WNBA 2026 Draft: TODAY, Monday April 13 7:30 EDT espn | Page 4 | The Boneyard

WNBA 2026 Draft: TODAY, Monday April 13 7:30 EDT espn

Immediate draft reactions:

Some of these fits are puzzling. I personally think Dallas could've thrived from choosing Betts or Miles. Fudd is a great 3 and D player but pairing her with Arike doesn’t make sense. And this might be a hot take but I don't think Fudd and Paige thrive playing with each other. Paige's best work came when Azzi wasn't on the court or was very quiet. And Fudd's best UCONN moments came when Paige wasn't on the court, or when she was having an off night.

Miles to Minnesota is another questionable choice. Miles is a stud but Courtney Williams has done a terrific job playing PG in Minnesota and is signed for 2 years on a high contract. I doubt Williams will get pushed to the 2, and I don't see them co-existing well since neither is a great shooter. Miles is m far too good to be a backup PG for more than 1 season. I would've 100% taken Betts here, especially since they just lost Smith.

I can't believe the Valks traded Flaujae for Suarez and a 2028 2nd round pick. Seattle fleeced the Valks there. I haven't seen a ton of Fam but is it overkill (or genius) to have her, Malonga and Ezi all together? All 3 are long, athletic, foreign post players.


Mystics got the steal of the draft by getting Betts at 4. Dugalic at 9 is poor value, they should've picked Raven. Cotie could be a good pro but has some red flags, I don't hate it for a 10th pick. Harmon is a great 3rd round pick, I'm not sure she sticks with Amoore on the roster too. Having multiple 5'6 PGs would be a rarity.

Raven as a backup to Clark makes a lot of sense, but they already have Tyasha Harris there. Do they really need 3 PGs? None of those 3 are combo guards either and Clark is probably playing 35 minutes a night. I guess it's good to have backup options after their PG disaster last year but it seems like overkill to me. Also Raven did not look thrilled to get picked by Indy.

Very surprised Mair went in the first round. I was surprised Latson dropped so far--I think she would've been a top 10 pick if she didn't transfer for her final season.

Lots of really good unpolished athletes in the 2nd and 3rd rounds in Key, Lattimore, Barker, Spearman and Williams. Key in particular has some nice skills that could help her last.

I don't think it's a particularly strong draft but there are a lot of 2nd/3rd round draft picks who could stick and make a roster with the league expanding.
 
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jdote33 said:
Its crazy, as a freshman I remember her being a scorer leading Texas pretty far into the tournament. Then as a junior I remember her playing seemingly her best basketball and absolutely killing uconn. I felt like she was the best point guard in the country. She got injured somewhat shortly after that. And then she played two years where I thought she never quite got back to that level but she was still really good. Like at 5'6 she used to get to any spot and pull up. She also just used to be a bit more aggressive offensively. That was long winded but I really like the pick. I think she could definitely outplay Olson and Amore and I don't say that as a slight to them
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Very well put, I appreciate the long winded thought and agree with all of this. I know her scoring was down this year but I always felt like she could create her own shot at any moment but was choosing not to. Texas had it's best offensive team under Vic this year so she was making making the right choices offensively, but I think she could've been a 12-15 ppg scorer if she wanted to.
 
bballnut90 said:
Very well put, I appreciate the long winded thought and agree with all of this. I know her scoring was down this year but I always felt like she could create her own shot at any moment but was choosing not to. Texas had it's best offensive team under Vic this year so she was making making the right choices offensively, but I think she could've been a 12-15 ppg scorer if she wanted to.
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I think Vic burns players out. Physically and mentally. Harmon would probably never admit to it, but big picture….explain the mass exodus on a Final 4 team. I ran across this video this evening. SO he knows she does all this stuff, but has no problem stepping up to a podium and publicly undressing her and teammates in a not so delicate way.

