2024 WNBA Draft Grades
The WNBA Draft is in the books, and it was an exciting one! While I thought most teams did very well, there were some teams that I didn’t think were successful. All teams made picks in this year’s draft; all teams are listed in alphabetical order by location.
Something to note is that most players drafted in any WNBA draft don't end up making the roster since there are fewer roster spots and no minor league affiliate. While I'm not assuming which players make or don't make a roster, I evaluated them based on the role that they would play if they do. That said, don't be surprised if most of these players (especially second- and third-round picks) do not make the roster for the team that selected them.
Atlanta Dream
· Nyadiew Puoch (12)
· Isobel Borlase (20)
· Matilde Villa (32)
While Atlanta received criticism from some for picking 3
international players, it was going to be tough to find roster spots (and
playing time) for any draft pick, so I don’t mind this decision. I think Puoch has a lot more work to do than
some seem to believe, she does still have unbelievable upside due to her athleticism
(I think she could be one of the best defenders in this class if she reaches
her upside). I was surprised that
Borlase fell to 20th since I thought she should be a first rounder;
she has tons of upside as a playmaker, shooter, and defender, so I think she
was a no brainer at this point in the draft.
I initially wasn’t as high on Villa since I hadn’t scouted her a ton
prior to the draft (I didn’t think she had a chance of being drafted, so I didn’t
focus on her), but I think she is an interesting player. She is a really skilled scorer and shooter
and has some playmaking upside; she is raw and could use some development on
both ends, but I don’t think she should have even slipped out of the second
round. While they drafted based on
upside, I still think the skills each player has will fit in a supporting role
as well. Grade: A-
Chicago Sky
· Kamilla Cardoso (3)
· Angel Reese (7)
· Brynna Maxwell (13)
Now that Chicago is entering a rebuild after trading Kaleah
Copper, they had the opportunity to move into the top-4 and get a potential
star alongside their other pick. Cardoso
was someone who rose due to her amazing tournament (I had her 4th on
my board), as she was able to showcase her IQ and impressive paint presence on
both ends of the court. While she was a
good defender in college, I think she will have her struggles in the W due to
her lack of versatility outside the paint, which could result in her having trouble
in the paint (kind of like how Brionna Jones has been); that said, if you can
get an All-Star level player at that point, that is nit-picking. Should they have gone with her over Rickea Jackson? I’d say no, but I understand the
mindset. They traded up to take Reese,
which I really like. I think Reese will
be one of the best (if not the best) defenders in this class, and she’ll be
able to make up for Cardoso’s limitations defensively. I think there will be difficulties with the
pairing offensively, so I think Reese will need to develop her shooting
distance (I think she has more upside than Cardoso does), though that could
take a little while. I was surprised by
the Maxwell pick; while she is one of the better shooters in the class, I
question how she will translate due to her finishing, defense, playmaking, and
athleticism. I don’t hate the pick since
she is one of the better shooters in the class, but I question what else she
can provide. I’m a little concerned
about how it will all turn out, but I don’t hate the picks they made; they have
some players who can help start their rebuild at worst. Grade:
B
Connecticut Sun
· Leïla Lacan (10)
· Taiyanna Jackson (19)
· Helena Pueyo (22)
· Abbey Hsu (34)
Connecticut is in a strange situation with their present and
future, but I think their picks will address needs if the players make the
roster. I don’t expect Lacan to come
over yet, but I think she has the highest floor out of all the international
players. Her size and skill also make
her have a really enticing upside. I had
her 7th on my board, though I was higher than most, which makes this
a really good pick. While many thought
they should take a big with that pick, there wasn’t one that wasn’t a reach
with that pick, so I think it was smart to not do that. Jackson is a skilled player on both ends in
the paint who I think would help massively as a rebounder and stopper in the
paint, which is a massive weakness of Connecticut (I also had her as an early 2nd
rounder, so this feels like a steal of a pick).
While she doesn’t take as many shots as I would like, Pueyo is a talented
shooter, defender, and playmaker who is someone I could see fitting as a role
player; I had her lower in my mock draft, but I thought this was a fair
selection. I think Hsu might have a
tougher transition jumping from the Ivy League to the W, but she is a great
shooter, which would help with the transition.
