WNBA mock draft: Bueckers a lock at No. 1, but who is No. 2?

[Kaizen]

Much of the WNBA player movement via free agency and trades has fallen into place. And as rosters take shape, it's a good time to look again at how the 2025 WNBA draft might shake out -- especially as the No. 2 pick changed hands late last month, going from the Los Angeles Sparks to the Seattle Storm.

Speculation is a part of compiling every WNBA mock draft. And at this point, that includes which players will declare for it.

ESPN's WNBA mock draft will continue to include some players who still have college eligibility after this season. The biggest changes in this mock draft are omitting players such as UCLA center Lauren Betts and UConn guard Azzi Fudd, who were included in previous iterations.

Betts, a draft-eligible junior, is expected to return for her senior season to play alongside her sister, Sienna, who will be a UCLA freshman in 2025-26. Fudd, who redshirted last season because of an injury, seems likely to stay for another season of development with the Huskies.

WNBA mock draft: If Bueckers is a lock at No. 1, which player goes No. 2?

Pencil in Paige Bueckers as the Dallas Wings' No. 1 pick. Where will Olivia Miles, Kiki Iriafen and Sedona Prince go in the 2025 WNBA draft?

www.espn.com

 

[yhun89]

There's no doubt Paige isn't going to Dallas. The coaching staff follows her, and she'd be perfect to pair with Arike. An unselfish player, like Paige, who will pass the ball whenever she can, with a high usage shooting guard like Arike, one of the better iso guards in the W.

Given that it's the Storm with No. 2, I think it's Miles. Whitcomb and Loyd left, and with Horston tearing her ACL, Miles may be their choice. Their guard rotation has died down a bit.

Sky should 100% take a guard, their front court of Cardoso and Reese is pretty good already. I don't know about taking Citron though. She's somewhat slowed down offensively in ND's last few games. Defensive menace for sure, but not sure how consistently she could provide them with offense.

Not sure about others, but a few I would move down are Aneesah and Georgia. Aneesah really doesn't have any kind of outside shot (not from what I've seen) and is incredibly limited on offense. Elite rebounder sure, but offensively she doesn't give much versatility or spacing.

Amoore is TO prone, and undersized for the W. If Fair couldn't make it, despite being an elite scoring small guard in college, Amoore likely won't. Her defense isn't great either, which was Fair's problem according to Hammon.

 

[Dillon77]

There's no doubt Paige isn't going to Dallas. The coaching staff follows her, and she'd be perfect to pair with Arike. An unselfish player, like Paige, who will pass the ball whenever she can, with a high usage shooting guard like Arike, one of the better iso guards in the W.

Given that it's the Storm with No. 2, I think it's Miles. Whitcomb and Loyd left, and with Horston tearing her ACL, Miles may be their choice. Their guard rotation has died down a bit.

Sky should 100% take a guard, their front court of Cardoso and Reese is pretty good already. I don't know about taking Citron though. She's somewhat slowed down offensively in ND's last few games. Defensive menace for sure, but not sure how consistently she could provide them with offense.

Not sure about others, but a few I would move down are Aneesah and Georgia. Aneesah really doesn't have any kind of outside shot (not from what I've seen) and is incredibly limited on offense. Elite rebounder sure, but offensively she doesn't give much versatility or spacing.

Amoore is TO prone, and undersized for the W. If Fair couldn't make it, despite being an elite scoring small guard in college, Amoore likely won't. Her defense isn't great either, which was Fair's problem according to Hammon.

Some comments:

- I can't quite follow you on Paige/Dallas and Seattle. On one hand you're saying Paige would be perfect getting the ball to a high usage player like Arike and dishing to Carrington and Smith, even off drives to Big T. But you start your post with "There's no doubt that Paige isn't going to Dallas."

Curt Miller, the man who shaped and guided the Connecticut Sun we all used to know, certainly knows Paige Bueckers considering he lived in Connecticut for years. Interestingly, he's traded for two players he brought to the Sun -- Carrington and Ty Harris.

