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Mechelle VoepelESPN.com
The women’s college basketball season has ended, and the WNBA season tips off one month from today. Which players will take their games to the next level, and where will they be playing? We’ll find out Monday when the 2022 WNBA draft (7 p.m. ET, ESPN) is held in New York.
The top two picks have seemed set for several months, but there’s still some debate whether the Washington Mystics will select the Baylor Bears’ NaLyssa Smith or the Kentucky Wildcats’ Rhyne Howard at No. 1 overall.
The Indiana Fever have four first-round picks, and how new general manager Lin Dunn and the Fever opt to use their selections will have a big impact on how the rest of the first round goes.
Most of the seniors who were expected to be first-round picks declared for the draft, although one — the Iowa State Cyclones’ Ashley Joens — opted to stay for a fifth college season. We have two draft-eligible juniors projected to go in the first round. With just 12 WNBA teams and 144 roster spots, even being a first-round pick doesn’t guarantee a player will make a roster. It’s harder for second-round picks, and harder still for those in the third round. But at least on Monday night, they all can experience the excitement of being drafted.
First round
Baylor | forward | 6-foot-4 | senior
The Mystics have their bases covered and don’t have one specific need. So it’s really up to them which player they think can help more in the long run. Smith, who averaged 22.1 PPG and 11.5 RPG this season, is a forward who scored most of her points in the paint, but working with the likes of Elena Delle Donne might help her stretch her game…
Source : espn
