3 WNBA Draft prospects the Storm should be scouting for the No. 2 pick
By Levi Dombro
It has been a busy offseason for the Seattle Storm.
Between trading away one of their franchise center pieces in Jewell Loyd, re-signing another in Nneka Ogwumike, and acquiring the No. 2 pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft, there has been a lot of change for the organization.
With Loyd and two free agents gone, as well as another two players currently testing the market, it may be a year that the Storm need to rebuild and focus on getting great young players for the future. With Ogwumike, Ezi Magbegor, and Gabby Williams, the front court is basically set.
Rookie guard Nika Mühl could miss the entire season due to injury, so landing a competent and WNBA-ready guard with the second pick to pair with Skylar Diggins-Smith is imperative to both the team's short- and long-term success.
1. Paige Bueckers, CG, UConn
Bueckers has been the biggest name in college basketball this year. She is currently averaging 19 points per game to go along with 4.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 2.0 steals. Simply put, she does it all for a talented UConn Huskies squad, and she is the most efficient scorer in the country. Her numbers would be even better if she played more minutes, but her team has a tendency to blow out their opponents.
While many think she will be the first pick in the draft and take her talents to the Dallas Wings, if she is passed on for some reason, the Storm must jump at their chance to get a franchise-changing player. Bueckers has the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of another UConn guard who had a legendary career in Seattle: Sue Bird.
At 6-foot tall, Bueckers can handle the ball but also play shooting guard alongside Diggins-Smith, so she will be an incredible asset to any team that she joins.
2. Olivia Miles, PG, Notre Dame
Miles has been a key catalyst for the highly successful Notre Dame Fighting Irish this season. More of a true point guard than Bueckers, Miles is averaging 16.4 points, 5.9 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game this season. She is also an incredibly efficient scorer and her team is simply better when the ball is in her hands.
Perhaps the most impressive aspect of her career at Notre Dame is how her game has evolved over her four years. At first, she was relied on mainly as a distributor and had trouble scoring the ball effectively, but she quickly became one of the go-to scorers for one of the nation's best teams. Her ascension in college basketball should be promising for a WNBA franchise.
As a true point guard, her and Diggins-Smith play a more similar position, but Miles is bigger and still evolving as a scorer. Based on her history, she'll do whatever her team needs her to do.
3. Sonia Citron, G/F, Notre Dame
Sonia Citron is a bit of a different player than Bueckers or Miles. Not only is she the youngest of the three, but she is more of a true scorer who plays on the wing as opposed to a ball handler. She fills the stat sheet, however, contributing 13.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists. 2.0 steals and 0.9 blocks per game.
While not as efficient as the other two, Citron has the ability to take games over with her scoring and can get hot in a hurry from beyond the arc. Citron is also an incredible defender and was tasked with guarding Bueckers when the two faced off. Bueckers was able to score but did not have the same effect on the game in terms of playmaking, and Notre Dame pulled off the victory.
Citron is the biggest player on this list at 6-foot-1, which allows her to slide down as far as the small forward position in the W. With a slew of downhill attackers on this Storm team, Citron could be the perfect 3-and-D complement.