Who’s Next — The Next’s 2024 WNBA Draft Board, V1.0

Strengths:

• Excellent athleticism in every part of the offensive game
• Possibly the greatest all-around shooter in draft history, rivaled only by Diana Taurasi, and just as good at drawing fouls
• Leverages shooting ability and outlier size to get downhill and finish, and leverages both as a playmaker to create excellent opportunities for teammates
• Good backline help defender
• Surprisingly decent defending drives

Questions:

• How will Clark’s backline help instincts translate against much better offenses, and can she expand them to include nail help and stunts from the slot?
• Can her footwork at the point of attack and fluidity defending downhill both improve?
• Does she have enough feel for lifting and drifting to be a plus-plus off-ball presence?

Strengths:

• One of the best live-ball processing abilities we’ve ever seen — a complete savant in spatial awareness, incredible court-mapping and playmaking
• Might simply be the greatest midrange shot-creator in basketball history
• Extraordinary off-ball scorer, between being a movement catch-and-shoot threat to excellent driving and finishing against closeouts
• Tough to shake in iso defense
• Navigates screens very well defensively

Questions:

• For the love of God can Bueckers stop overhelping and freelancing in off-ball defense?
• Does her defensive ability at the point-of-attack mean she can get better at preventing dribble penetration?
• Can she learn to draw fouls?
• If not, does that limit her offensive superstardom?

Strengths:

• Excellent processing speed in all facets of the game
• Elite rim protector
• Tremendously fluid athlete
• Extraordinary perimeter skills for a big, including ball-handling, driving, pull-up shooting and live-dribble passing
• Very good post scorer, deep bag of finishing moves and smart cutter

Questions:

• Can Brink continue cutting down her foul rate?
• Is she more likely to shoot like her underclassman years (36.1% 3P% on 11.0% 3PAr) or her junior year (21.3% 3P% on 13.2% 3PAr)?
• Will she be able to defend one-on-one in the post against bigger and stronger players?

Strengths:

• Polished interior play-finisher, seals well in the post and scores effectively from post-ups, face-ups, spot-up shots and a great straight-line driving game
• Excellent overall athlete — elite core strength and lower body flexibility, great lateral quickness and footspeed
• Versatile pick-n-roll (PnR) defender, can defend at the level, in drop, and by trapping the box
• Tremendous weakside help defender
• Great one-on-one defender, both in space and in the post, strangely excellent chasing off the ball — very switchable overall
• Great screen-and-roller and DHO hub
• Good off-ball movement
• Youngest collegiate prospect in the class, still making extraordinary developmental strides and flashes of even greater creation

Questions:

• How easy is it to find a frontcourt partner who can maximize Edwards’ game?
• Can you run her at the five in the WNBA? How often?
• Is she able to make another leap as a floor-spacer out of pick-n-pops?
• Can she lighten her feet in space to become better on closeouts and at the point of attack?

Strengths:

• Premier PnR lead guard with quick burst and great flexibility, change of speeds and veteran-like processing against aggressive ball screen coverages to set defenders up to fail
• Standout playmaker: uses good velocity, excellent versatility and superb feel to react quickly to defensive rotations and cutters, pry open passing lanes to the roller and skip to open teammates
• Generates rim pressure with ease and draws a ton of fouls
• Smooth on-ball operator, impressive ability to find and accelerate into shooting pockets or decelerate into floaters and runners
• Great team defender who adds value with her recovery speed, nail defense and awareness as an off-ball screen navigator
• Quality point-of-attack defender
• Very good off-ball movement

Questions:

• Can Lacan become a reliable 3-point shooter?
• How much can she improve her finishing?
• Will she buy into improving her defensive closeouts and stability against drives?

Strengths:

• Superb defensive event creator, disrupts opposing offenses constantly
• Plus passer and PnR operator for a wing, can be a secondary ball-handler in a pinch
• Great free-throw shooter, which bodes well for projecting her shooting, given her 3-point form looks better than how she’s shot on paper
• Again, her defense is ridiculous, she covers ground really well, has really good instincts, and great hands that can pick pockets, block shots from help positions, and completely swarm any guard trying to drive past her

Questions:

• Does Scherr care about gaining confidence as a driver and pull-up shooter?
• Can she up her scoring volume without sacrificing any of the other things she does?
• Where does her offensive value come from if she fails to up her scoring in a meaningful way?

