WNBA mock draft: How far has Kiki Iriafen fallen? Will Paige Bueckers remain No. 1?

WNBA free agency has essentially come and gone. Although a few stragglers remain, most of the league’s teams have settled into their new realities. With the major moves behind us, and the draft order fully shaken up, now is a good time to reevaluate team needs and make some new projections for the 2025 WNBA Draft.

1. Dallas Wings

Paige Bueckers | 6-foot guard | UConn

Rumors abound regarding Paige Bueckers’ desire to go to Dallas, and it’s hard to say if the situation is more attractive after free agency with the departure of Satou Sabally. However, if the Wings retain this pick and Bueckers declares, she will be the top overall selection, the sixth to come out of UConn.

The backcourt in Dallas currently has Arike Ogunbowale, Tyasha Harris and DiJonai Carrington, leaving a bit of a playmaking gap for Bueckers to fill in. Although she isn’t a nominal point guard, Bueckers has ranked in at least the 96th percentile in each of her four college seasons in assists per game while hardly turning over the ball. Her passing and shooting efficiency should pair well with a high-volume scorer like Ogunbowale, and having Carrington and Harris around will allow Bueckers to defend off the ball.

2. Seattle Storm (from Los Angeles Sparks)

Olivia Miles | 5-10 guard | Notre Dame

When our last mock draft published after the draft lottery in November, Olivia Miles was far from a unanimous No. 2 selection. There should be no more questions about her position now. The Notre Dame point guard has proven that her early-season 3-point shooting wasn’t a fluke, as she’s making 41.9 percent of her long-range attempts, including 39.7 percent on self-created jumpers off the dribble. Combine that with the passing wizardry that Miles has displayed since her freshman season, and she is as well-rounded a point guard prospect as can be.

A year ago, the Sparks replaced their longtime Stanford frontcourt star Nneka Ogwumike with a rookie Cardinal big, Cameron Brink, at the No. 2 pick. The Storm can do the same with another Fighting Irish guard slotting in for Jewell Joyd, who was traded away in the deal that landed Seattle this pick. Miles can learn on the job from (yet another) Notre Dame legend in Skylar Diggins-Smith, and even play next to her as she has with Hannah Hidalgo this season.

3. Chicago Sky

Georgia Amoore | 5-6 guard | Kentucky

The Sky are confident in their frontcourt duo of the future: Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso. That doesn’t preclude them from taking a forward or center at this spot, but getting a young point guard to grow with Reese and Cardoso would be the ideal outcome. Amoore has proven that she can direct a pro-style offense; she is poised in the half court, comfortable running two-player actions with a skilled big, and one of the best passers in college basketball. She also provides the spacing and movement shooting element that coach Tyler Marsh hopes to surround Reese and Cardoso with. Rookie point guards generally have steep learning curves, but no one is better to learn from than veteran Courtney Vandersloot, who will be spending at least one season in Chicago.

4. Washington Mystics

Dominique Malonga | 6-6 center | Lyon (France)

Truthfully, we have learned little about the Mystics since the new brain trust of general manager Jamila Wideman and head coach Sydney Johnson took over. The duo hasn’t even had an introductory news conference, as their originally scheduled event was delayed due to the plane crash at the ntional airport. Washington has done nothing in free agency other than signing two of its existing players –- Emily Engstler and Sug Sutton — to training camp contracts, giving us little to glean about their basketball philosophies.

As such, this selection once again relies on what we know about Monumental Basketball as a whole: the belief in young French players. The Wizards have three French players selected in the last two drafts, all 20 years or younger. Drafting Dominique Malonga, a 19-year-old center who was good enough to play for the silver medalists at the Paris Olympics, seems like the perfect way to kick off this era in Washington. She averages nearly 16 points and 10 rebounds for Lyon, which is participating in EuroCup this season, one of the top multi-national European club competitions.

5. Golden State Valkyries

Kiki Iriafen | 6-3 forward | USC

The Valkyries didn’t get the star power they hoped for during free agency, but they could strike gold in the draft. Kiki Iriafen was projected to go as high as No. 2 early this season, and though her draft stock has cooled, she is still a high-motor, athletic forward who has a nice face-up game, can finish through contact, and can switch defensively. She also is an excellent offensive rebounder. There is a bit of a local angle with Iriafen, who spent three years at Stanford, just about an hour away from the Chase Center.