 
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First round

1. Dallas Wings: Azzi Fudd

2. Minnesota Lynx: Olivia Miles

3. Seattle Storm: Awa Fam

4. Washington Mystics: Lauren Betts

5. Chicago Sky: Gabriela Jaquez

6. Toronto Tempo: Kiki Rice

7. Portland Fire: Iyana Martin

8. Golden State Valkyries: Flau’jae Johnson (traded to Seattle Storm)

9. Washington Mystics: Angela Dugalic

10. Indiana Fever: Raven Johnson

11. Washington Mystics: Cotie McMahon

12. Connecticut Sun: Nell Angloma

13. Atlanta Dream: Madina Okot

14. Seattle Storm: Taina Mair

15. Golden State Valkyries: Gianna Kneepkens

Second round

16. Seattle Storm: Marta Suarez, Spain (traded to the Golden State Valkyries)

17. Portland Fire: Frieda BĂĽhner, Germany

18. Connecticut Sun: Charlisse Leger-Walker, UCLA

19. Washington Mystics: Cassandre Prosper, Notre Dame

20: Los Angeles Sparks: Ta’Niya Latson, South Carolina

21. Chicago Sky: Latasha Lattimore, Mississippi

22. Toronto Tempo: Teonni Key, Kentucky

23. Golden State Valkyries: Ashlon Jackson, Duke

24. Los Angeles Sparks: Chance Gray

25. Indiana Fever: Justine Pissott, Vanderbilt

26. Toronto Tempo: Saffron Shiels, Australia

27. Phoenix Mercury: Ines Pitarch-Granel, France

28. Atlanta Dream: Indya Nivar, North Carolina

29. Las Vegas Aces: Janiah Barker, Tennessee

30. Washington Mystics: Darianna Littlepage-Buggs, Baylor

Third round

31. Dallas Wings: Zee Spearman, Tennessee

32. Chicago Sky: Tonie Morgan, Kentucky

33. Connecticut Sun: Serah Williams, UConn

34. Washington Mystics: Rori Harmon, Texas

35. Los Angeles Sparks: Amelia Hassett, Kentucky

36. Toronto Tempo: Charlise Dunn, Davidson

37. Portland Fire: Taylor Bigby, TCU

38. Golden State Valkyries: Kokoro Tanaka, Japan

39. Seattle Storm: Grace VanSlooten, Michigan State

40. Indiana Fever: Jessica Timmons, Alabama

41. New York Liberty: Manuela Puoch, Australia

42. Phoenix Mercury: Ester Ratkai, Hungary

43. Atlanta Dream: Kejia Ran, China

44. Las Vegas Aces: Jordan Obi, Kentucky

45. Minnesota Lynx: Lani White, Utah
 
Centerstream said:
How many other teams have had 4 or more players even drafted? I think a while back Notre Dame had a few teammates drafted but not really positive.
But I agree, it's gotta be up there among the unique draft scenarios.
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In regards to Notre Dame, they had 5 in 2019 who all are still playing in the WNBA 7 years later:
-Jackie Young (3 championships, 2x All-WNBA 2nd Team)
-Brianna Turner (2x All WNBA Defensive Team)
-Jessica Shepard (just signed a million dollar contract in Dallas)
-Arike (3x All-WNBA 1st or 2nd team)
-Marina Mabrey (double digit scorer in 6 of 7 years)
 
TerpWomenFan said:
cancontent should be really happy.

Another great pick by the Mystics. Three out of four great picks.
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Pleasantly surprised as I was in the "stay for one more year" camp. She's got her work cut out for her though with the roster that the Mystics have currently.
 
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cancontent said:
Pleasantly surprised as I was in the "stay for one more year" camp. She's got her work cut out for her though with the roster that the Mystics have currently.
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No she don't. At least for this season. I would worry about her place on the roster two years from now.
 
Shocked yet ecstatic that Mair got drafted in the first round. She wasn't a top 100 recruit out of high school...doubt she received a major college offer other than Boston College... Excelled in her freshman year then transferred to Duke. Was solid her sophomore and junior years, but was a All-ACC performer as a senior. I'm slightly biased, but she played as well as any guard (not named Hildago) in the country in the month of March. Love this for her.
 
LwrcasefaN said:
I think Vic burns players out. Physically and mentally. Harmon would probably never admit to it, but big picture….explain the mass exodus on a Final 4 team. I ran across this video this evening. SO he knows she does all this stuff, but has no problem stepping up to a podium and publicly undressing her and teammates in a not so delicate way.

