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As the dust settles on the 2025 WNBA Draft and teams prepare to integrate their new talents, it’s time to evaluate how each team did and how these players fit into their new situations.
Let’s see which teams came out on top and which ones might be left wanting more:
Winners
Dallas Wings
Winning the Paige Bueckers lottery is enough reason to celebrate. The best player in the draft with superstar potential automatically makes this team much better offensively. Ideally, she gets a ton of on-ball reps this season, but even if she doesn’t, she has the talent to play next to Arike Ogunbowale as an off-ball player.
The Aziaha James pick was a surprise, largely because the Wings have greater needs to address than scoring. The Wings were one of the worst defenses of all time last year—this is not an exaggeration!—and could have invested more in defense with their second first-round pick. James brings a lot as a scorer and if she’s able to create separation against WNBA defenders she could be a very valuable reserve in the future.
Madison Scott does fit the mold of what Dallas needs defensively. She’s incredibly versatile and can block a few shots as well. I still expect the Wings to be a bad defensive team this season, largely because the center position didn’t get addressed, but there also weren’t many centers that moved the needle in this year’s draft.
Seattle Storm
Dominique Malonga is another player with superstar upside—and she’s only 19. Even if she turns out to be a longer-term project, the return on investment is sky-high. Credit to Seattle for taking the best player available here, instead of feeling pressure to draft for need to fit their championship window. It’s unclear how Malonga projects as a shooter, but if it does translate, her ceiling is legitimately through the roof. As was the case for Ezi Magbegor in her first few years in the league, I doubt she’ll get a lot of playing time, but like the saying goes, “Good things come to those who wait.”
I love the late-round pickups of Serena Sundell and Madison Conner. The Storm badly needed shooting and playmaking and to be able to get that in the third round is amazing. Both players could realistically make the final roster.
Los Angeles Sparks
Despite trading out of the No. 2 overall pick, the Sparks still walked away as one of the biggest winners of the draft. Getting Sarah Ashlee Barker at No. 9 might seem like a reach, but she can truly do everything. She’s efficient from all three levels, and can pass and defend as well. She’s the perfect complementary role player. This is why college analytics rated her very highly across the board, and it’s almost certain she wasn’t going to be there when the Sparks drafted again.
Sania Feagin is another player that is rated high by the advanced numbers. She’s a phenomenal defender, but it’s unclear if she’ll be able to play center at the next level since she’s not a good rebounder. At South Carolina, she was a great connective passer, but she also took a lot of risks with her passes, which explains her high turnover rate. When it comes to evaluating passing prospects, it’s important to look at the process over results, so I believe Feagin will also be a great fit in this new situation.
Atlanta Dream
Te-Hina Paopao falling to the Dream at No. 18 is nothing short of a miracle. Paopao is a great 3-point shooter in catch-and-shoot and pull-up situations. She will fit perfectly in Karl Smesko’s new scheme, as will Taylor Thierry. A great 3-point shooter as well, Thierry also is a good defender.
Both players will likely be role players at best, but they are going to the perfect situation for their skillset so I expect both to thrive on their new team.
Middle Ground
Washington Mystics
I want to be clear: Washington did make the best choice with their selections, although I’m sure they were hoping that Malonga would fall to No. 3 overall.
Honestly, Sonia Citron is the perfect WNBA role player. She not only has great “3-and-D” potential, but, best of all, she also can finish well at the rim, which means she could be amazing at attacking closeouts, especially if her 3-point volume increases and she improves her ball handling.
Kiki Iriafen is more of a project. She isn’t a great defender and her scoring is inconsistent, largely because she isn’t a great finisher. The midrange shooting will be the biggest thing to watch long term—if it develops, that changes a lot. The problem is that Washington has so many frontcourt players that are still developing. Between Iriafen, Aaliyah Edwards and Shakira Austin, the Mystics front office has a lot of decisions to make about their future. Given that this is a new front office, my guess is that nobody who was drafted before this year is guaranteed to be part of Washington’s long-term plans. This will be a feel out year for a lot of players,
Georgia Amoore is arguably the second-best offensive player in the draft. Her playmaking and decision making are exceptional, but her height limits what reads she can make against certain defenses. Becky Hammon was another prospect who shared a similar physical profile to Amoore, but Hammon was a 40 percent pull-up shooter from 3, something Amoore lacks. Could Amoore develop into a respectable shooter in the future? Yes. But if not, it’s hard to project how good she’ll be offensively, and that’s scary given her defensive limitations.
