The WNBA season is settling into its groove, and so are a few of the rookies from the 2025 class. The top of the draft looks like it will produce the star power we expected, but a few lesser-known names are coming on strong as well. Washington appears to have knocked the 2025 WNBA Draft out of the park
Here's where we stand in some very early WNBA Rookie Rankings.
1. Kiki Iriafen
It wasn't long ago that Kiki Iriafen and Paige Bueckers squared up in the NCAA Tournament Elite 8. Bueckers (31 points, 6 assists) got the best of Iriafen (10 points) in that one, and the next battle between the two might be for WNBA Rookie of the Year.
Iriafen has played four games, and recorded a double-double in three of them. Her last game, Friday against Las Vegas, was a matchup with A'ja Wilson. That's frightening. But Iriafen didn't blink in front of the best player in the sport, posting 17 & 13 as Washington almost beat Vegas but showed their youth in the fourth quarter.
The former USC Trojan looked incredibly polished already. She's averaging 14.5 points, 10.8 assists and has become an offensive hub already for the Mystics.
2. Sonia Citron
This is more of a "1B" than a real "No. 2" and Citron has a case to top this list as well. Leading all rookies in scoring at 15.8 points per game, Citron has been a force scoring and facilitating for the upstart Mystics, who appear to have two cornerstone rookies to build around.
Citron is on the Mystics because of an offseason trade that sent Ariel Atkins to Chicago for the No. 3 overall pick in this year's draft, which Washington used to pick her. Early returns look good. Really good.
3. Paige Bueckers
The Dallas Wings are not very good. Paige Bueckers, however, is good. The top pick in the draft isn't shooting well through four games but posted her first career double-double earlier this week and has recorded multiple steals in three straight games.
Dallas might have an ugly record at the end of the year, but Bueckers might have some rookie records to make up for it. She entered the year as the obvious choice for Rookie of the Year, and might have a bit of a leg up on everyone else because of name recognition, but she'll have to do a lot with a still-rebuilding Wings roster.
4. Janelle SalaĆ¼n
Two games in, and I have seen enough! SalaĆ¼n, an undrafted rookie from France, probably didn't expect to be the savior of the Valkyries offense, but that might be the role she's forced into this season.
She is one of the few players on Golden State who can create her own shot, and her offense will be relied on for a team that hopes its innagural season. Golden State has won both games that SalaĆ¼n has played in, and her 28 points and 12 rebounds in those games were all necessary.
5. Saniya Rivers
Rivers was a first-round pick because she can do pretty much everything. In her second game with the Sun, she did... everything. 11 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks. She was everywhere, controlling everything.
Stat sheet stuffer to the max. Rivers should be a bright spot on a rebuilding Sun team that traded away its franchise pillar Alyssa Thomas this winter. Rivers will help bring in a new era.
6. Monique Akoa Makani
Another undrafted player, Akoa Makani is originally from Cameroon, and played in France from 2022 until last season before signing with the Mercury in the offseason.
Her debut was a little unceremonious, but in the two games since, she's been a knockdown shooter (6-10 from 3PT) and those shots have come when the Mercury have needed them most.
Biggest rookie questions remaining
The No. 1, No. 3 and No. 4 overall picks in the draft are on this list āĀ but the No. 2 pick is not. Dominique Malonga has barely cracked the rotation for Seattle early on ā which isn't super surprising, as the French prospect was always expected to be a bit of a project for head coach Noelle Quinn.