What a difference a year makes. At the 2024 WNBA draft, Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd bopped around the Brooklyn Academy of Music auditorium—fans mobbing the guests of honor as they dutifully took photos and signed autographs—until the league found suitable seats for the duo. At this year’s draft, Bueckers’s assigned seat in Manhattan’s The Shed more closely resembled a throne. Flanked by UConn coach Geno Auriemma and her former teammate Fudd, Bueckers was expeditiously summoned from her perch. The night’s No. 1 pick was no surprise, with the Dallas Wings jumping at the chance to draft a potential generational player in Bueckers.
The 2025 WNBA draft, and all the machinations surrounding it, served as a fitting coronation for the newly minted NCAA champion. The pomp and circumstance also underscored the exponential growth the league has enjoyed in recent years.
To break down all the action, we have the night’s biggest winners, splashiest moments and buzziest fashion statements.
Biggest winners
Dallas Wings
If you draft Paige Bueckers, you’re a winner—I don’t make the rules. The Wings gain not only a dynamic, versatile and pro-ready basketball player, but also a cultural juggernaut. Bueckers boasts 2.3 million Instagram followers and countless endorsement deals, bringing a built-in brand with her to Dallas. She’ll join a Wings team in transition with new general manager Curt Miller and first-year coach Chris Koclanes at the helm.
“I am coming in and wanting to give everything I have to that organization. We’ve established there’s a new level of standards that are going to be set in play. New GM. New coach,” Bueckers told the media after being drafted. “It’s not a rebuild, it’s just a build from where we are.”
Aziaha James, whom the Wings selected with the 12th pick, should help with that “build from where we are” blueprint. The former NC State star is a hooper who can score at all three levels and will assist Bueckers in taking some of the offensive load off Dallas star Arike Ogunbowale’s shoulders.
International players
Three international players were selected in the first round. The Seattle Storm kicked things off by drafting Dominique Malonga of France with the second pick, followed by Lithuania’s Justė Jocytė becoming the Golden State Valkyries' first draft pick at No. 5. Ajša Sivka of Slovenia rounded out the abroad players taken in the first round, with the Chicago Sky using their 10th pick on the 19-year-old.
At 6' 6" with an impressive skill set, Malonga possesses arguably the highest ceiling of any player in the draft. “I am so happy to represent France, but not only France, Cameroon, Congo,” Malonga told ESPN’s Holly Rowe immediately after becoming the highest-drafted player out of France in WNBA history. “I’m a multicultural person. I have a lot of people behind me.”
Washington Mystics
The Mystics had three first-round picks and they made the most of them, selecting Sonia Citron of Notre Dame third, Kiki Iriafen of USC fourth and Georgia Amoore of Kentucky sixth. The Mystics are in a rebuild and stocked up on a heap of talent through the 2025 draft. Citron is a Swiss army knife of a player, with a strong presence on the wing, while Iriafen is a skilled post player who can make an immediate impact on both sides of the ball. Washington scored perhaps the most explosive player available in the draft in Amoore. Don’t let her size (5' 6") fool you—Amoore is an elite facilitator and a reliable three-point shooter.
Fans of college reunions
Hailey Van Lith will be reunited with her former LSU teammate Angel Reese after she was drafted by the Chicago Sky with the night’s 11th pick. The duo played together during the Tigers’ 2023–24 campaign after Van Lith transferred from Louisville. Reese posted a message to X following the pick, writing, “We ain’t do it right the first time. Let’s run it backkkkk.”
We ain’t do it right the first time. Let’s run it backkkkk🫣 https://t.co/8PXLsHkUyN
— Angel Reese (@Reese10Angel) April 15, 2025
“Angel has maintained contact with me this whole past year,” Van Lith said after being selected by Chicago. “She’s a dog, man. She turns up the intensity of everybody around her. So, I’m excited to be in that environment with her again where she can pull more out of me than I think I have.”
Biggest slides
Sedona Prince
Prince was not drafted on Monday night, despite some seeing the 6' 7" center as a potential first- or second-round prospect. It appears that any on-court upside was outweighed by off-court issues for teams. Multiple women have accused Prince of sexual assault or intimate partner violence, with she and her attorney denying the accusations.
Shyanne Sellers
Many expected Sellers to be taken off the board in the first round. Instead, the former Maryland guard was drafted to the Valkyries with the No. 17 pick.
This is a great time to reflect on the wise words of several WNBA players ahead of the draft, emphasizing that it’s not when you’re drafted but where you’re drafted that’s important. And Golden State could very well be an advantageous destination for Sellers. Few second- and third-rounders make WNBA rosters, but the Valkyries are an upstart of an expansion team where a player of Sellers’s caliber can really make a splash.
Best dressed
Paige Bueckers
This wasn’t the business casual WNBA draft of the early aughts. The Orange Carpet presented by Coach was filled with high fashion. Many opted for black this year, but the styles were anything but dull. Bueckers was among the players who donned a sparkled froc, wearing a bedazzled suit on the carpet before making an outfit change ahead of the draft.
Paige Bueckers has entered the chat 🤩#WNBADraft Orange Carpet presented by @Coach pic.twitter.com/GJeBhd4K5U
— WNBA (@WNBA) April 14, 2025
Kiki Iriafen
When asked, Bueckers deemed Iriafen the best dressed of the night. The former USC star was one of the few draftees who added a pop of color to the Orange Carpet, wearing a custom gold dress by Nigerian designer Nneka Alexander.
The Golden Naija Girl! ✨
— ESSENCE (@Essence) April 14, 2025
Kiki Iriafen is forever representing her Nigerian roots, and for the big night, she brought her culture to the orange carpet. #WNBADraft pic.twitter.com/gqkpJvrTbz
Aziaha James
James opted for a futuristic look, rocking a black outfit ornamented with silver detail. The glasses, shoes and ruffled socks perfectly balance the avant-garde style.
From NC State to the #WNBADraft — Aziaha James is here!
— ESSENCE (@Essence) April 14, 2025
We're live from the orange carpet and our Black women in basketball continue to prove that they shine on and off the court while putting sisterhood at the forefront. pic.twitter.com/gGBxuYPsg2
Best moment
It’s hard to pick just one moment from the entire night, but it’s safe to say that UConn was the star of the show. A pack of Huskies cheered Kaitlyn Chen getting taken by Golden State with the 30th pick and Aubrey Griffin being drafted by the Minnesota Lynx with the 37th pick with the same fervor and enthusiasm as Bueckers going No. 1.
“Honestly, still in a little bit of shock. It's all a little overwhelming. I was really just here to watch Paige get drafted, and I'm so happy for her,” said Chen. “It's been an unreal night.”
This article was originally published on www.si.com as 2025 WNBA Draft Superlatives: Winners, Sliders, Best Dressed.