Strengths:

• Great playmaker, incredible at manipulating defenders to generate good looks for herself and her teammates in creative ways (wild pocket-passing, scoring from all over, becoming an improvised screener to get teammates open)
• Fantastic passer from anywhere on the court to any other spot on the court
• Excellent toggling between on- and off-ball usage, a very good catch-and-shoot player which plays up thanks to great off-ball movement and smart cutting
• Strong and very smart, can capably defend bigger players
• Excellent floor game on both ends, really good basketball instincts, especially in backside help defense
• Easily posts up smaller or weaker defenders

Questions:

• Can Leger-Walker simplify her 3-point form to remove a left-foot-toe-tap timing mechanism that may be causing her to rush her release? Will that force defenses to respect her more at the level when she runs a PnR?
• What position does she guard at the next level, and what does that look like in a scheme that doesn’t automatically switch ball screens when the guard has to fight over?

Strengths:

• Ungodly lower-body strength and overall athleticism
• Elite rim pressure and finishing out of drives, leveraging her burst, lateral quickness and hip flexibility
• Good catch-and-shoot jumper with a consistent, stable form, which plays up because of great perimeter off-ball movement
• Quality PnR ball-handler with a very good pull-up middy and the ability to open shots for rollers and poppers, and to pass open cutters in her primary field of vision
• Creates transition scoring opportunities with a hyper-aggressive defensive approach and excellent off-ball instincts (i.e. tagging, stunting, trapping), highly projectable defensive ceiling

Questions:

• Can Sheldon turn her defensive projectability into good help defense at the WNBA level, away from Ohio State’s press scheme?
• How good of a shooter is she?

Strengths:

• Borderline elite playmaker, thanks to excellent vision, superb processing speed and standout passing ability
• Excellent (possibly elite) 3-point shooter both on and off the ball
• Extraordinary floor game and internal tempo, almost impossible to get her metronome off its rhythm
• Good weakside helper, including digs and nail help
• Plus rebounder for a guard
• Very good at using ball screens to force offensive advantages

Questions:

• How much do Paopao’s struggles to create her own shot and to get downhill limit her potential offensive value?
• Her rim rate and FG% in the paint both fell off a cliff in the middle of last season; was that more about Oregon players being severely overworked, or was that more about the defensive size of Pac-12 opposition?
• Can she get better at not losing her defensive assignment while providing help?
• How does she hold up in an offensive system that asks her to carry the kind of usage that a lead PnR guard should have?

Strengths:

• Excellent lateral athlete
• Might be the best perimeter shot-creator in modern college basketball history
• Standout mental processing, reflected in both superb playmaking and picking defenses apart deciding whether to pull up, drive or relocate Improving her scoring counters — a midrange game, floater, finishing lefty
• Has enough of a bag to give her space to pull up
• Good defensive instincts away from the ball, occupying passing lanes and providing help rotations

Questions:

• Will Amoore’s pull-up shooting progress from the 2022-23 season continue?
• Can she improve her point-of-attack footwork enough to not be a defensive sieve?
• Is “getting downhill when an opening presents itself” enough at the WNBA level?
• Does limited passing velocity off the dribble cap her playmaking ability?

Strengths:

• Really impressive defensive instincts and athleticism at her size
• Covers ground incredibly well, great flashes of weakside rim protection as well as one-on-one defending both in space and in the post
• One of the best transition defenders in the world at 19 years old
• High motor
• Some flashes as a transition ball-handler, passer and finisher
• Very good corner 3-point shooting

Questions:

• Can Puoch add polish to her offensive game both on and off the ball?
• Where can she consistently add value offensively, given the WNBA’s distaste for pure shooters?
• Is Puoch just a bad rebounder or is that something she can add to her game?

Strengths:

• One of the greatest iso defenders ever — insane ball pressure without ever getting in foul trouble, tenacious fighting through screens, mirrors drivers excellently
• Elite athlete on the defensive end, great offensively
• Excellent passing ability and good overall playmaking
• Plus help defender from above the slot
• Solid spot-up shooter (career 36.5% catch-and-shoot 3P% on 59.5% 3PAr)

Questions:

• Can Mühl be coaxed out of her shell offensively and be something other than a harmfully reluctant scorer? If not, do WNBA defenses respect her enough to let her be a plus playmaker?
• Can she clean up her weakness defending over ball screens?
• Is she able to develop better off-ball movement?

