Rookie Spotlight – Volume 1: Kiki Iriafen » Winsidr

Entering this WNBA season, it felt like a given that Paige Bueckers—the number one overall pick to the Dallas Wings—would be the best rookie in the 2025 class. She’s one of the most well-rounded rookies the league has seen in years, and she was coming into the year fully healthy after winning her first and final championship with UConn just a few months ago. 

The thing about assumptions, though…

Rookies are shining all across the league so far this season. This so-called ‘weak’ class is showing they’re anything but. 

There’s been one that’s really stood out amongst the pack, though, and she’s facing stiff competition only from someone who plays on the same team as her—Washington Mystics forward Kiki Iriafen. 

Iriafen, who just won Rookie of the Month for her performance in May, averaged a double double to kick off her rookie campaign during that month. It’s hard to evaluate her as a rookie, because she seemingly stepped foot on the court for her first professional game and shed that rookie status immediately. 

“She’s willing to learn and she works hard from what I see, so obviously she’s going to have a great career.”

Breanna Stewart praises Mystics rookie Kiki Iriafen’s game: pic.twitter.com/AGLkfBYazO

— New York Liberty Videos (@SNYLiberty) June 6, 2025

The Mystics, which are 3-6 on the season with a ton of promising moments for their rookies like Iriafen, Sonia Citron, and Lucy Olsen, have been a force in transition, in great part due to Iriafen. Their second-most common lineup of Stef Dolson, Brittney Sykes, Jade Melbourne, Iriafen, and Citron are posting an elite net rating of 23.5, and an impressive defensive rating of 97.5, as well. 

Their pace of 95.10 is also proof of how quickly Kiki Iriafen is able to push the ball up the floor as a sprinter down to the other end of the court off misses, and she’s consistently bulldozing through veterans struggling to keep her still in the post. She’s already rooked players like Breanna Stewart, A’ja Wilson, and Aliyah Boston numerous times this season. 

Iriafen’s ROTM was well deserved, in short, but she has been essentially trading friendly blows with her teammate Citron. 

Citron, who’s averaging 14 points per game along with 4.4 rebounds and two assists, has been a menace defensively in addition to one of Washington’s best shooters from three point range. She’s hitting her deep shots at a clip of 40.5 percent on 4.1 attempts per game. 

Top-tier ball movement by the @washmystics 😮‍💨

Splitting the defense… Stef Dolson zips it to Sonia Citron in the corner for a smooth three!

NYL-WAS | WNBA Commissioner’s Cup presented by @coinbase pic.twitter.com/aMMfvsSvNo

— WNBA (@WNBA) June 6, 2025

Citron’s defense since getting her ‘Welcome to the WNBA’ moment from Brittney Griner has also been stellar. She’s strong through content, slipping through screens consistently and able to force errant passes on almost anyone because she’s so good about forcing mismatches and doubles. She doesn’t panic, nor does she make the typical rushed mistakes you’d expect a rookie thrust into the starting lineup on Day one to make. Her and Iriafen are clearly the perfect duo to have amongst the solid veterans rostered on Washington. 

Two other rookies aside from Kiki Iriafen and Citron climbing up the ladder are Atlanta Dream guard Te-Hina Paopao and Phoenix Mercury guard Lexie Held, who have made the best of an unfortunate situation on both of their squads. Paopao has gotten more minutes as a result of injury to Jordin Canada. She’s averaging five points per game in 15.7 minutes of action per game, but she’s more importantly hitting threes at a clip of 38.7 percent on 2.2 attempts per game. 

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She’s quickly become one of the Dream’s key depth pieces off their bench, and she’s carved out a role on a veteran-heavy roster. 

Held has done the same for the Mercury. She just had a 24 point performance against the Golden State Valkyries, which was the most points scored by a rookie in a game so far this season. She’s also fourth in total points scored for rookies this season.

An unforgettable night for Rookie Lexi Held ✨

She pushed the @PhoenixMercury past the Valkyries with a standout performance, notching a career-high and the most points by a rookie this season ⬇️

24 PTS7-15 FGM4-9 3PM2 AST#WelcometotheW | WNBA Commissioner’s Cup presented… pic.twitter.com/E8zMpanP6h

— WNBA (@WNBA) June 6, 2025

“I would even make the case that she’s Rookie of the Year,” was teammate Satou Sabally’s recent endorsement of Held’s play on both ends of the floor for Phoenix, which is missing Alyssa Thomas and Kahleah Copper in the early aughts of the season. Despite those huge injuries, Held and Sabally have helped lead the Mercury to a 6-3 record to start the season and a 2-0 record in Commissioner’s Cup play. 

It’s going to be interesting to see how these rookies keep up their play in the month of June as Commissioner’s Cup play heats up and teams begin to figure out how, exactly, to defend and contain them. This class has been anything but normal to begin the year, and that’s an excellent thing—well, maybe not for the veterans of the W, but at least for the fans.