WNBA Draft grades: Which teams bombed? Which ones aced it? (2024)

Coming into the 2023 WNBA Draft, there appeared to be consensus within the top six picks, and then a great deal of divergence beyond that. The draft delivered on that unpredictability, with two first-round picks not in attendance and multiple green room invitees waiting until deep into the second round to hear their names called.

This day was always going to be franchise-altering for Indiana, as the Fever finally got to select Aliyah Boston as the No. 1 overall pick, a moment the team has been waiting for since November’s draft lottery. But multiple other franchises had a chance to meaningfully shape their present and future. Let’s see how they graded out.

In alphabetical order:

Atlanta Dream: A

Haley Jones (6), Laeticia Amihere (8), Leigha Brown (15)

The Dream crushed their first-round selections. Jones’ lack of a jump shot may have overshadowed all of her other gifts — including her passing, her defense and her calming on-court demeanor — which caused her to fall a few slots. But Atlanta didn’t overthink it when Jones fell into its lap. The Dream trust their player development to fix Jones’ shot while the Stanford product can already contribute as a playmaker, especially in transition. With Jones and Amihere, Atlanta brought in some spectacular defensive additions who will give the Dream the ability to be active on the perimeter and quickly turn defense into offense. Amihere could be one of the steals of the draft; she played fewer than 20 minutes per game at South Carolina but has a pro-ready body and pro-ready skills. Brown is a useful training camp invitee who happens to be best friends with last year’s second-round pick Naz Hillmon. But even if Brown doesn’t make the final roster, the Dream got so much value in the first round that they’re definitely one of the league’s winners.

Atlanta also benefits from Tanisha Wright’s hilarious tweeting throughout the draft as she tried to get Jones and Amihere to answer her calls.

Hey Girl!! Just trying to reach ya to congratulate ya on coming to the A! #PickUpYourPhone @haleyjoness19

— Coach Tanisha Wright (@coachtwright_) April 11, 2023

PICK UP @_Theblackqueen_ pic.twitter.com/Mw775P9Svk

— Coach Tanisha Wright (@coachtwright_) April 11, 2023

Chicago Sky: B

Kayana Traylor (23), Kseniya Malashka (35)

The Sky didn’t have much to do after trading away their early picks in previous deals, most recently acquiring Marina Mabrey. They settled on two different archetypes of players — one who had a smaller role on a high-profile team, and one who dominated at a mid-major.

Traylor is a quality guard who can create off the dribble, spread the floor and adequately defend her position; she was a key ingredient to Virginia Tech’s Final Four run this past year. Malashka carried the scoring load for Middle Tennessee as the Raiders won the Conference USA title. Both have a pathway to making the final roster and at the very least should compete in training camp, which makes this a decent haul for Chicago.

Connecticut Sun: C+

Alexis Morris (22), Ashten Prechtel (34)

Similar to the Sky, the Sun couldn’t have hoped for much more, selecting so late in the draft. Connecticut did luck into Morris, one of the standouts of this year’s NCAA Tournament. At 5-foot-6, Morris faces an uphill battle to stick in the league, but she has surmounted bigger obstacles in her basketball career already. A strong point-of-attack defender who comfortably gets to her pull-up and all the way to the basket, Morris has the outlines of a backup guard right now. However, the Sun have already invested in Tiffany Hayes, Natisha Hiedeman, Ty Harris and Nia Clouden, making Morris’ fit in Connecticut unclear.

Even though Morris is an exciting prospect, the point guard overload brings the Sun’s grade down. Drafting Prechtel doesn’t help much. She is theoretically a shooting big, but she played less than 10 minutes per game her last two seasons at Stanford because she couldn’t hang defensively in the Pac-12. It’s hard to see her taking away minutes from Olivia Nelson-Ododa, let alone Bri Jones.

