2025 WNBA Draft

[nwhoopfan]

I didn't watch that much of NC State, but mostly when I did I was more impressed with James than Rivers.

Rayah Marshall always showed flashes but never blew up in college. I think there's a decent possibility she could be better as a pro than she was in college. Could be steal for somebody if she slips to late 1st round or 2nd round.

 

[JoePgh]

I think that Sarah Ashlee Barker and Lucy Olsen might be two "sleepers" in the 2025 draft. I'm surprised that there seems that there has been very little buzz about either of them.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Here's another potential sleeper--Dalayah Daniels from Washington. I kind of think of her as a discount Satou Sabally, without the 3 point shooting but also without being injury prone. She can really put the ball on the floor and attack on the drive for a 6-4 player. Has some nifty moves in the post too. She might not even make a roster, but if she can find the right spot I think she has a chance.

 

[Jonathan14]

Rayah Marshall always showed flashes but never blew up in college. I think there's a decent possibility she could be better as a pro than she was in college. Could be steal for somebody if she slips to late 1st round or 2nd round.

I agree with you about Rayah Marshall. I've watched her play a fair amount, especially over the past two seasons, and it seems to me that she's worked hard and continued to improve, which speaks well of her potential in the W. Compare her to Kiki Iriafen, who, in my eyes, didn't really develop this year at USC. Will she get better as a pro? Maybe.

Marshall also plays with a lot of passion. In USC's Elite 8 game against UConn, she showed great energy and tenacity. If it were possible to will a team to victory, she just might have.

 

[oldude]

I agree with you about Rayah Marshall. I've watched her play a fair amount, especially over the past two seasons, and it seems to me that she's worked hard and continued to improve, which speaks well of her potential in the W. Compare her to Kiki Iriafen, who, in my eyes, didn't really develop this year at USC. Will she get better as a pro? Maybe.

Marshall also plays with a lot of passion. In USC's Elite 8 game against UConn, she showed great energy and tenacity. If it were possible to will a team to victory, she just might have.

Marshall was the best player on the court for USC in the Elite 8 game. It makes you wonder how good she might of been all year if USC ran some plays for her instead of letting JuJu go 1 on 1 all the time.

 

[Vowelguy]

Has anyone heard or quoted Paige as saying that she looks forward to playing in Dallas. Every answer that I have heard is that she looks forward to the next step in life wherever that may be. Or something to that nature…

Talking about Dallas means that she's declaring herself the #1 pick. I mean we know she is, but not very humble. Not what I would expect from her.

 

[oldude]

Talking about Dallas means that she's declaring herself the #1 pick. I mean we know she is, but not very humble. Not what I would expect from her.

In addition, I don’t know that Dallas has definitively stated they will draft Paige and are not open to any offers to trade the first pick.

 

[oldude]

Talking about Dallas means that she's declaring herself the #1 pick. I mean we know she is, but not very humble. Not what I would expect from her.

In addition, I don’t know that Dallas has definitively stated they will draft Paige and are not open to any offers to trade the first pick.

 

[NEforceUConn]

I feel sorry for Washington. Lot of high picks this draft with not much talent available. Not sure when they acquired so many but really a lousy draft to have so many high picks.

 

[Centerstream]

I feel sorry for Washington. Lot of high picks this draft with not much talent available. Not sure when they acquired so many but really a lousy draft to have so many high picks.

I thought their goal was to use the two high picks, and possibly future picks, and trade with Dallas for the #1 pick - Paige

 

[ConnMotors]

There are still many good players available in this draft. However there is no one other than Paige that is going to place people in the stands; have game and is fun to be around. The Dallas arena seats 6000 people. You would think that with so many arenas in the area that the Wings would be playing in a bigger arena. But we will see what happens on Monday.

 

[Cuango]

By USA Today, (WNBA mock draft: Projected first-round picks after 2025 women's NCAA championship)

2025 WNBA mock draft​

1. Dallas Wings: G Paige Bueckers (UConn)​

2. Seattle Storm: G Sonia Citron (Notre Dame)​

3. Washington Mystics: F/C Dominique Malonga (France)​

4. Washington Mystics: F Aneesah Morrow (LSU)​

5. Golden State Valkyries: F Kiki Iriafen (USC)​

6. Washington Mystics: G Shyanne Sellers (Maryland)​

7. Connecticut Sun: F Ajša Sivka (Slovenia)​

8. Connecticut Sun: G Georgia Amoore (Kentucky)​

9. Los Angeles Sparks: G Hailey Van Lith (TCU)​

10. Chicago Sky: G Te-Hina Paopao (South Carolina)​

If Seattle (or anyone) actually takes Citron over Malonga, the entire front office and the coaching staff should be fired! Even the players should be traded if they don’t stand up and demand Malonga.
On the one hand, a player that is solid but not spectacular, who will likely never make an All-Star team, on the other a potential 6’6” star who runs like a deer, with a 7’2” wingspan, a player who could be a perennial All-Star. If this were to actually happen, Washington should send Seattle multiple cases of champagne every draft day for the duration of Malonga’s career! On the other hand, it would be great for Aaliyah so maybe I should just shut my pie-hole!

 

[Rowdy831]

Kiki will have a good chance to a long term pro. She has the game and in the pros you don't have to carry your team to be valuable like you do in college. Morrow would have to be the first smaller wing to go though with her ability to shoot, defend and rebound. Citron to me is a wildcard, maybe sticks maybe doesn't.

