Welcome back to WNBA Wraparound! With the WNBA Draft behind us, it's time to dive into the WNBA season. There were 38 players drafted to 13 WNBA teams this past Monday, and while not all will make rosters, there are some great player-team fits among the choices.
Paige Bueckers - Dallas Wings
Obviously, as the No. 1 overall pick, any team would have been happy to draft Paige Bueckers out of UConn. The Dallas Wings did a great job in the offseason preparing to add Bueckers to their roster, making trades and free agency signings to compliment the star point guard.
Pairing Bueckers with Arike Ogunbowale at shooting guard is going to be a fun experiment, while also alleviating from pressure from Ogunbowale to be the primary ball handler. Bueckers loves to pass more than she loves to make buckets, so hopefully that part of her game compliments Arike's game well. In drafting Bueckers, the Dallas Wings cement their franchise player for at least the next four years, if not longer.
Of course a team getting a No. 1 pick in any draft needs the best player in the class, but Dallas has been lacking lead point guard energy since Skylar Diggins-Smith left. They have not have much luck in the draft in recent years, and even so, have gone with big frontcourt players instead of guards. Getting Bueckers is an absolute treat for this franchise in every way.
Shyanne Sellers + Kaitlyn Chen - Golden State Valkyries
Doing a little two for one here, after the Valkyries selected Sellers in the second round and Chen in the third round. Sellers at 17th overall was an absolute steal for Golden State, and speculation about the state of her knee has been at the front of theories about why she dropped so far. Still, the Valkyries got a good player, injury or not. Sellers had a great career at Maryland, has excellent court vision, and averaged 13-15 points per game in her sophomore-senior seasons.
When it comes to these picks, they are such a good fit for Golden State because anyone is a good fit for Golden State this season. As a new expansion franchise, there is no precedent or team seniority, or a system to play into — they are creating everything from scratch. Add on the fact that a lot of the players Golden State has acquired through the expansion draft, free agency and now the draft are international "draft and stash" players. Meaning, there isn't much guarantee until training camp starts that they will even travel over to play in the WNBA.
This opens up the opportunity for both Sellers and Chen - and maybe even Chen especially. There is a much better chance of her making the opening day roster on this team, given all these circumstances. Chen is also a very good, intelligent basketball player who head coach Natalie Nakase could be able to mould into a great rotation player. She was a key factor to UConn's championship run in the NCAA tournament.
Kiki Iriafen - Washington Mystics
The Mystics had three of the first six picks in the WNBA draft, and went with Kiki Iriafen fourth overall. While Iriafen is a great player regardless, her fit in Washington will make her a better player long term. Not only will she be playing behind talented and experiences front court players in Stef Dolson, Shakira Austin and Aaliyah Edwards, but Washington's state of rebuild gives Iriafen more chances to show off her skills this season.
She will likely get a bit more playing time than other rookies in the class, and have a bit more freedom to experiment with different aspects of her game. Being able to develop chemistry with players like Edwards and Austin will help with the long term growth of this very young Mystics core as well. Rebuilds can be challenging, but they also mean the stakes aren't very high for young players, and they can work through a lot of their adjustments to professional play.
The Mystics have done pretty well over the past few seasons to position themselves as a great team a few years down the line. They also brought on recently retired star Elena Delle Donne as a special advisor, and having her to learn from will be incredible for Iriafen's career.
Dominique Malonga - Seattle Storm
The Seattle Storm traded Jewell Loyd for the No. 2 overall pick in this draft, which turned into the dunking, shooting lethal weapon from France - Dominique Malonga. Talk about trading one franchise player for another. Malonga's prospects are wild: 19 years old, 6-foot-7, 7-foot-1 wingspan. Playing professionally in France since she was 15 years old. Olympic Silver Medalist. Youngest player to ever be drafted into the WNBA.
She's another player who would be a fit with any team that got her, and most fans may not even realize how much of steal she was at No. 2 overall. In any other non-Paige Bueckers or Caitlin Clark year, Malonga would be an easy No. 1 pick. Her skills are not only incredible now, but her potential has no ceiling.
European prospects (especially the very tall ones) come with a ton of skill. They are trained to not see position on the basketball court, and that every player must acquire every basketball skill. There is no "you're just a post player" there - everyone trains in every position. These big players then not only learn how to operate and defend in the post, they then learn how to handle the basketball, shoot, and how to use their athleticism to impact every aspect of the game. Malonga has adapted to that style, and now comes into the WNBA as a big who can also shoot from distance, handle, and defend the perimeter ON TOP OF being able to rebound, score under the basket, and defend the rim. Oh yeah, and she can dunk pretty effortlessly.