Dallas Wings: D+

Maddy Siegrist (3), trade for Stephanie Soares (4), Lou Lopez Sénéchal (5), Abby Meyers (11), Ashley Joens (19), Paige Robinson (31)

The below-average grade mostly comes down to Dallas’ trade with Washington to acquire Soares. The Wings valued Soares — who has played all of 12 games at the Division I level and is recovering from her second ACL tear — over a 2025 first-round draft pick. That draft could include Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Olivia Miles or Azzi Fudd, among others. Soares may be a talented center, but choosing her possibility over a double draft that will include a normal senior class plus the final year of COVID-19 bonus year super seniors was a baffling decision.

Siegrist is a great fit for the Wings at No. 3, and Joens was another valuable pick at No. 19. Dallas probably reached for Lopez Sénéchal and Meyers in the organization’s thirst for shooting specialists, missing out on players like Jordan Horston, Haley Jones and Taylor Mikesell. But the real sin of this draft is giving up on all the potential of the 2025 pick, especially since the pick belongs to Atlanta, and Dallas has no control over the outcome of the Dream’s 2024 season.

Indiana Fever: A

Aliyah Boston (1), Grace Berger (7), Taylor Mikesell (13), LaDazhia Williams (17), Victaria Saxton (25)

Taking Boston is the easy choice, but it’s also the right decision for this franchise, and Indiana would have had to mess up pretty badly with its other picks to not get an A.

With the first pick in the 2023 WNBA Draft the Indiana Fever select Aliyah Boston. @TheAthleticWBB pic.twitter.com/VscgbLA8Lp

— Ben Pickman (@benpickman) April 10, 2023

Luckily, the Fever didn’t. Berger is a slight reach at No. 7, but a number of front offices expressed interest in the Hoosiers guard, validating GM Lin Dunn’s decision to scoop her up with the team’s second pick. She fills a playmaking void on the team, fits into Dunn’s defensive ethos and is a hometown star who might be able to bring in some new fans. Mikesell is a necessary spacing threat, while Williams can compete with Queen Egbo for a final frontcourt spot. It’s still unclear what Saxton’s best position is, considering she defends wings about as well as she defends bigs but can’t really score from any area of the floor. However, even if she doesn’t make the final roster, her selection at No. 25 gives South Carolina five players taken in this draft, matching Notre Dame (2019) and Tennessee (1999 and 2008) for the most in WNBA history.

Las Vegas Aces: C-

Brittany Davis (36)

Davis scored 18 points per game and made 36 percent of her 3-pointers in the SEC, arguably the best conference in the country, so she has the offensive pedigree of a WNBA player. However, she brings little to no impact defensively, and it would be a shock if she makes the Aces’ roster. It might have been interesting to see Las Vegas select an international player instead who had a chance of making its roster in the future.

Los Angeles Sparks: B+

Zia Cooke (10), Shaneice Swain (14), Monika Czinano (26)

The Sparks addressed a need by drafting a guard who can get downhill but also knock down a midrange jumper in Cooke. Jordin Canada can do the former but not the latter and Layshia Clarendon is 31 and wasn’t in the league last year. Cooke often had to create offense out of nothing at South Carolina; she’ll be in a healthier offensive environment in Los Angeles and can take a higher quality of shots.

Swain is more of a long-term project. At 19 years old, the Aussie guard has the ability to throw some highlight-worthy dimes but needs to develop more consistency in her playmaking. At the Nike Hoop Summit, Swain led the World team in scoring with 19 points, showing an ability to get downhill and hit from distance, but she also had six turnovers. Swain clearly has significant talent and athleticism; it will just take some time before the Sparks reap the benefit of it.

Monika Czinano is more of a training camp body who will help Los Angeles limit the minutes for Chiney Ogwumike, Azurá Stevens and Dearica Hamby. It would be stunning to see her make the final roster, but ideally, she gets to show off some of her no-dribble post finishes during the preseason.

Minnesota Lynx: A+

Diamond Miller (2), Maïa Hirsch (12), Dorka Juhász (16), Brea Beal (24), Taylor Soule (28)

Similar to Indiana, Minnesota would have to screw up the rest of its draft spectacularly to not get an A after selecting Miller. The Lynx arguably found more value than the Fever later in the draft. Hirsch is a draft-and-stash, but the upside play made sense for Minnesota considering the lack of sure bets in this class. While Hirsch develops in France, Juhász can step in right now. Her ability to play hi-lo with another big will come in handy alongside fellow Huskies product Napheesa Collier, who is a fantastic operator in the post. Juhász’s threat as a spacer will also benefit Miller, given the No. 2 pick’s affinity for driving into the lane.