6. Washington Mystics (from Atlanta Dream)

Saniya Rivers | 6-1 guard | NC State

The start of the season was touch-and-go for Saniya Rivers, and for NC State as a whole, as they adapted to a small lineup that moved Rivers, a natural point guard, to the wing. Rivers struggled to find her spots off the ball, and she wasn’t breaking the paint as regularly. Since the start of ACC play, however, Rivers has returned to the all-ACC form of her junior season. She can push the tempo in transition — her hit-ahead passes are extraordinary. She’s getting to the rim and drawing fouls in the process, and she remains a terrifying defender at the point of attack, in help and on the wing with her length and speed. The “top dawg” of Kelsey Plum’s 2024 Dawg Class, Rivers already has the build of a WNBA player and possesses two pro-ready skills with her passing and defense. Her shooting and finishing still need some work (she sometimes comes on too strong on the break), but the consistent form on her short midrange pull-up provides hope. Rivers is too physically gifted to pass up at this spot, especially now that her production has returned.

7. New York Liberty (from Phoenix Mercury)

Shyanne Sellers | 6-2 guard | Maryland

The Liberty leaned into length and versatility last season en route to their first title. Enter Shyanne Sellers, who can credibly play three positions, maybe even four. At 6-2, she has hit 42.4 percent of her 3-pointers as a senior, albeit at low volume. She is a great athlete who is comfortable enough with the ball in her hands to reliably get to the rim, whether off of direct drives or attacking closeouts. Sonia Citron (Notre Dame) could also be a good fit at this spot as a perimeter stopper who is consistent from 3-point range. However, Sellers is a little more well-rounded and has the physical tools to fully close the gap defensively.

8. Connecticut Sun (from Indiana Fever)

Te-Hina Paopao | 5-9 guard | South Carolina

The name of the game in Connecticut is talent accumulation. After losing the entire starting lineup from the 2024 semifinalists, the Sun got back into the first round of the draft in the four-team trade that sent away Alyssa Thomas and DiJonai Carrington. They have needs up and down the roster, and the best player available here (at least, domestically) is Te-Hina Paopao, a combo guard who is a lights-out shooter and has added a steady diet of floaters this season. She’s also become a good defender since transferring to South Carolina and has plenty of big-game experience playing for the defending national champs.

9. Los Angeles Sparks (from Seattle)

Sonia Citron | 6-1 wing | Notre Dame

If Citron falls this low, the Sparks have to scoop her up. She’s a rugged perimeter defender — check out her tape on Bueckers and JuJu Watkins over the past two seasons — and she has made 36.6 percent of her 3-pointers at Notre Dame, a well-above-average rate. Citron has been a little overtaxed as a secondary ballhandler, but if she can plug into a low-usage role, she can thrive.

10. Chicago Sky (from Connecticut)

Aziaha James | 5-10 guard | NC State

James is one of the smoothest scorers in college basketball. She can score at all three levels and has steadily improved her efficiency throughout her NC State career, even as her offensive responsibilities have increased. James needs to improve the consistency on her jumper, but her pace — and change of pace — is already at an elite level. She also has strong defensive instincts and makes plays on that end, even if she doesn’t have overwhelming physical tools. James also has the “it” factor — she rose to the occasion during last season’s Final Four run and always brings it for big games.

11. Minnesota Lynx

Justė Jocytė | 6-2 wing | Lyon (France)

Whoever the Lynx select here will have a hard time cracking the rotation in 2025, as Diamond Miller and Alissa Pili learned the hard way last season. As such, why not take a swing on a talented European prospect? Jocytė, 19, has excelled at the international level, leading Lithuania to a U16 silver medal and U18 gold medal. She’s currently averaging 11.2 points and 3.4 assists in France’s top league while shooting 35.7 percent from 3-point range. She could be a big guard initiator in the WNBA in a few years.

12. Dallas Wings (from New York via Phoenix)

Aneesah Morrow | 6-1 forward | LSU

The fit doesn’t make a ton of sense here, with Dallas acquiring power forward NaLyssa Smith this offseason and Maddy Siegrist still on the roster. However, Morrow is simply too talented and productive to fall any further. She is the best rebounder in the class, defends multiple positions (her steal rate is unreal for a forward), and she never stops moving. Morrow can fit into several roles; she’s LSU’s No. 1 option this year but was equally valuable complementing Reese last season. Her athleticism and work ethic should help her carve out a WNBA role, but she’ll have to learn to space the floor.

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

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