attends the sports section of the AHS Wien-West, trains seven to eight times a week. There are also the matches with the women and the U19. Does the 18-year-old still have time for “normal” hobbies? It’s all a matter of planning, as she explains: “Meeting friends and enjoying the time with them – that’s okay.”

Cup-Final-Four

But the friends will have to do without Sina at the weekend. The cup final tournament is on the program in Graz. Klosterneuburg and Graz are the favorites. The Cup titles in men’s, women’s and wheelchair basketball will be awarded. The league is hoping for a lot of spectators. “For normal league games, we usually only have families and friends come.” She looks a little jealous at more popular sports: “It would be cool to be seen more. After all, we put in the same effort.”

Höllerl will still go her own way and will probably soon be distributing baskets in the USA. This would make her dream come true, “and maybe I can help basketball in Austria a little.”