Miller knows what he's after and I think he'll use the #1 pick wisely. If he wants Paige, I'm sure he'll make the pitch directly to her., But if Paige ultimately doesn't want to go there or he thinks Olivia Miles is a better fit for this particular Dallas team, he might bait Seattle or someone else for the rights to Paige for a certain player(s) or draft choice(s)....but I don't think he'd go down too far in the draft because he wants high value.

- As for Citron, did you note she went 7-9 last night on shots at all three levels, had more steals than Hidalgo and had a lot of assists and rebounds, as well? Her ability to do iwhat is needed -- besides score -- is what makes her valuable: she makes the Irish better. If the Sky don't want her, I'm sure teams like the Lynx or Liberty will grab her. She's going to play in the league for ten years in my not humble opinion.

 

[yhun89]

Some comments:

- I can't quite follow you on Paige/Dallas and Seattle. On one hand you're saying Paige would be perfect getting the ball to a high usage player like Arike and dishing to Carrington and Smith, even off drives to Big T. But you start your post with "There's no doubt that Paige isn't going to Dallas."

Curt Miller, the man who shaped and guided the Connecticut Sun we all used to know, certainly knows Paige Bueckers considering he lived in Connecticut for years. Interestingly, he's traded for two players he brought to the Sun -- Carrington and Ty Harris.

Miller knows what he's after and I think he'll use the #1 pick wisely. If he wants Paige, I'm sure he'll make the pitch directly to her., But if Paige doesn't want there or he thinks Miles is a better fit for this particular Dallas team, he might bait Seattle or someone else for the rights to Paige for a certain player or draft choice....but I don't think he'd go down too far because he wants high value.

- As for Citron, did you note she shot 7-9 last night at all three levels, had more steals than Hidalgo and had a lot of assists and rebounds, as well? Her ability to do iwhat is needed -- besides score -- is what makes her valuable: she makes the Irish better. If the Sky don't want her, I'm sure teams like the Lynx or Liberty will grab her. She's going to play in the league for ten years in my not humble opinion.

First one: Typo. My bad.

Second one: Fair point. But if you look at her last few games before Cal:

9 PTS in a 96 point win vs Stanford, and she played 30 min.

8 PTS in a 89 point win vs LV, played 26 min.

8 PTS in a 77 point win vs VT, played 26 min.

Where she lacked in offense, she did well in passing, defending, and rebounding.

Sure, yesterday she has an elite game all around against a decent Cal team. I won’t deny that.

But offensively, if she’s only getting single digits in 40 point blowouts where she plays 30 minutes, there’s a bit of concern to be had there for what she can contribute scoring wise for a team like the Sky, that needs scoring guards, especially with them not resigning Carter.

She can make the W, but I’m disagreeing on the ten year part. I can see her being a role player for sure since she can do a lot on the court.

 

[FanInNC]

I’m curious for those who are familiar with both the WNBA and with Azaiah James’ game - what keeps her out of these conversations for being a first round pick or having a future in the WNBA?

I love Saniya Rivers, and I think she’s a phenomenal athlete and can guard multiple positions, handles the ball well, is great in transition and a solid passer - but I watch her and James play every from the time they stepped foot in Raleigh and James is a different level on offense. She’s a fine defender, doesn’t have the length and height of Saniya so she can’t guard 1 through 4 the same way, but she’s a perfectly capable defender against the 1 or 2. She can create for others. Handles the ball well. And she’s just a dynamic 3 level scorer who can drive, hit floaters, score in traffic, take contorted difficult angled shots and make the efficiently and get red hot from the 3 point arc. Not just as a set shooter but by stepping her defender back and creating space 1 on 1.

She seems to fly under the radar almost criminally to me, not just with mock drafts and such, but with postseason award watch lists and all American talk etc. What is missing from her game that keeps her out of the national discussion for the next level?

 

[WBBTakeover]

I’m curious for those who are familiar with both the WNBA and with Azaiah James’ game - what keeps her out of these conversations for being a first round pick or having a future in the WNBA?