Strengths:

• Incredible athlete, both vertically and laterally Impressive PnR craft, between advanced on-ball feel, premier two-player-game playmaking and pull-up 3-point shooting
• A mind-bogglingly good rim protector for a 5’6 player
• Excellent overall shooter and 3-point threat from anywhere, any time
• Elite moving without the ball
• Great ball-denial and top-locking in chasing defense
• Closes out well to spot-up shooters
• Despite her size, can and does get downhill when she sees an opening

Questions:

• Will Andrews be able to translate her athleticism from rim protection into defending at the point of attack?
• How much does her limited velocity on skip passes limit PnR playmaking?

Strengths:

• Excellent athlete on both ends
• Platonic ideal of a PnR lead guard: quality threat from anywhere inside of 25 feet and impossible for defenders to read, strong nose for getting downhill, draws a ton of fouls, great at manipulating drop bigs, and never leaves an on-ball rep without playmaking an advantage somewhere
• Extremely impressive processing ability for a teenager
• Provides very good ball pressure in point-of-attack defense
• Good nail help and stunts from above the slot

Questions:

• Does Leite have the ability to carry the usage a lead guard should have?
• With all the athletic tools you could ask for, can she become a plus point-of-attack defender?
• Is it possible to make her give a single damn about moving without the ball?

Strengths:

• An all-around defensive stalwart with elite lateral quickness, quick recovery speed, active hands and a strong motor
• Excellent size and versatility for a point-of-attack defender, allowing her to stick with guards around ball screens and switch onto wings and chase off the ball
• Superb iso defender, incredibly hard to drive through or shake for a pull-up jumper
• Great offensive floor game, good PnR playmaker for a 2-guard
• Plus rebounder
• Reliable (if unspectacular) catch-and-shoot 3-point shooter

Questions:

• How reliable of a spot-up 3-point shooter can Taylor be?
• Can she become more aggressive as a driver to draw more fouls?

Strengths:

• Plus-plus playmaker all around
• Consistent and disruptive secondary rim protector, overall plus help defender
• Versatile defender — very capable guarding ball-handling 4s, quite switchable, can contest guards’ drives without giving up open pull-up shots
• Elite cutter and great screener, an all-around excellent off-ball skill set
• Blends an uncommon combination of speed and strength to present a mismatch threat in iso or the post, depending on matchup
• Great finisher

Questions:

• Can Westbeld reach another level athletically? If not, is she even a WNBA-level athlete?
• With more deliberate use as a driver, can she get back to the free-throw attempt rate she had as a freshman?

Strengths:

• Excellent bucket-getter, can turn any single defensive misstep into near-guaranteed points
• Super fluid athlete, covers space incredibly quickly for someone of her size
• Extremely versatile play-finisher inside 17 feet with a strong knack for getting to the line
• Jumped to hyper-efficient volume scoring once her offensive role became significantly simplified
• Superb defensive tools, good one-on-one post defender
• Capable, if inconsistent, pull-up shooter from anywhere — super rare for a 6’2 player

Questions:

• If Jackson can’t become a more consistent spot-up 3-point shooter, how does she provide offensive value without the ball?
• What does it take to turn her instincts for paint help into consistently impactful rim protection?
• Given her role is mostly as a play-finisher, at what point is she too turnover-prone?

Strengths:

• Greatest off-ball shooting prospect in college basketball history: elite range, immaculate footwork, unbelievably quick release, great lateral quickness
• Is a better shooter off the dribble than most WNBA players are spotting-up
• Good off-ball movement, from great instincts for maximizing passing windows to decent back-cutting
• Generally “okay” at most defensive skills, and greatly improved during the 2022-23 season
• Decent ancillary offensive skills — uses ball screens well, pretty good entry passer

Questions:

• Do WNBA front offices still prefer inefficient shot-creators to great shooters?
• Is there any hope of Jump being able to make a layup under pressure?
• Were her defensive improvements last year enough to be a capable off-ball guard defender?

Strengths:

• Great athlete both on and off the ball
• Elite perimeter shot-creator and movement shooter, one of the greatest pull-up 3-point shooters in draft history (career 35.4% on 314 attempts despite being Wake Forest’s only remotely decent scoring threat)
• Excellent using ball screens to generate offense
• Decent weakside help positioning

Questions:

• How much can Spear reasonably be asked to improve on the defensive end?
• If Spear can’t make significant defensive strides, how good of a shot-creator does she have to be to make a WNBA roster?
• Will playing with good teammates this year reveal any PnR playmaking ability?
• Can she develop a more advanced downhill scoring process?

