The Dallas Wings won the lottery, literally, this offseason when they were awarded the No. 1 pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft. This granted them the rights to take UConn guard Paige Bueckers, one of the most highly touted prospects in recent memory.
Bueckers can do everything on the basketball court and is one of the most polished young players in the league already. She should be able to transform this new-look Wings roster into a playoff team right away.
She is the frontrunner for the WNBA Rookie of the Year Award, and it is not particularly close. While there may not be any real challengers for her, there are several rookies who could make things interesting if Bueckers falters at all during her first professional campaign.
Can anyone challenge Paige Bueckers for Rookie of the Year?
Sonia Citron, SG, Washington Mystics
Citron was selected just a few spots behind Bueckers in the draft. After a prolific college career in which she shared the spotlight at Notre Dame, she is ready for a major jump in production and responsibilities for the Mystics, who are devoid of much talent.
The 6-foot-1 do-it-all guard looked great during the preseason, and expectations are low for her Washington team. If the Mystics are somewhat competitive this season and Citron is a key part of that, she could be valued highly by voters at the season's end.
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Aneesah Morrow, F, Connecticut Sun
Morrow is another player who is walking into a perfect situation during her rookie season. After getting rid of almost all of their key players from last year, plenty of minutes and opportunity will be up for grabs for the young player.
She lit it up statistically at LSU in college, and she will have the legendary Tina Charles to lean on for advice as a young player. Morrow needs to get healthy, and if she does, she could be firmly in the conversation based on production alone.
Dominique Malonga, C, Seattle Storm
While Bueckers was certainly the best player in the class, she did not have the most upside. That tite belongs to Malonga, the slam-dunking sensation from France. At 6-foot-6 with significant skills, she could take the league by storm as a rookie, pun intended.
Malonga should start alongside Nneka Ogwumike, which is the ideal pairing for Seattle. She will have ample opportunity to contribute at a high level and the excitement that she brings could ultimately be enough to dethrone Bueckers.