I love Saniya Rivers, and I think she’s a phenomenal athlete and can guard multiple positions, handles the ball well, is great in transition and a solid passer - but I watch her and James play every from the time they stepped foot in Raleigh and James is a different level on offense. She’s a fine defender, doesn’t have the length and height of Saniya so she can’t guard 1 through 4 the same way, but she’s a perfectly capable defender against the 1 or 2. She can create for others. Handles the ball well. And she’s just a dynamic 3 level scorer who can drive, hit floaters, score in traffic, take contorted difficult angled shots and make the efficiently and get red hot from the 3 point arc. Not just as a set shooter but by stepping her defender back and creating space 1 on 1.

She seems to fly under the radar almost criminally to me, not just with mock drafts and such, but with postseason award watch lists and all American talk etc. What is missing from her game that keeps her out of the national discussion for the next level?

Her height and position. Aziaha is a 5'9 SG who doesn't quite light it up like, say, Ta'Niya Latson (who is shorter at 5'8). If she was leading the country in scoring, she would be in these conversations in a more prominent way because she can hoop.

I think she's a first-round talent, but I'm also hoping that she'll be on the board at #13 (for purely selfish reasons). To me, she's a lot like Tiffany Hayes (who was drafted in the second round when she shouldn't have dropped that far).

 

[Dillon77]

First one: Typo. My bad.

Second one: Fair point. But if you look at her last few games before Cal:

9 PTS in a 96 point win vs Stanford, and she played 30 min.

8 PTS in a 89 point win vs LV, played 26 min.

8 PTS in a 77 point win vs VT, played 26 min.

Where she lacked in offense, she did well in passing, defending, and rebounding.

Sure, yesterday she has an elite game all around against a decent Cal team. I won’t deny that.

But offensively, if she’s only getting single digits in 40 point blowouts where she plays 30 minutes, there’s a bit of concern to be had there for what she can contribute scoring wise for a team like the Sky, that needs scoring guards, especially with them not resigning Carter.

She can make the W, but I’m disagreeing on the ten year part. I can see her being a role player for sure since she can do a lot on the court.

With all due respect, the big picture is this: Sonia Citron is there to win. Win a championship and they don't need her to score big points to do that. They need her to do what you and many others see: she contributes on many other fronts.
When Citron was/is needed to score, she did this; most notably when Miles went down with an injury and being the #2 option to Hidalgo last year.

There's a reason she was chosen to do the post-game interview on the ACC show yesterday afternoon and represent the Irish as the post-game presser: she epitomizes all aspects of this team.

Scouts know this. If Citron had lost her touch totally, yes, I'd (partially) agree with you. But a slight slump in three-point shooting isn't going to faze scouts or me. BTW, she's taking five fewer shots per game at this point in the season than she did last year. Factor that into the mix and this conversation is not being held.

 

[Zanzman]

First one: Typo. My bad.

Second one: Fair point. But if you look at her last few games before Cal:

9 PTS in a 96 point win vs Stanford, and she played 30 min.

8 PTS in a 89 point win vs LV, played 26 min.

8 PTS in a 77 point win vs VT, played 26 min.

Where she lacked in offense, she did well in passing, defending, and rebounding.

Sure, yesterday she has an elite game all around against a decent Cal team. I won’t deny that.

But offensively, if she’s only getting single digits in 40 point blowouts where she plays 30 minutes, there’s a bit of concern to be had there for what she can contribute scoring wise for a team like the Sky, that needs scoring guards, especially with them not resigning Carter.

She can make the W, but I’m disagreeing on the ten year part. I can see her being a role player for sure since she can do a lot on the court.

Cintron and the game is much more than scoring and she is one that can and will sacrifice numbers for the good of the team.
I would take her on my team anyday these are the type players I love

 

[cancontent]

Cintron and the game is much more than scoring and she is one that can and will sacrifice numbers for the good of the team.
I would take her on my team anyday these are the type players I love

The Sky needs someone who's willing to do what's needed and play a role to support Reese and Cardoso. Citron will do anything asked of her as she's capable of doing everything (scoring, defending, facilitating). Having a well rounded game like hers would be what the team needs. If they draft Citron, she gets to learn from Vandersloot too, which would be amazing.

 

[JellyBean]

I will wait until I hear more on who is staying in college and who is not.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Depending on need, I'd probably take Lucy Olsen before some of these projected 1st Rounders.