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I think down 47-44 to UCLA with around 20 seconds left and Booker going 3-23, taking it inside against Betts with open players on the wings says it all.
 
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cancontent said:
Considering who they drafted, and who they currently have I'm not so sure.
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The only current player the Mystics have on their roster with her skillset is Onyewere. And she has been on a downward trajectory since her ROY. I would worry just a little bit about McMahon. But I feel both make the roster and be in the rotation.
 
cancontent said:


Apparently the trade between GS and the Storm was in place before picks were made. Interesting.
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I am so confused by this trade. I don't follow the logic to trade away a player with a higher ceiling in Flau'jae so that you can grab two bench/role players at best (Suarez + 2nd round pick in next year's draft).
 
bballnut90 said:
Immediate draft reactions:

Some of these fits don't make a ton of sense to me. I personally think Dallas could've thrived from choosing Betts or Miles. Fudd is a great 3 and D player but pairing her with Arike is a bit of a head scratcher for me. And this might be a hot take but I don't think Fudd and Paige thrive playing with each other. Paige's best work came when Azzi wasn't on the court or was very quiet. And Fudd's best UCONN moments came when Paige wasn't on the court, or when she was having an off night.

Miles to Minnesota doesn't make sense to me. Courtney Williams has done a terrific job playing PG in Minnesota and is signed for 2 years on a high contract. I doubt Williams will get pushed to the 2, and I don't see them co-existing well since neither is a great shooter. Miles is great but this fit doesn't make sense and she's far too good to be a backup PG for more than 1 season. I would've 100% taken Betts here, especially since they just lost Smith.

I can't believe the Valks traded Flaujae for Suarez and a 2028 2nd round pick. Seattle fleeced the Valks there. I haven't seen a ton of Fam but is it overkill (or genius) to have her, Malonga and Ezi all together? All 3 are long, athletic, foreign post players.


Mystics got the steal of the draft by getting Betts at 4. Dugalic at 9 doesn't make sense, they should've picked Raven. Cotie could be a good pro but has some red flags, I don't hate it for a 10th pick. Harmon is a great 3rd round pick, I'm not sure she sticks with Amoore on the roster too. Having multiple 5'6 PGs would be a rarity.

Raven as a backup to Clark makes a lot of sense, but they already have Tyasha Harris there. Do they really need 3 PGs? None of those 3 are combo guards either and Clark is probably playing 35 minutes a night. I guess it's good to have backup options after their PG disaster last year but it seems like overkill to me.

Very surprised Mair went in the first round. I was surprised Latson dropped so far--I think she would've been a top 10 pick if she didn't transfer for her final season.

Lots of really good unpolished athletes in the 2nd and 3rd rounds in Key, Lattimore, Barker, Spearman and Williams. Key in particular has some nice skills that could help her last.

I don't think it's a particularly strong draft but there are a lot of 2nd/3rd round draft picks who could stick and make a roster with the league expanding.
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Great analysis across the board. I am so confused by just about every team's drafting strategy. Why did the Mystics draft a parade of bigs after overpaying $3.7m for Shakira Austin and already having Kiki? Makes no sense.

Same with Seattle. You just locked down Ezi. You have Dom. Now you want ANOTHER big big? (At least they got Flau'jae... cough...)

Minnesota: same. Betts seemed like the more logical pick right after they locked down Williams. And Miles + Williams (off ball?) is not a great perimeter defense, which was each of their weaknesses individually and will become exposed by teams with a good backcourt.

And Golden State? I'm not going to lie, Flau'jae is not a great culture fit for us. And I get that we agreed to the trade before Flau'jae fell to 8th. But you HAVE to know if you draft her and then trade her it's going to become a thing. I think we're never going to live that down, unfortunately, and I feel really bad for Marta Suarez who didn't do anything to deserve that.