Strengths:

• A top-of-the-line PnR engine with a versatile handle, good pace and twitchy movement patterns
• One of, if not the best floater in the class
• Smooth pull-up jumper with a quick one-motion release
• Good quarter-court playmaker, reacts quickly to to hit bigs out of ball screens, finds nearby shooters and makes dump-off passes

Questions:

• What’s the minimum level of defensive competency a WNBA player needs to have and is there even a remote chance she has it?
• Does Rogers maintain her breakout shooting from 2022-23?

Strengths:

• Good handle and change of pace, understanding how to keep the defender in jail on drives
• Effective off-ball mover
• Great team defender who excels with rotating and switching
• High motor and consistent effort level on both ends
• Solid PnR operator with plus passing and low turnovers

Questions:

• How much was Osborne’s drop in 3-point efficiency due to a shoulder sprain in 2022-23?
• Can she get to the rim more?
• Does her lack of elite burst and shooting versatility limit her offensive upside at the next level?

Strengths:

• Elite driver anywhere within 15 feet of the basket, from her rip-through and spin moves and her burst to her finishing ability and foul-drawing
• Good rim protector from most angles and approaches
• Good awareness in help defense
• Generally a very good screener
• Recognizes and takes advantage of mismatches in the post
• Great passer out of post-ups and face-ups

Questions:

• What’s the counter when defenses load up to stop the drive? A completely overhauled jumper? Does Reese have any consistently good post moves?
• Can she defend in space?
• Will she have the Diamond Miller Finishing Problem, where the sole use of underhand finishes leads to struggles at the WNBA level?
• Can she stop fouling?
• Is there any reason to think Naz Hillmon wasn’t a better prospect?

Strengths:

• Excellent athlete with terrific burst and a solid handle — creating a ton of separation on drives
• Comfortable finisher with both hands
• Good off-ball movement and cuts
• Great activity level in help and very impactful digs and stunts
• Has a fluid one-motion mid-range jumper, improved passer from her junior to senior season
• Surprisingly good at operating in the mid-post
• Solid defensive tools with good lateral quickness, size and switchability

Questions:

• How much does Lockett’s shooting inconsistency hold back her offensive ceiling?
• Can she improve her screen navigation enough to consistently defend at the point of attack?
• Can she consistently perform against topline competition?

Strengths:

• Stays in control on the ball, manages defensive pressure well and exploits any opportunities defenses present when she’s driving
• Great finisher, provides solid rim pressure off the dribble
• Very good PnR playmaker
• Standout help defender
• Excellent 3-point shooting ability, can hit off screens and deep pull-ups
• Very good moving without the ball to open shots for herself and relieve defensive pressure on teammates

Questions:

• Last year was the first time Gonzales shot well from deep since 2018-19 — how reliable was that resurgence?
• To what extent does her lackluster foot speed limit her ability as a driver and as an iso defender against WNBA athletes?
• Is it possible for a 5’10 guard to provide plus defense as a helper without offenses forcing her to defend at the point of attack?

Strengths:

• Excellent lateral athlete
• Extreme 3-point threat out to 25 feet, both off the catch and off the dribble
• Highly responsive playmaker — doesn’t naturally manipulate help defenders to open shots for teammates, but responds extremely quickly to defensive rotations with great passing
• Superb defensive floor game — occupying passing lanes, navigating ball screens, forcing ball-handlers toward help
• Elite finisher
• Tough to shake in iso defense
• Great handle — hang dribble, crossover, stepback, inside-out, jab, head fake

Questions:

• Even with her defensive strengths, do Johnson’s height and footspeed still make her someone WNBA players can have consistent offensive success by targeting?
• How much does her finishing prowess matter if she struggles to get to the rim and never draws fouls?
• Will her height and the noticeable dip in her 3-point form limit the quality of her shooting from deep?

Strengths:

• Very good lateral athlete with incredible short-area burst
• Plus help defender — fills passing lanes, tags, disrupts offensive actions
• Incredible passer for a wing, really good in transition
• Perfectly capable uncontested catch-and-shoot player
• Versatile and strong defender who can hang with just about any guard and most wings

Questions:

• Moore-McNeil is going to have to carry more usage with Grace Berger graduated; what does it look like when she’s something approaching a true lead ball-handler?
• Can she become a scoring threat in a way that opens up more playmaking opportunities?
• How does she quicken her decision-making process when attacking off the catch in order to avoid being a ball-stopper?

