rewrite this content and keep HTML tags
NEW YORK – “The WNBA Been Poppin”
I didn’t say it, though I have many times. This time, the message came courtesy of Saniya Rivers’ bag, a statement that set the tone for the 2025 WNBA Draft and served as a reminder of everything and everyone it took to get to this moment.
“Just as the bag says: we’re popping,” Rivers stated on Monday night, soon after the Connecticut Sun selected her with the No. 8 pick. “Now that I’m here, I’m ready to pop it.”
I look forward to covering the draft every year, largely because of the event’s uniqueness. It’s a work function draped in celebratory garb, a kickoff that doubles as a reunion, an evening of laughter and tears and scurrying from one place to the next, only to wonder, wait, is there actually more fun happening in the room I just darted out of?
FOMO (fear of missing out, for the fellow old souls like myself who struggle with “trendy” acronyms and must be told how to post an Instagram story) is a part of the experience, but only because of the richness embedded in the women’s basketball ecosystem.
The families make the night. These are the folks who mean the most to the players, who’ve made these careers a reality, looking exquisite as they beam with pride and glee. Seeing smiles, tears, and shouts of joy from parents, siblings, friends, and other loved ones is by far the most resonant aspect of this occasion year-in and year-out.
The luminaries in attendance lend a glitz factor that cannot be understated. It’s such a built-in boon that each year, the best college coaches in the country gather at the draft to see off their star players—a graduation of sorts for the future professionals. Current WNBA players always populate the Orange Carpet. And of course you have the “random” celebrities, if you will, this year headlined by Russell Westbrook, who designed Georgia Amoore’s outfit.
Beginning anew in 2024, after becoming a invite-only event since 2016, an exciting audience contingent was added back to the WNBA Draft guest list: fans! In typically wordy fashion, this is where I’ve been trying to steer the article—an examination of what it takes to make the leap from invite-only draft celebration to a public affair. An undeniably positive decision, adding fans to the docket presents some logistical difficulties commissioner Cathy Engelbert and Co. are navigating in real time.
The WNBA finds itself in a fascinating spot. The league is experiencing a level of growth we’re all hyper-aware of, almost to a tiresome degree. There’s an understandable urge to keep mentioning this massive spike in attention, to argue on behalf of its validity and staying power. It’s something we hear every time Engelbert stands in front of a podium, and it makes sense. These are State of the Union-style addresses, and there’s value from a league perspective in articulating publicly the ways in which popularity is exploding, should any potential investors or brand partners be on the other end of the television screen. Before the picks begin to flow, a teleprompter highlights wins, metrics, and updates from the last 365 days.
The 2025 #WNBADraft on ESPN delivered the second most-viewed WNBA Draft ever, averaging 1.25M viewers👏
🏀 1.46M peak🏀 Most-viewed program across ALL TV among M18-34, M18-49 & P18-34🏀 Top cable program among M25-54, P18-49 & P25-54 pic.twitter.com/io5HdjpuSF
— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) April 15, 2025
What was clear, though, attending Monday evening’s draft at The Shed in Manhattan’s Hudson Yards, is that the league still has work to do in figuring out how to nail one of its signature events.
On a night meant to be rife with exuberance and exultation, there was an odd, technical undercurrent that muted the festivities. You see, the ESPN broadcast is played live in the room, as if everyone has purchased tickets to a watch party and not the actual event. Each time a player was selected, they were serenaded with their own scouting report as they walked up to receive the handshake and photo of a lifetime.
Don’t be afraid to turn this thing up, WNBA decision makers! Jenna Lemoncelli nails it as the in-theater host, and DJ Diamond Kuts has hits upon hits on that sparking laptop. Frustratingly, the tunes are played at a volume befitting an apartment in which the upstairs neighbor curmudgeonly must be in bed by 8:30 PM, and not, you know… the WNBA Draft. How about a walk-up song for the draftees? How about a photo/video slideshow of basketball highlights and life moments that brought players to where they are today?