CT got one player who has upside, one player who has size, and 2 players
who can shoot; this addresses all their needs, while also having every
selection feel like either a steal or an appropriate selection. Grade:
A+
Dallas Wings
· Jacy Sheldon (5)
· Carla Leite (9)
· Ashley Owusu (33)
I don’t think any of Dallas’ picks were bad, though I wasn’t
in love with any of them. Sheldon was
likely drafted due to their need at point guard; she is a solid playmaker and
shooter, though I’m not certain her finishing and defense will translate
immediately. While she is a good player,
I think it could be a couple seasons before she is a consistent
contributor. Leite could be one of the
better playmakers in this class, but she needs to develop pretty much every
other aspect of her game; I expect she will stay in France for at least another
year, so we’ll see if at least one skill improves, which will create a clear
WNBA role for her. Owusu had a comeback
year after a tough season at Virginia Tech and is an aggressive scorer, though
I don’t believe in her shooting or defense; I question what her WNBA potential
is. I understand each pick and think it’s
possible that they find success, but I don’t love any of these picks. Grade:
C+
Indiana Fever
· Caitlin Clark (1)
· Celeste Taylor (15)
· Leilani Correa (27)
The draft was set for Indiana the second they got the top
pick and then could draft Clark. She is
the best player in this class and easily has superstar potential. While she likely won’t be a superstar from
day one (I think Aaliyah Boston will be better than her, and Kelsey Mitchell
could be as well), the upside for her to be that will be there with the
fit. While Taylor isn’t an efficient
scorer, she is one of the best perimeter defenders in this class, which is
worth taking in the second round. While
I had Correa going in the second round, I always found her to be an interesting
potential selection; she is a good shooter and has nice size, but she is a bad
defender and not is good on the ball, which limited her role to a bench
role. I don’t expect that she’ll make
the roster, but maybe it’s worth it for the shooting. That said, they could have drafted me with
the 15th pick (which would be dumb since I am both ineligible and nowhere
near good enough to be selected) and I would have given them an A+ since Clark
fell in their lap. Grade: A+
Los Angeles Sparks
· Cameron Brink (2)
· Rickea Jackson (4)
· McKenzie Forbes (28)
After it became clear that L.A. had to enter a rebuild once Nneka
Ogwumike departed, they got the best result in a can’t lose situation where
there were 4 potential All-Star players at the top of the draft. While I had Brink 3rd on my board,
she is an amazing shot blocker and finisher who has upside as a passer and
shooter, a skillset along with her athleticism that should translate
easily. The biggest question with her
game is how she will adjust with her foul troubles and how she responds to
these; I think she is worse than I would expect for a player of her ability at
her age. With the 4th pick,
they got the player I had 2nd on my board with Jackson, as I think
she has the easiest path to reach her ceiling as an amazing scorer; I also
think she will be a better shooter and defender along with pro players. I didn’t address this in my mock draft, but
there were concerns with off-court issues (an undisclosed suspension the
previous season) and some past injury concerns.
I’m not worried about either; for off-court issues, I’m not worried if
there are no legal issues (there aren’t with her), since college kids can do
stupid things (I certainly did), and even if the injuries are concerning now (I
don’t think they are), I still think she’s easily better than the remaining
players in the draft. Forbes is a good
shooter, but she is also a really bad finisher inside the paint, and I’m not
sure what she’ll be as a defender; I don’t love that pick, but her shooting
ability makes it justifiable. The top-two
picks they had gives them an amazing start to their rebuild. Grade:
A+
Las Vegas Aces
· Dyaisha Fair (16)
· Kate Martin (18)
· Elizabeth Kitley (24)
· Angel Jackson (36)
With Vegas already having possibly their top-7 players from last season under contract, they were looking for some cheaper bench pieces for now and some players they could stash. Despite being undersized, Fair is an impressive shooter and scorer, though her size limits her upside as a defender or finisher. I think she fits well since she won’t be responsible for consistently having a massive impact defensively to start; I also imagine the court will be more open for her to get easy looks at the rim. I’m mixed about how Martin will succeed in the W; she is a good shooter with good size who can be versatile, but I think she needs to improve her decision making and defense. She does appear to be a skilled player overall and was praised as a good teammate, so she might fit better than I expect, especially with this team. I questioned how Kitley would fit in the W prior to her injury, since I don't think that she is that skilled outside the paint (that said, she is amazing on both ends in the paint). She won't play this year due to recovering from her ACL injury, so we'll see how she recovers, but Vegas is using this year as a draft-and-stash type recovery season for her. Jackson is a talented shot blocker, but the rest of her game is incredibly raw or poor (depending on the skill); I also question how the jump from Jackson State to the W will be. I think they made some interesting choices; I doubt all will pan out, but at least one or two will. Grade: B
Minnesota Lynx
· Alissa Pili (8)
· Kiki Jefferson (31)
Minnesota was the worst at shooting 3’s in the league, and I
think they targeted that weakness pretty well in this draft. Outside of Caitlin Clark, I think Pili is the
best shooter in this class, and her shooting also makes her a threat in the
paint if she beats defenders. I don’t
think she will be a star in the WNBA, but I still think she could be a nice
player as a stretch big (I know she wasn’t a big in college and she’s a bit
small, but I think that’s her best path to WNBA minutes). I think the trade down to get her was
interesting, especially since it sounded like Chicago was scared Minnesota
would take Angel Reese at 7 (I wonder if Minnesota wasn’t sure between the two,
as both would have provided value), but they still got Pili a pick later
instead. I was much higher than most on
Jefferson (I had her 10th on my board) since I think she is a solid
all-around player who will do better as a shooter in the W. If she makes their roster, she can provide
first or early second round value as a mid-third round pick, which is quite a
steal. Grade: A+
New York Liberty
· Marquesha Davis (11)
· Esmery Martinez (17)
· Jessika Carter (23)
· Kaitlyn Davis (35)
While it made sense for New York to target defense and
versatility in this draft, I don’t love what they did. While I thought Davis could be higher than I
had her in the draft (I had her going 20th), I’m not that big of a
fan of the pick; while she has defensive upside, she is still kind of raw and isn’t
that good offensively. I have questions about how she can help a contending
team. While I think Martinez could be a good
defender, I also think she is not a good offensive player either since she
struggles from an efficiency standpoint.