Strengths:

• Probably the best offensive rebounder in the country
• Incredible movement skills and athleticism for a 6’7 player, out-of-this-world stride length
• Some very intriguing big-to-big interior passing — mostly from above her head, which creates a very unique angle
• Fantastic lob-catcher and a unique vertical threat, great at getting deep seals early in the clock

Questions:

• What happens when WNBA offenses force Cardoso to defend at any distance outside the restricted area?
• Does she have good enough touch to be an effective scorer outside of three feet?
• Can she add more counters to her post scoring arsenal for when W centers take away her initial action?
• Overall, how much of her collegiate production is due to athletic advantages that will become much more marginal at the pro level?

Strengths:

• Good instincts in help defense, provides pretty good secondary rim protection
• Very good defensive footwork, allowing her to defend equally well in the post and on the drive
• Switchable defender, holds up well against “mismatches”
• Good passer for her position, and a near-elite rebounder for her size

Questions:

• Can Ustby improve her shooting (career 56% free-throw shooter) enough to not be an offensive liability?
• Is her play-finishing fully paint-bound offensively or can she step out to the perimeter and create plays?

Strengths:

• All-around very good off-ball guard defender — chases well around screens, provides good help, can hang at the point of attack if need be
• Plus PnR playmaking ability for a 2-guard
• Very good moving without the ball to open spot-up opportunities and pressure help defenders
• Probably a quality off-ball shooter

Questions:

• How is she providing a positive impact on offense at the WNBA level?
• Can she start hitting pull-up 3-pointers?
• Does she have the ability to get to the rim? Will last year’s gains in free-throw attempt rate continue?
• Is there another level her footspeed can reach in order to make her a viable iso scorer or point-of-attack defender?

Strengths:

• Very good spot-up shooter with really nice size for an off-ball guard
• Good and switchable defender who can hang basically 2-through-4 defensively because of her length and solid athleticism
• Good cutter and off-ball mover and very good finisher
• Compact, clean shooting motion with a very nice wrist flick

Questions:

• Can Parrish find a way to shoot off screens and on movement more effectively?
• What can she do off the dribble?
• Will she be able to have a similar impact defensively at the next level against better athletes and smarter opponents?

Strengths:

• Quick catch-and-shoot jumper with a compact base and impeccable power transfer
• Solid movement shooter on off-screen jumpers
• Good relocation skills and a sense of spacing on the perimeter
• Shooting range out to 26 feet
• Decent floater
• Fine team defender with good instincts in help

Questions:

• Similarly to Jump: do WNBA front offices still prefer inefficient shot-creators to great shooters?
• How much value do shooting specialists with a minimal off-the-dribble package have in modern roster building?
• Can Puisis attack closeouts as a driver?

Strengths:

• Great PnR lead playmaker, as a plus passer with excellent court-mapping and great passing ability
• Fundamental and pesky at the point of attack defensively, good hands and good movement skills
• Flashes of small-space burst and shiftiness that would make her a dangerous paint scorer
• Pretty good help defender for a point guard

Questions:

• Can Buenavida shoot?
• Will she get better at defending through ball screens?

Strengths:

• A creative ball-handler with good burst and tight ball control out of PnR
• One of the upper-echelon guard defenders in the class; she does a superb job of navigating screens, handling matchups in isolation and creating havoc with her activity in the full-court
• Overall great athlete
• Excels in high-powered transition offense
• Shooting form looks like it was sculpted by God herself
• Great dribble control, deep bag, eye-catching passing ability
• Strong nose for getting to the rim

Questions:

• Why does Flórez’s 3-point shot look so good but never ever hit?
• Seriously, I’ve never seen such a stark dichotomy between the aesthetic quality of a prospect and a single poison pill issue. This isn’t a question, I just want to state for the record that Flórez would be a no-doubt top-15 prospect if she could just hit like 34% from three.

Strengths:

• Good spot-up shooter with a compact base, little dip in the shot and a high release
• Creates opportunities for herself as a cutter
• A solid finisher with good touch out of drives or cuts from the slot and in transition
• Youngest prospect in the class

Questions:

• How much upside is there with a stationary shooter who has a subpar handle and is a below-average athlete for the position?
• Does Borlase provide any value as a defender?