WNBA Draft 2023: Start Time, Schedule, Round 1 Order and Mock Predictions
The dust is still settling from the end of the 2022-23 college basketball season, yet the focus is already shifting to the WNBA's upcoming campaign.
The 2023 WNBA draft will get underway Monday at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.
This generally isn't considered a deep class, especially compared to what figures to be a loaded 2024 draft. A handful of notable stars exercised the additional year of eligibility they received during the COVID-19 pandemic, depleting the talent pool further.
It's not a total coincidence that nine of the 12 first-round picks have changed hands at least once.
But the combined presence of South Carolina's Aliyah Boston along with Maryland's Diamond Miller, Stanford's Haley Jones, Villanova's Maddy Siegrist and Tennessee's Jordan Horston among others ensures teams near the top of the board can potentially land a difference-maker.
2023 Mock Draft: 1st Round
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1. Indiana Fever: Aliyah Boston, F, South Carolina
2. Minnesota Lynx: Diamond Miller, G, Maryland
3. Dallas Wings (via Dream): Jordan Horston, G, Tennessee
4. Washington Mystics (via Sparks and Dream): Haley Jones, G/F, Stanford
5. Dallas Wings (via Mercury and Sky): Maddy Siegrist, F, Villanova
6. Atlanta Dream (via Liberty and Sun): Stephanie Soares, F/C, Iowa State
7. Indiana Fever (via Wings): Brea Beal, G, South Carolina
8. Atlanta Dream (via Mystics): Ashley Joens, G/F, Iowa State
9. Seattle Storm: Grace Berger, G, Indiana
10. Los Angeles Sparks (via Sun): Lou Lopez Sénéchal, G/F, UConn
11. Dallas Wings (via Sky and Fever): Laeticia Amihere, F, South Carolina
12. Minnesota Lynx (via Aces): Taylor Mikesell, G, Ohio State
Fever Avoid Doomsday Scenario
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This has basically been the Aliyah Boston draft for at least two years. She played well as a freshman and might have lifted a national title in 2019-20 if the COVID-19 pandemic hadn't wiped out the NCAA tournament. When the Gamecocks reached the 2021 Final Four, her status as the crown jewel in 2023 was secured.
The pandemic also afforded Boston the opportunity to suit up for the Gamecocks for one more year. Until she officially declared, the Indiana Fever's front office and fanbase had to question whether yet another cruel twist of draft luck was to come for a franchise that had never before claimed the No. 1 overall pick.
But with Boston in the draft pool, she can already go ahead and start scouting out real estate in the Indianapolis metro area.
The 6'5" forward averaged 13.0 points, 9.8 rebounds and 2.0 blocks as a senior. She's an elite defender and rebounder, and we may not have seen her come close to her offensive ceiling because of how she routinely faced multiple defenders inside.
The Fever have been starved of a true franchise cornerstone ever since Tamika Catchings retired after the 2016 season. On Monday, that will no longer be the case.
That leads to the biggest question for the first round.
Who Goes No. 2?
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Between what has happened on the court and some stars putting their pro careers on hold, the hierarchy behind Boston has evolved quite a bit.
Jones seemingly saw her stock steadily fall as she shot just 9.4 percent from beyond the arc.
Siegrist, the leading scorer in Division I (29.2 points) moved up draft boards the more she torched opposing defenses.
Horston might have moved into the top-five conversation discussion thanks in part to Lady Vols teammate Rickea Jackson removing herself from draft consideration.
Miller figures to be the second name called.
The Terrapins guard averaged 19.7 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.9 assists to anchor a squad that lost its top two scorers, Angel Reese and Ashley Owusu, to the transfer portal. She isn't a great shooter, though, having peaked at 35.5 percent on threes as a sophomore and watched her number tumble to 22.0 percent this season.
Still, Miller's athleticism and overall scoring ability are good enough to warrant taking her behind Boston.
How High Will South Carolina's Other Stars Climb?
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Last year, it looked like Destanni Henderson might ride the wave from South Carolina's national championship into the first round of the WNBA draft. Instead, the New York Liberty selected her 20th overall.
Aliyah Boston was the clear standout from this year's Gamecocks squad, but the roster includes multiple players who are imminently going to be on a WNBA roster or will get there soon.
Brea Beal was a finalist for the Naismith Women's Defensive Player of the Year and along with Boston helped to lead the most suffocating defense in the country. The 6'1" guard has the frame and the athleticism to guard multiple positions in the WNBA.
Her lack of scoring could hold her back a bit, though. She averaged 6.1 points and shot 31.3 percent from the perimeter across her career.
Beal shouldn't fall below the middle stage of the first round, and that outlook has remained pretty steady for most of the year.
Zia Cooke, on the other hand, might have boosted her stock in a noticeable way during the NCAA tournament. The 5'9" guard was SC's leading scorer (21 points) in the second round against South Florida and had 24 points in a Final Four defeat to Iowa.
For a player who isn't a surefire lock as a first-rounder, it was quite the final impression for WNBA coaches and scouts.
Laeticia Amihere is one of the bigger wild cards in the class.
Typically you wouldn't use a first-rounder on a player who started four games in four seasons, but Amihere excelled in a reserve role for the Gamecocks. As a senior, she averaged 17.8 points, 8.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 2.1 steals and 2.7 blocks per 40 minutes, according to Her Hoop Stats.
The 6'4" isn't a great shooter making fewer than 44 percent of her two-pointers through her first three seasons before finally creeping above 50 percent (53.0) in 2022-23.
Nearly every year there's a player who comes off the board far earlier than expected in the WNBA draft. Maybe a team values her upside enough to make Amihere a mid-first-rounder.
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