Sports
2023 WNBA Mock Draft: Aliyah Boston goes No. 1 to Fever; Lynx get Maryland's Diamond Miller – CBS Sports
Play Now
Football Pick’em
Play Now
College Pick’em
See who to add and drop
PGA Tour and beyond
After a long and busy winter, the last major event of the offseason has arrived. The next class of professional women’s basketball stars will hear their names called at the 2023 WNBA Draft in New York on Monday night at 7 p.m. ET.
There’s little suspense about what the Indiana Fever will do with the first pick, which will almost certainly be South Carolina center Aliyah Boston. The three-time unanimous First Team All-American is one of the best prospects to enter the league in years, and she has all the makings of a franchise talent.
After that, however, things get murky, in large part because a number of projected first-round picks have decided to go back to school, including Rickea Jackson (Tennessee), Charisma Osborne (UCLA), Elizabeth Kitley (Virginia Tech) and Jacy Sheldon (Ohio State). It’s also worth noting that four teams control the draft. The Wings (three picks), Fever (two), Dream (two) and Lynx (two) have nine of the 12 picks, while the Aces, Liberty, Mercury, Sky and Sun do not have a selection.
LSU’s Angel Reese and Iowa’s Caitlin Clark — stars of last week’s NCAA championship — will not be draft eligible until 2024.
Ahead of the big night, here’s a look at how things may go:
Note: This version of the mock draft was edited on April 7 following Charisma Osborne’s decision to return to UCLA.
The Fever, who have not made the playoffs since 2016, finally had their lottery luck turn, and won the No. 1 pick this year for the first time in franchise history. It came at a perfect time, as they’ll be able to select Boston, one of the best prospects to enter the league in years. The 6-foot-5 center is a dominant defensive force around the basket, an elite rebounder and an efficient scorer in the paint. She has the talent to turn things around in Indiana.
Miller answered any and all questions about her health and her game this season, and led Maryland to the Elite Eight for the first time in nearly a decade by doing a little bit of everything on both sides of the ball. At 6-foot-3 she has guard skills and athleticism in a forward’s body, and boasts the most upside of anyone in this class outside of Boston. Her 3-point shot does need some work, but she’ll be an exciting addition to a new era of Lynx basketball.
The Wings lost their two biggest 3-point threats from last season — Allisha Gray and Marina Mabrey — and new head coach Latricia Trammell told CBS Sports that finding a floor spacer is a key priority. Team president Gregg Bibb, meanwhile, called Siegrist, who led the nation in scoring at 29.2 points per game while shooting 36.1 percent from behind the arc, “one of the best players in the draft.” There are a lot of signs pointing to Siegrist here.
If Siegrist is off the board, it will be interesting to see which direction the Mystics go. They could use some outside shooting help as well, but the best shooters in the class are specialists who are more suited to the end of the first round. Trying to predict what Mike Thibault will do is always a bit of a fool’s game, but perhaps they just go with the best player available and take Horston. She can’t shoot, but her athleticism, defense and competitiveness would fit right in with the Mystics’ style.
Soares is perhaps the trickiest prospect to project — both in terms of where she’ll be picked and her chances of succeeding at the next level. The two-time NAIA Player of the Year was off to a strong start at Iowa State, but she tore her ACL in January and was denied an extra year of eligibility. Now she’ll enter the draft as a tantalizing prospect who has the size and skills to potentially be a rim-protecting, 3-point shooting big, but is relatively untested against elite competition and has serious injury concerns. She’s not going to play this season, and that may actually make her a great fit for Dallas, who has three first-round picks and could be facing a roster crunch.
Jones entered the season widely projected to be the No. 2 pick, but could now fall out of the lottery due in large part to her continued inability to develop any sort of an outside shot, which would limit her upside. She’s still a super talented and versatile player, though, who would fit right in with Atlanta’s defensive style under head coach Tanisha Wright and give the Dream another playmaker. If she’s still available at No. 6 it seems like a no-brainer for the Dream.
Fever GM Lin Dunn has said time and again since rejoining the organization that she wants the team’s identity to start on the defensive end. Beal fits that bill perfectly. At 6-foot-1, she has the size and quickness to guard multiple positions on the perimeter, and relishes the challenge of guarding elite players. If the strides she made as a 3-point shooter this season are real, she should have a long WNBA career.
Amihere never put up big numbers at South Carolina, but she was willing and able to adapt to whatever the Gamecocks needed from her. That versatility, combined with her size, length and athleticism at the forward spot makes her a fascinating prospect, and one who could benefit from the extra space at the professional level. The Dream were one of the best defensive teams in the league last season and play a fast-paced style, both of which would make Amihere a good fit.
Berger’s final season with the Hoosiers ended in disappointing fashion with a second-round loss to Miami in the NCAA Tournament, but her 17 points, six rebounds and six assists in that game were another reminder of her strong all-around game. Though Berger may not have the upside of some other prospects, she’s a big, versatile guard who doesn’t make many mistakes. The Storm can use all of those skills as they try to rebuild following Breanna Stewart’s departure and Sue Bird’s retirement.
Joens surprised everyone by returning to school for a fifth season at Iowa State, where she won Big 12 Player of the Year. There are some real questions about how her skills will translate at the next level given she’s not an exceptional athlete and won’t have the ball in her hands as much, but players with her college pedigree are usually worth taking a chance on at this point in the draft. The Sparks need wing depth and shooting, and she provides both.
The Wings were a middle of the road 3-point shooting team last season — fifth in attempts per game (22.6) and eighth in percentage (.343) — and lost their two best outside threats, Allisha Gray and Marina Mabrey, over the winter. The perfect way to address that weakness would be to draft Lopez-Senechal, who shot 44% from 3-point land for UConn this season and 40.5% for her career.
Cooke is another part of the storied South Carolina recruiting class of 2019, and she could be the fourth Gamecock to hear her name called in the first round on draft night. She is coming off the most impressive and efficient offensive season of her collegiate career, and has excelled in the biggest moments to make two NCAA All-Tournament Teams. The Lynx need backcourt depth, and Cooke could be a fit here.
© 2004-2023 CBS Interactive. All Rights Reserved.
CBS Sports is a registered trademark of CBS Broadcasting Inc. Commissioner.com is a registered trademark of CBS Interactive Inc.
Images by Getty Images and US Presswire