The Golden State Valkyries are the WNBA’s newest team, and we got our first look at the makings of their inaugural roster in the 2024 Expansion Draft. In the draft, Golden State selected 10 players from existing WNBA teams and one unrestricted free agent to begin building its own team, and the Valkyries will now look forward to the upcoming 2025 free agency period to sign more players for next season.
There’s also the 2025 WNBA Draft to look forward to. The results of the expansion draft didn’t impact next April’s big day very much—no trades were made, and only a few players chosen in the expansion draft figured to have major roles on their previous WNBA teams next season. Almost every team has plenty to address in free agency before thinking about which up-and-coming young players they’re going to choose next spring.
Golden State will have its own WNBA Draft selections to make, though, and that’s reason enough to discuss what a possible draft order might look like—even if that order is likely to change between now and then. Think of this as a checkpoint; let’s strike while the iron is hot and mock out a quick first-round scenario for the 2025 WNBA Draft.
1. Dallas Wings: Paige Bueckers (UConn)
There’s nothing that could have happened in the expansion draft that would have changed this pick. Bueckers is far and away the top player in this class and a blue-chip prospect that the Wings will be able to build around no matter which direction they decide to steer their franchise in.
Right now, Arike Ogunbowale is the face of the Wings, and Dallas will be trying to keep All-Star forward Satou Sabally for 2025 and beyond. Adding Bueckers—a 6-foot-0 lead guard with elite court vision and three-level scoring ability whose path to stardom seems inevitable—could be the move that finally pushes the Wings from also-rans to contenders.
2. Los Angeles Sparks: Olivia Miles (Notre Dame)
We don’t yet know if Miles will declare for the 2025 Draft, but if she does, it’s unlikely she’ll fall past lottery range. A superb playmaker whose abilities as a lead guard make those around her better, Miles would be a home-run draft pick for a Sparks team sorely in need of value-added passing. Miles is currently averaging 16.9 points and 6.4 assists per game for a high-octane Notre Dame offense, and she’s drastically improved her jump shooting, too, knocking down 48.6 percent of her 3-point shots. Adding her to a roster featuring center Cameron Brink and forward Rickea Jackson would set the Sparks up with one of the WNBA’s most talented young cores.
3. Chicago Sky: Te-Hina Paopao (South Carolina)
The Sky are already set in their frontcourt with the trio of Angel Reese, Kamilla Cardoso and Elizabeth Williams, but have glaring needs everywhere else. With the futures of Chennedy Carter and Dana Evans uncertain at best, Chicago could use another guard—preferably one who can shoot, as the team ranked last in the WNBA by a country mile in 3-point attempt rate last season.
Paopao would check both of these boxes. Steady-handed with the basketball and a massive threat from deep, Paopao has shot 46.8 percent on 3-pointers since transferring to South Carolina, and her ability to play without the ball would allow her to play with whichever guards Chicago decides to retain from 2024. It’s possible the Sky use this pick on a player with more length instead, but if they want a fast-learning ball handler who has the offensive skillset to fit with their stars in the frontcourt, Paopao would be a safe choice at No. 3.
4. Washington Mystics: Kiki Iriafen (USC)
In a vacuum, No. 4 might be underselling Iriafen as a prospect, but given how pressing the needs of the Sparks and Sky are, those teams may elect to pass on adding another big in the lottery. If that happens, the Mystics could jump at the chance to draft Iriafen, whose first season at USC has been a hands-down success thus far: She’s averaging 18.2 points and 9.1 rebounds while shooting 51.7 percent from the floor, and the 25.6 percent free throw rate she’s posting is a career-best.
Iriafen’s game is already quite polished for a scoring power forward; her footwork in the post and mid-range jumper should translate to the WNBA immediately. There’s also hope that she’ll eventually stretch her range out to beyond the 3-point line, in which case she’ll be significantly more malleable at the WNBA level.
5. Golden State Valkyries: Dominique Malonga (France)
Let’s be honest: As exciting as they are, expansion teams are typically not very good in their inaugural seasons. We still have an entire free agency period to navigate, but there’s a better chance the Valkyries land a franchise cornerstone in future WNBA Drafts than at No. 5 in this one.
With that in mind, Golden State should have no qualms about drafting a player who may not be a part of its initial roster, as long as they believe in their long-term potential. Malonga just turned 19 years old and may not be ready for the WNBA immediately, but at 6-foot-6 and with more than a few dunks on her highlight reels, she has the ceiling of a player who simply doesn’t come around very often. She’s currently averaging 19.7 points and 11.3 rebounds per game for the French basketball club LDLC ASVEL Féminin in EuroCup Women, and given how many international players the Valkyries chose in Friday’s expansion draft, they’d probably be more than happy to stash Malonga and let her develop.
6. Washington Mystics: Sonia Citron (Notre Dame)
The Mystics are the only WNBA team currently without a head coach or general manager, so it’s anyone’s guess what their plans are between now and draft day. Citron, however, is the type of player who can make an impact on just about any roster. A 6-foot-1 wing who can shoot off the catch and operate in the pick-and-roll, Citron has a versatile offensive skillset that would benefit a Mystics team that’s currently a little short on ball handling. Defensively, she uses her length wisely, and would make for a great complement to ballhawks Brittney Sykes and Ariel Atkins.