Trial and error is essential to landing on something that really works—all part of a natural process that has the WNBA on a sturdy and exciting path. The last two drafts have been thrilling, fans of all ages erupting with excitement at sharing space with their idols.
Hey, speaking of those idols, how about a word or two on the draft itself, huh? Do you ever get tired of having so many opinions?
Right. Apologies.
Paige Bueckers went first overall to Dallas, a pick so unsurprising that the Wings social media team practically confirmed it via Twitter hours before the broadcast.
The National Champion UConn Huskies rolled deep at the venue, and in one of the coolest moments of the night—reminiscent of Kate Martin’s selection last year at BAM—Bueckers’ teammates Kaitlyn Chen and Aubrey Griffin were taken in the third round, invited up to the stage from the crowd, so to speak. The shared elation of Bueckers, Chen, Griffin, and all their UConn teammates was so deserved, stamping the night with all the heartwarming emotions.
Seattle took Dominique Malonga with the second overall pick, the Storm quietly and shrewdly building a contender. Malonga is going to be a superstar.
“My family is here,” said Malonga. “They’re witnesses for all the work I’ve put in. I’m so happy to represent France, but not only France: Cameroon, Congo.”
Malonga was not the only one proudly representing her heritage. Kiki Iriafen—Washington’s pick with the fourth overall selection, after the Mystics took Sonia Citron third—donned a gold dress created by Nigerian designer Nneka Alexander. Iriafen’s family were clad in traditional Nigerian attire, collectively winning the night’s fashion-focused gold medal in a landslide.
While on the topic of style, Washington’s third selection of its top six picks made another fashionista—NBA future Hall of Famer, Westbrook—very proud. The Mystics took Amoore at No. 6, Washington understanding the assignment in nabbing two high-ceiling guards along with the best player available (Iriafen).
Connecticut quietly authored a draft that signals a brighter future than the doom and gloom which has followed them this free agency. The Sun took Aneesah Morrow at No. 7 (she was projected fifth overall by many) and Rivers at No. 8, two players whom, after hearing them speak to media, made me feel like Connecticut had landed a pair of winners capable of ushering in a new era in Uncasville.
The Wings, headed by new general manager Curt Miller, straight up ATE. It wasn’t just Bueckers—Aziaha James fell to Dallas at No. 12; then the Wings took Madison Scott (No. 14), JJ Quinerly (No. 27), and Aaronette Vonleh (No. 31).
Las Vegas didn’t have spectacular positioning entering the evening (and it somehow still doesn’t have a GM!?!), owning only the 13th and 35th picks. Given that reality, the Aces stood out as a major winner. At No. 13, Las Vegas drafted Aaliyah Nye out of Alabama, a player with exceptional three-point shooting prowess (she posted percentages of 45.1, 41.7, and 45.5 from deep her final three college seasons, on 5.5, 7.6, and 7.4 attempts per game, respectively). At No 35., the Aces took Harmoni Turner, a player who helped put Harvard basketball on the map, and who I desperately want to make the roster.
Speaking of… this is my annual call for the WNBA to stretch its rosters to 15 players. Every year on draft night, I watch the second and third round, beaming as favorites from my time watching college ball have their dreams realized. I want these dreams to continue to be realized!
It’s not a secret to those who follow me on social media that I’m a South Carolina Gamecocks fan. Three National Champion Gamecocks were taken in the second round: Te-Hina Paopao to Atlanta at No. 18, Bree Hall to Indiana at No. 20, and Sania Feagin to Los Angeles at No. 21. These players deserve a real shot at being able to stick on WNBA rosters.
As the evening wrapped, my mind wandered back to the words etched on Rivers’ bag.
The WNBA been poppin.
It’s so cool watching an incoming class of WNBA rookies acknowledge those who paved the way, those who were popping before the league received its proper credit within the sports landscape. The league itself may not have perfected draft night yet, and that’s okay. There’s plenty of time for that.
Until then, women’s basketball players will continue to pop, thrive, excel, and proudly be themselves, same as it ever was.