Mostly, I feel bad for the UCLA women, five of whom who have been sent to the three worst managed franchises in the league - Connecticut, Washington, and Chicago. We'll see how the Tempo do, maybe Kiki was the real winner of the evening.
 
bballnut90 said:
In regards to Notre Dame, they had 5 in 2019 who all are still playing in the WNBA 7 years later:
-Jackie Young (3 championships, 2x All-WNBA 2nd Team)
-Brianna Turner (2x All WNBA Defensive Team)
-Jessica Shepard (just signed a million dollar contract in Dallas)
-Arike (3x All-WNBA 1st or 2nd team)
-Marina Mabrey (double digit scorer in 6 of 7 years)
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....and the undrafted starter in 2018, Kat Westbeld, persevered on a worldwide journey over many years to make the league and the Mercury last year.
So, the top 6 players from the '18-19 team are -- knock on wood -- still in the league.
 
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Agree with what folks are saying about some these fits from the outside...but thinking about the dominoes here.

Dallas: Once they got Alanna Smith and Jess Shepard in free agency, seemed pretty evident they were going to get a guard with #1. I think Miles projects as the better player than Fudd, but her skill sets overlap a ton with Paige and Arike, while Fudd is more of a compliment player (3 and D). Plus you make your franchise player happy by drafting her, so Fudd it is.

MN: One, they may have just thought Miles was the best player available. Two, McBride and Williams are great, but they are also both over 30. They also both can't play 40 min a game. So you get someone to learn from them and provide you a super sub off the bench. With the way the Lynx roster looks now, there will be plenty of time for Miles even if she doesn't start.

Seattle: Fam on the surface seems duplicative, but given both top guards were picked 1/2, they probably went with best overall player. Getting Flaujae later makes their overall draft night look pretty good.

Washington: With Betts available at 4, you can't pass her up. I was...confused by Dugalic at #9...with Raven Johnson right there. Then again, Betts and Dugalic play really well together, so now you have Austin and Kiki as starters, with Betts and Dugalic off the bench. That's a pretty good post rotation. Washington needs guards and shooting though--so I'm pretty surprised they passed, multiple times, on both Latson and Kneepkins. I like the Rori Harmon pick in 3rd round--hope she sticks around as one of their development players.

Chicago: Out of nowhere, the Sky look fairly stacked: Cardoso, Azura, Rickea, Skylar, Vandersloot, Carrington. You already have backup guards in Sheldon, Banham, Van Lith. So Jaquez makes a lot of sense here--a swiss army knife who brings energy and can fit in wherever they need her.

Toronto: Nice fit for Rice. With Allemand/Sykes/Mabrey, she won't be asked to perform immediately, but there will be minutes for her to find her footing.


On the Raven to Indiana of it all, for all the noise, both the GM and Coach White seem THRILLED and it seems like she will play an important part of their guard rotation with Clark, Mitchell, and Harris. I think she will thrive here.
 
TerpWomenFan said:
The only current player the Mystics have on their roster with her skillset is Onyewere. And she has been on a downward trajectory since her ROY. I would worry just a little bit about McMahon. But I feel both make the roster and be in the rotation.
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The signing of Onyenwere and the drafting of McMahon tells me this:
- Johnson (it's his team now) wanted to get physical at the wing/small forward slot, so he got a short-term and long-term fix.
Like many, my concern is that McMahon knows her place on this team. Given that Onyenware is also a coach, hopefully she'll imbue this sensibility. If it works, this could keep other teams defenses honest and a bit on their heels.
  • OK, Soni Citron is the #2. And Lucy Olsen is probably her backup. Has to be the reason we didn't see any shooting/scoring guards drafted.
  • Both Dugalic and Prosper are tweeners, but they bring some interesting traits. Dugalic can come outside and shoot, but has that nice turnaround in the lane. Prosper can play defense, rebound and run, run, run. Citron knows how to get the most out of her and will convey that.
  • With the Austin (re) signing, does anyone feel like there's one-too-many people in the paint? Stay tuned.
 
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cancontent said:


Nice touch by the Tempo in having Vince Carter welcome Rice to the W.
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She is "so in a good situation" with a solid pg to learn from and a coach who has been there/won that.
 