It was startling to see Beal fall so low when she was one of the 15 invitees to the draft and a finalist for the national defensive player of the year. Regardless of what caused her to drop, there’s no denying Beal can defend wings. If her 3-point percentage is more in line with her senior year number than her previous three seasons, Minnesota will have gotten a steal. With Beal and Soule in tow, the Lynx instantly upgraded their athleticism and perimeter defense and have two players who know how to read the floor, even if their jumpers wax and wane.

New York Liberty: C-

Okako Adika (30)

Adika spent the last three years at three different schools and saw her statistics regress at each stop, which raises some questions. However, she’s had solid shooting splits throughout, both from 3-point range and the free-throw line, giving her a couple of bankable skills as a pro. Like the Aces, the Liberty have almost zero likelihood of rostering their third-round pick, so they get a slightly below-average mark for not using this selection on a stashable player.

Phoenix Mercury: D+

Destiny Harden (27), Kadi Sissoko (29)

Thanks to their top-heavy salary cap distribution, the Mercury are always in need of players on cheap contracts who can contribute, which even extends to the late rounds of the WNBA Draft. With Moriah Jefferson soaking up the point guard minutes during Skylar Diggins-Smith’s maternity leave, and Brittney Griner back at center, Phoenix clearly targeted athletic wings to play in the middle of those two. However, the Mercury have been at their best when they have shooting around their stars, and neither Harden nor Sissoko provides much spacing. The logic behind the selections is reasonable, but not the best-case scenario. With one non-shooter in Brianna Turner already on the court for Phoenix, it would have made more sense to get a player who could force defenses to leave the paint.

Seattle Storm: B+

Jordan Horston (9), Madi Williams (18), Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu (21), Jade Loville (33)

Horston’s long wait was Seattle’s gain. The Storm didn’t even have a pre-draft meeting with Horston, not expecting the Tennessee star to be available at the ninth pick. However, once Horston was available, the Seattle front office was right to pounce, getting an athletic wing who can run an offense but also play off the ball and who consistently makes plays defensively. The Storm are familiar with long-armed wings, and though Horston’s wingspan comes well short of Breanna Stewart’s, she has similar disruptive defensive instincts.

Raise your hand if you’re as hyped as we are for our first round pick! 🙋‍♀️@ladylynn22_ x #TakeCover pic.twitter.com/qtnZKpwEwi

— Seattle Storm (@seattlestorm) April 11, 2023

Seattle gets dinged a little for picking Fankam Mendjiadeu when Beal and Soule were still available, as the South Florida center is probably too small to succeed as a WNBA center, and the Storm already have Mercedes Russell and Ezi Magbegor on guaranteed contracts. Loville is also an odd pick as a shooting specialist who contributes not much else and couldn’t even hit 3s at the end of the year.

Washington Mystics: A

Soares trade, Elena Tsineke (20), Txell Alarcon (32)

The Mystics turned a lottery pick in a weak draft into a first-round pick in what could be the best draft of a generation. They also nabbed Tsineke, a sleeper pick who was rated as the ninth-best prospect on Pivot Analysis’ draft board and the 13th prospect on The Next’s big board. Tsineke will have a lot of fun running pick-and-roll with Shakira Austin and coming off ball screens from Elena Delle Donne thanks to the former MVP’s shooting gravity. The defense could use some work, but she’ll be surrounded by great defenders in Washington. To pick up a second-unit initiator in the second round is some good business from Mike Thibault.

(Photo of WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert, left, and Aliyah Boston: Mike Lawrence / NBAE via Getty Images)

Sabreena Merchant is a women's basketball Staff Writer for The Athletic. She previously covered the WNBA and NBA for SB Nation. Sabreena is an alum of Duke University, where she wrote for the independent student newspaper, The Chronicle. She is based in Los Angeles. Follow Sabreena on Twitter @sabreenajm