While Carter is a good college player, I question how her game will
translate to the W, since I don’t think she has been as successful as other
players who find a role in the league. As
for Davis, she’s solid defensively, but I don’t think will be as good as their
prior picks, and also won’t contribute much offensively; I wouldn’t be
surprised if she doesn’t make the team and then doesn’t find a roster spot
anywhere. There is upside defensively,
but the fact that they chose players who aren’t good offensive players that I
think could be left totally open isn’t the best move when it means their stars
could be double teamed more often. Grade: D+
Phoenix Mercury
· Charisma Osborne (25)
· Jaz Shelley (29)
Phoenix only had 3rd round picks in the draft,
but selected two players I thought would be drafted in earlier rounds. While I wasn’t as high on Osobrne, she is one
of the best defensive guards in the draft, which made me think she would be a first-round
pick. The concern with her is her
offense, especially her poor shooting; ironically, she is now a teammate of
Natasha Cloud, who I said Osborne should emulate to find success in the W, as
Cloud has thrived as a high-level starting guard despite being a bad shooter. I thought Shelley would be a second round
pick due to her playmaking and shooting, though I could see her defensive
ability not being the smoothest transition (she was a good defender in college,
though I question how her athletic ability will translate in the W). That said, they took two players who have a
chance to make the roster despite being third round picks. Grade:
A
Seattle Storm
· Nika Mühl (14)
· Mackenzie Holmes (26)
Seattle went from being a bad team last year to having a
big-4, as Jewell Lloyd and Ezi Magbegor are now joined by Nneka Ogwumike and
Skylar Diggins-Smith. That said, Seattle
could use some supporting cast members, although they do have some interesting
bench pieces. Mühl is a great playmaker
and defender who can fill Seattle’s need for a backup point guard. While she is resistant to shoot (something
that could limit her upside), she will be surrounded by so much star power that
she can get away with not shooting a lot.
As for Holmes, I question how she’ll transition in the league due to her
size, ability with the ball, and skill outside the paint, but she at least has
a high defensive IQ and is a good finisher.
She’s not a bad pick here, especially since most 3rd round
picks have questions about their potential.
They targeted role players, and they appear to have someone who might be
able to fill in one of their roles. Grade: B
Washington Mystics
· Aaliyah Edwards (6)
· Kaylynne Truong (21)
· Nastja Claessens (30)
Washington is entering an era of uncertainty with Elena
Della Donne stepping away from the WNBA and Natasha Cloud going to Phoenix, but
I felt like they made moves to improve their floor. Edwards has one of the highest floors in this
draft (I think easily the highest outside of the top-4), as she is incredibly skilled
on both ends of the court, but I don’t see her being more than a high level
starter in the W. I was higher on Truong
than most (I didn’t predict she would be drafted, but I thought she should be
taken in the early-mid second round).
She is an amazing shooter and playmaker, though I don’t think she will
be a good defender or finisher; I also think her upside is limited, though the
odds of getting a star at this point in the draft are pretty low. Claessens is an interesting pick, as she is a
great scorer who appears to be a natural shooter, though I’m not sure how the
rest of her game will translate to the W (I do think she has potential as a
playmaker, though more development is needed on that end); she’s only 19, so I
expect they’ll wait for her to develop a bit before bringing her over. While they picked some good players, a team
struggling for their future should see if they can get a star as well; while
Claessens has some potential in that regard, I think they are unaware of how
much work they still need to do in their rebuild. Grade:
C-
What did you think about the draft? What were some picks you liked? Any you didn’t? Let me know in the comments!
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