On the bright side, if there’s any place where rookies can turn their weaknesses into strengths, it’s in a situation where the rookies can experience trial by error, and that’s what Washington will offer.
Golden State Valkyries
The Valkyries are another team that presents a perfect development spot for rookies. Justė Jocytė was a great pick at the No. 5 slot. She’s a guard with size and athleticism, and with enough reps, she could be a legitimate offensive initiator. If the shooting translates, which is still unclear right now, then this could be an A draft.
I’m surprised Shyanne Sellers fell as far as she did. It’s possible that the injury concerns are real, but if they aren’t, then this is the perfect place for her to develop. Sellers is sort of a “jack of all, master of none” prospect, but this is by no means a bad thing. If the defense can improve, she will have a solid career in the league.
Connecticut Sun
Aneesah Morrow is a prospect I have a lot of questions about, but as mentioned before, she’s in a situation that’s good for her. She’s a monster rebounder, which has a ton of value in the WNBA. She was a volume scorer in college, but I have doubts about that translating if her jumper remains inconsistent. The passing and defense also need to get better if she wants to have a prosperous career. She posted up a lot in college, but struggled processing double teams and, at times, making even basic reads. Her defensive lapses are concerning and didn’t seem to improve during time her in school. But she does force turnovers at a high rate, which is reason for optimism.
Saniya Rivers is someone I am incredibly high on. She will likely be a top-five athlete in the league from day one and is an amazing defender with great feel for the game. It’s hard to give a player comparison for her, but the WNBA version of the Houston Rockets’ Amen Thompson has been a popular one; however, in order to reach that potential, she has to be a better finisher at the rim. If you’re going to be a guard with no shooting ability, you need to have some offensive value in order to stay on the floor; for Rivers, that’s going to have to be at the rim. As with Morrow, Connecticut will be the perfect place for her to get on-court experience.
Minnesota Lynx
Cheryl Reeve has made it clear she wants defense—and Anastasiia Kosu does exactly that. She’s an incredible athlete, which will definitely jump off the screen in the WNBA. She can guard multiple positions, which fits perfectly into Minnesota’s switch-heavy scheme and she’s a good rebounder, a weakness for Minnesota with their small-ball lineups.
Unfortunately, she’s a complete non-factor on offense, which means it’s unclear if she can ever stay on the floor long enough make an impact on defense. She’s a work in progress who is going to a championship contender, so I’m not sure how much playing she’ll get this year
Losers
Chicago Sky
The Sky’s draft picks aren’t bad players, but they don’t necessarily address areas of need, which matters here because they aren’t championship contenders nor are they giving any indication of rebuilding.
Ajša Sivka has been a high volume shooter, and a 6-foot-3, this gives her a unique skill set most players don’t have. She’s doesn’t have the efficiency from 3, but she’s not afraid to take it, and with more reps, her accuracy could improve. She’s also a great passer, which you can never have enough of; however, she’s not a good defender at all. As of right now, I’m not sure where she fits on offense, or if she’s even ready to contribute right away.
Hailey Van Lith had one of the most inspiring comeback stories in sports last year and being paired with Angel Reese again will be a great storyline. However, the Sky need shooting and Van Lith does not fill that need as a career 33 percent 3-point shooter. She also is not a good playmaker. If the Sky have plans to move her to point guard, it might be spooky. But, all hope isn’t lost. Courtney Vandersloot is one of history’s best playmakers as an undersized guard. Van Lith being able to learn from Vandersloot could do wonders for her development.
Las Vegas Aces
Aaliyah Nye is one of, if not the, best 3-point shooter in this draft; however, she isn’t a good defender and she doesn’t provide much else on offense. The Aces’ low grade mainly comes from the fact that they forfeited their first-round pick, which could have massive ramifications for their championship window. I’m also not sure if Vegas’ other draftee, Harmoni Turner, makes the final roster.
The Aces still need more frontcourt and wing help, and without having much to work with in this draft, it’s hard to give their outcome a positive spin. To be optimistic, the Aces were able to get a lot of value out of Kate Martin in last year’s regular season, and I do think Nye is a much better shooter, which is what they need.
