The 2025 WNBA draft has concluded, and while some picks like Paige Bueckers going first overall to Dallas was expected, the night was full of plenty of surprises, some players falling further than projected and others who were expected to be picked going undrafted.
Here are five takeaways from the draft.
Dallas has its new Big Three
The Dallas Wings made five picks on Monday, strengthening their scoring, defense, versatility, and playmaking. But their biggest move of the night was selecting Paige Bueckers with the No. overall pick. She will be the Wings’ key facilitator and playmaker.
Bueckers led the UConn Huskies to their first NCAA title in nine years, the program’s 12th overall, and averaged 19.8 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game in her final year of college. While the Wings already get scoring prowess from Arike Ogunbowale and picked up the 2024 Most Improved Player in DiJonai Carrington, they went 9-31 last season, missed the playoffs and traded Satou Sabally to the Phoenix Mercury. The last time the Wings picked first they selected Charli Collier in 2021, whom the team waived two years later.
This time around, Dallas’ first overall selection looks to be a franchise changer alongside Ogunbowale and Carrington. The Wings also selected No. 12 overall Aziaha James of North Carolina State, No. 14 Madison Scott of Ole Miss, No. 27 JJ Quinerly of West Virginia and No. 31 Aaronette Vonleh of Baylor, all of whom could make an impact off the bench.
Dallas has its new Big Three, a new general manager in Curt Miller and a new head coach in Chris Chris Koclanes. While not all of Dallas’ draft picks may sign a WNBA contract, there is room for them to compete for a spot given that the team has only seven players under contract.
International players make first round splash
While the NCAA showed how much talent it has, three of the 12 players picked in the first round came from Europe. Dominique Malonga was picked second overall by the Seattle Storm. The 19-year old has played professionally in France and won a silver medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics as the youngest player on the French national team team. She averaged 15.0 points and 10.3 rebounds this season playing for Lyon.
Malonga’s Lyon teammate, Lithuanian Justė Jocytė, has been playing professionally in France since she was 13 and made history as the first-ever draft pick for the Golden State Valkyries after they chose her with the fifth pick. Jocytė averaged 14.8 points, 4.9 assists and 3.6 rebounds per game in 2024-25, shooting 38 percent from deep, and brings three-level scoring along with elite floor vision.
The Chicago Sky selected Slovenian forward Ajša Sivka 10th overall. Sivka has played for her national team and professionally in EuroLeague, though she may not feature for the team this year as she has Eurobasket commitments this summer. Playing for Tabes in French LFB, Sivka averaged 8.5 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 0.9 steals while shooting 35.6 percent from three. In the 2025 FIBA Women’s EuroBasket Qualifiers, she averaged 7.8 points per game.
Mystics rebuild in full swing
Washington has suffered through its share of injuries the last couple of years. The Mystics lost Natasha Cloud, Tina Charles, and Ariel Atkins, and former MVP Elena Delle Donne officially retired earlier this month.
The Mystics have picked up solid players in the last few years, taking Shakira Austin in the 2022 draft while picking up Aaliyah Edwards last year. This year, they had the third, fourth and sixth overall picks in the first round and also selected some solid late-round players.
With their third pick the Mystics chose Notre Dame guard Sonia Citron, an elite defender who can also score and facilitate, and took USC’s Kiki Iriafen with their next pick. Iriafen brings athleticism to the post, is solid on the boards and can score while also having a high ceiling to improve her game.
Kentucky’s Georgia Amoore rounds out Washington’s first-round picks. She is another guard who is able to bolster the backcourt and also complements Citron’s game. Amoore may not have the size that other players in the draft do, but she is a force to be reckoned with offensively and can also turn around and do what is needed defensively.
Valkyries get a steal in Sellers
One player who seemed to have fallen down the draft boards further than expected was Maryland’s Shyanne Sellers, a projected first-round pick who fell to the second round (17th overall) and was selected by Golden State.
The first player in Maryland history to record 1,500 points, 500 rebounds, and 500 assists, Sellers helped to lead the Terrapins to a double-overtime victory over Alabama in the NCAA tournament, dropping 45 points against an Alabama squad that was led by the ninth overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft, Sarah Ashlee Barker.
Though Sellers dropped in the draft, Valkyries fans can be excited about the way she can play all three perimeter positions. Sellers brings versatility and playmaking and has proven she can score in the clutch. She tallied 14.4 points, 3.8 rebounds and 4.1 assists on 46 percent shooting this season, all while recovering from a knee injury.
Sellers’ biggest flaw is her turnovers. She tends to make passes that are easily read by opposing defenses. She’ll need to curb that habit if she is going to succeed against the best players in the WNBA. All things considered, the Valkyries are lucky that Sellers fell to them.
Storm look like draft winners
Every time the Seattle Storm lost players in the past few seasons, they managed to reload with both new and veteran talent. This year’s draft was no exception. With the No. 2 overall pick, the Storm selected Malonga, who looks to be one of the showstoppers of this year’s draft with her size, athleticism and skill.
On top of that, the Storm selected point guard Serena Sundell, who led the nation in assists this past season for Kansas State with 262. She brings versatility, size, skill, defense and basketball IQ. Sundell scored 14.1 points per game while shooting 50.1 percent from the field and 32.0 percent from long this season.
The Storm also added TCU’s Madison Conner, a dominant three-point shooter who led the country in threes made with 128. Michigan point guard Jordan Hobbs was the third guard Seattle took in the third round, averaging 13.6 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game while shooting 42.9 percent from the field.
Seattle has about three roster spots up for grabs in between draft picks and four players on training camp contracts, but whatever players do get to stay will learn from the likes of Nneka Ogwumike, Skylar Diggins-Smith and Jewell Loyd. The Storm look like they will be a strong contender.