7. New York Liberty: Azzi Fudd (UConn)
How can the defending champs get even better? Most of that will be addressed in free agency, when we’ll see if the Liberty can re-sign Breanna Stewart, but until then, it’s worth considering which potential draftees would best fit next to her, Sabrina Ionescu and Jonquel Jones. Fudd is one of the best jump shooters in the country, and while she’s not as strong of a defender as Kayla Thornton, who the Liberty lost in the expansion draft, her tertiary creation skills and off-ball movement would be maximized playing alongside New York’s top-end talent. Fudd needs to prove she can stay healthy first, but if she makes it through the rest of her graduate season unscathed, the Liberty shouldn’t have many reservations about drafting her.
8. Indiana Fever: Aneesah Morrow (LSU)
The Fever are going to need to shore up their frontcourt after losing arguably the best backup big in the WNBA in Temi Fagbenle to the expansion draft, and while Morrow’s skillset is vastly different than Fagbenle’s, she’d nonetheless be right at home playing next to Indiana’s dynamic playmakers.
At 6-foot-1, Morrow is a bit undersized for her position, but her physicality and activity more than make up for it; she’s currently averaging a monstrous 13.3 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game for LSU. Playing her next to Aliyah Boston would help alleviate any size concerns Indiana may have, and Morrow would thrive offensively receiving passes from Caitlin Clark. She already has the jump shot and the touch in the paint to be an effective scorer—we’ve seen that at both LSU and her underclassman seasons at DePaul—and the hope for whichever team drafts her will be that her efficiency will rise playing in a WNBA offensive system.
9. Seattle Storm: Shyanne Sellers (Maryland)
Seattle was the only WNBA team left untouched by the expansion draft, as the Valkyries opted not to choose any Storm player for their own roster. Regardless, the Storm have a lot to get done in the coming months, especially with the recent news of longtime shooting guard Jewell Loyd’s request for a trade out of Seattle.
There may not be a perfect player on the board for the Storm at No. 9, but there may be one who can contribute a little bit of everything. Sellers has become known for her chameleon-esque role changes throughout her time at Maryland, playing both the lead guard and wing positions and using her athleticism to impact the game defensively. Seattle’s roster could look quite different than it did in 2024 when the Storm went all-in for a championship, and though they don’t have optimal draft position, whichever player they choose here will probably end up being more than a benchwarmer.
10. Chicago Sky: Ajsa Sivka (Slovenia)
If the Sky get who they want at No. 3—whether that’s Paopao or someone else—they may be more inclined to take a swing at No. 10. Sivka is the kind of player Chicago desperately needs: a taller forward (6-foot-3) who can play on the perimeter and knock down 3-pointers at a high clip. Through six EuroCup Women games for French basketball club Tarbes, Sivka is averaging 12.7 points and shooting 48.6 percent on 3-pointers, which would be quite valuable to a Chicago roster that lacked firepower on the wing last season. Sivka is far from a finished product—she’s just 19 years old—but if the WNBA is in her future plans, the Sky might be interested in drafting her.
11. Minnesota Lynx: Ja’Naiya Quinerly (West Virginia)
Unlike most of the other WNBA teams in this draft order, the Lynx don’t have many obvious needs. Minnesota made the 2024 WNBA Finals thanks to team defense and an egalitarian offensive approach that featured shooters at every position, and each of its five starters are under contract for 2025.
More backcourt depth never hurt anyone, though. Quinerly is the head of the snake for an über-aggressive West Virginia team, and she’d bring that youthful energy to Minnesota, giving the Lynx a pesky point-of-attack defense who can relentlessly push the ball in transition. Quinerly is currently averaging 18.6 points and three steals for the Mountaineers, and while there may be questions about her ability to play point guard at the next level, the Lynx’s success in 2024 proved that you don’t always need a ball-dominant lead guard to have an efficient and unselfish offense.
12. Phoenix Mercury: Makayla Timpson (Florida State)
The Mercury could stand to get a little younger and more athletic, especially after losing forward Monique Billings to the expansion draft (though she was set to become an unrestricted free agent), and Timpson would be a good choice if Phoenix is looking to bolster its frontcourt. A natural shot-blocker with a long wingspan and top-notch defensive instincts, Timpson has had a productive senior season for the Seminoles thus far, averaging 18.1 points, 11.1 rebounds and 3.1 blocks per game—all career-highs—and has excelled over the years as an aggressive, roaming type of defensive player. Assuming Brittney Griner will be back in Phoenix in 2025, Timpson playing next to her would allow the Mercury to play some larger lineups (something they weren’t able to do for much of 2024) and inject some much-needed energy into the team’s aging roster.
Note: The Las Vegas Aces forfeited their 2025 first-round pick due a violation of league rules during the 2023 offseason.