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bballnut90 said:
Immediate draft reactions:

Some of these fits don't make a ton of sense to me. I personally think Dallas could've thrived from choosing Betts or Miles. Fudd is a great 3 and D player but pairing her with Arike is a bit of a head scratcher for me. And this might be a hot take but I don't think Fudd and Paige thrive playing with each other. Paige's best work came when Azzi wasn't on the court or was very quiet. And Fudd's best UCONN moments came when Paige wasn't on the court, or when she was having an off night.

Miles to Minnesota doesn't make sense to me. Courtney Williams has done a terrific job playing PG in Minnesota and is signed for 2 years on a high contract. I doubt Williams will get pushed to the 2, and I don't see them co-existing well since neither is a great shooter. Miles is great but this fit doesn't make sense and she's far too good to be a backup PG for more than 1 season. I would've 100% taken Betts here, especially since they just lost Smith.

I can't believe the Valks traded Flaujae for Suarez and a 2028 2nd round pick. Seattle fleeced the Valks there. I haven't seen a ton of Fam but is it overkill (or genius) to have her, Malonga and Ezi all together? All 3 are long, athletic, foreign post players.


Mystics got the steal of the draft by getting Betts at 4. Dugalic at 9 doesn't make sense, they should've picked Raven. Cotie could be a good pro but has some red flags, I don't hate it for a 10th pick. Harmon is a great 3rd round pick, I'm not sure she sticks with Amoore on the roster too. Having multiple 5'6 PGs would be a rarity.

Raven as a backup to Clark makes a lot of sense, but they already have Tyasha Harris there. Do they really need 3 PGs? None of those 3 are combo guards either and Clark is probably playing 35 minutes a night. I guess it's good to have backup options after their PG disaster last year but it seems like overkill to me.

Very surprised Mair went in the first round. I was surprised Latson dropped so far--I think she would've been a top 10 pick if she didn't transfer for her final season.

Lots of really good unpolished athletes in the 2nd and 3rd rounds in Key, Lattimore, Barker, Spearman and Williams. Key in particular has some nice skills that could help her last.

I don't think it's a particularly strong draft but there are a lot of 2nd/3rd round draft picks who could stick and make a roster with the league expanding.
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Some responses, starting with those in blue.
- I thought the Lynx would take a big, given Phee's recovery from surgery, Dorka Juhasz's being away from the W for a year and Smith/Shep taking the bus to Dallas. Nastasha Howard is not the way going forward. It's the omission that I think will catch up to them
  • That said, Miles has a terrific upside. I don't she was drafted to sit. Williams will go back to the #2, which is what she was before learning point in Chicago. And K-Mac will easily move over to the Wing position, which was filled by Carlton. BTW, since coming back from her ACL injury, Miles has shot 48% from the field each of the last two years and averaged 38% from three and more than 80% fromt the FT line.
  • Like you, I'm flummoxed by the Johnson for Suarez deal. All that for a #2 in '28? Buyers remorse at the last second? Or just a plain old fleecing?
  • Two teams seemed to be overstocked up front: The Storm, as mentioned; and, the Mystics, with Iriafen, Austin, Betts and Dugalic.
Did the overall director of the Mystics not want to give up Austin for nothing? By signing her, you might as well use her to the fullest and then drafting a center and roving power forward doesn't seem right or tight. Still, it's very good talent all around and maybe it can mesh and/or be used for trade capital.
 
Dillon77 said:
The signing of Onyenwere and the drafting of McMahon tells me this:
Like many, my concern is that McMahon knows her place on this team.
[/LIST]
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While I appreciate your thoughts on the composition of the Mystics roster, I am puzzled by this comment regarding McMahon. I've never heard anything before hinting at this kind of problem. Where are you getting this from?
 
TerpWomenFan said:
The only current player the Mystics have on their roster with her skillset is Onyewere. And she has been on a downward trajectory since her ROY. I would worry just a little bit about McMahon. But I feel both make the roster and be in the rotation.
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She doesn't have the same skillset as Onyewere, at this point yet, in my opinion. She's more of a W/F than a guard as she's listed.

If the Mystics plans are stashing her as a development player, I can see that. But beating out the likes of Dugalic, McMahon, Iriafen, and Austin to name a few for playing time, I'm not 100% sure.
 
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