 

[Vowelguy]

There are still many good players available in this draft. However there is no one other than Paige that is going to place people in the stands; have game and is fun to be around. The Dallas arena seats 6000 people. You would think that with so many arenas in the area that the Wings would be playing in a bigger arena. But we will see what happens on Monday.

In 2023, they averaged 4640, so capacity wasn't a big issue. Last year saw a big jump to 5900, so yes it got tighter.

Next year they move into a downtown Dallas arena with 10k capacity.

 

[NEforceUConn]

Kiki will have a good chance to a long term pro. She has the game and in the pros you don't have to carry your team to be valuable like you do in college. Morrow would have to be the first smaller wing to go though with her ability to shoot, defend and rebound. Citron to me is a wildcard, maybe sticks maybe doesn't.

Kiki didn’t impress me in our recent game, rather pedestrian. She’s had better NCAA games so perhaps it was an off night. But top 5 is showing a shallow pool.

 

[oldhusky]

I agree 100% with you that the GMs know who is eligible. But I am going to pose a 100% hypothetical.
What if a GM is thinking of selecting Aubrey. But Aubrey, hypothetically, would rather sit out this WNBA season in order to rehab her sore knee to prevent a long-term situation. She was rested at the end of this season for a reason.
I believe the GM, and league, would like to know. Not sure if teams would draft a second or third round pick that wasn't immediately available.
I repeat, this is hypothetical and is totally my thinking alone and not rumor based.

Las Vegas drafted Elisabeth Kitley last year in the second round knowing she would not play one second of the season. She had a late season ACL injury and with a one year recovery time it was obvious she would miss all of the WNBA season. So in that case an unavailable player was drafted in the second round and it could turn out to be a very smart pick for Vegas. Obviously she was probably a first rounder minus the injury.

The other thing about someone you are considering that might have injury concerns, or even questions whether they want to play in the WNBA is you can do your homework. Contact them and get a good read on the situation. That is not tampering when their eligibility is up, but you could see why the league would want possible entrants to declare if they had possible remaining eligibility.

If it's used up there is no need to. The last few years have been complicated by the Covid extra year possibility. That has now disappeared for all but a relatively few like Paige, that had the Covid year plus red-shirt years. In the future the only players with optional years will be those who take a red-shirt year or turn 22 by the draft, not the huge number that had the Covid optional year.

Any team interested in Aubrey or a player in a similar situation should be doing their research and contacting her right now if they have any questions.

 

[oldhusky]

With Fudd, Miles & Johnson (LSU) all electing to stay in college for another year, it really is an exceptionally weak draft.

And it was fairly predictable that many with the option would wait because of the potential advantages in the next collective bargaining agreement, where salaries are expected to increase substantially. I actually think this draft was going to be pretty weak without that factor, but take those players out and it could be one of the worst drafts in recent memory.

 

[cancontent]

I thought their goal was to use the two high picks, and possibly future picks, and trade with Dallas for the #1 pick - Paige

Where have you seen this stated by the Mystics? Many posts have put this out as an idea but I don't recall the Mystics saying anything publicly.

 

[Stagnant]

I agree with the post above on Seattle. Malonga has to go number two. Not picking her there would be a firable offense.

I hope Chen and/or Aubrey are drafted. Just because I think it will always be a good thing for them to be able to say that they were drafted. Kaitlyn I think is more likely.

 

[Centerstream]

Where have you seen this stated by the Mystics? Many posts have put this out as an idea but I don't recall the Mystics saying anything publicly.

I did not post that the Mystics stated it. I said that "I thought" which is my way of saying that I read it here on the BY or some media outlets.
Am I not allowed to post what I think? Seems to be pretty common nowadays.

 

[cancontent]

I did not post that the Mystics stated it. I said that "I thought" which is my way of saying that I read it here on the BY or some media outlets.
Am I not allowed to post what I think? Seems to be pretty common nowadays.

I thought their goal was to use the two high picks, and possibly future picks, and trade with Dallas for the #1 pick - Paige

This is what you posted. I'm not sure how I was to infer that you were referring to posts from other BYers or the media. I asked a question as to when the Mystics said this publicly which is a fair one to ask based how I interpreted this post.

 

[Bald Husky]

In addition, I don’t know that Dallas has definitively stated they will draft Paige and are not open to any offers to trade the first pick.

Dallas has been acquiring players during free agency, every position out there except Point guard. They are building a team to put around her. She will be a Wing in a weeks' time, no doubt.

 

[jeff30189]

Question: Lucy Olsen or Kaitlyn Chen? You can make a reasonable argument either way.

 

[cancontent]

Question: Lucy Olsen or Kaitlyn Chen? You can make a reasonable argument either way.

As in should they be drafted or where they could be drafted? I could see Olsen being low first to second round.

Not sure about Chen as I didn't see much of her play while at Harvard. If based on her UConn season, I could see a team taking a chance, similar to what the Aces did with Kate Martin last year.

 

[oldude]

Question: Lucy Olsen or Kaitlyn Chen? You can make a reasonable argument either way.

As a UConn fan I love Kaitlyn. But if I was drafting a player for the W, I would have to go with Olsen. At times this season she carried Iowa, and she is an outstanding 3-level scorer.