2019 WNBA Mock Draft: Analyzing Elite Prospects and Hidden Gems
Two days after a national champion is crowned in the 2019 NCAA women's basketball tournament, the best players in the country will descend upon New York City for the 2019 WNBA draft.
Few stories have been bigger during the WNBA offseason than whether the Las Vegas Aces would trade the No. 1 overall pick. During a conference call, Aces head coach and general manager Bill Laimbeer said he was willing to move down in the first round, per the Indianapolis Star's Mike Berardino.
Laimbeer's decision will likely come down to whether Sabrina Ionescu declares for the draft. The Oregon star is the top player in the 2019 class. Should she push her WNBA arrival to 2020, though, the draft would lack one singular talent who's head and shoulders above everyone else.
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The Aces could trade back to the middle of the first round and not lose much in terms of overall value.
Assuming Ionescu and Jackie Young—another draft-eligible junior—are on the board, here's a mock for the first round of the 2019 draft and an extended look at some of the notable prospects available.
2019 WNBA Mock Draft
1. Las Vegas Aces: Sabrina Ionescu, G, Oregon
2. New York Liberty: Asia Durr, G, Louisville
3. Indiana Fever: Teaira McCowan, C, Mississippi State
4. Chicago Sky: Kalani Brown, C, Baylor
5. Dallas Wings: Jackie Young, G, Notre Dame
6. Minnesota Lynx: Napheesa Collier, F, Connecticut
7. Los Angeles Sparks: Katie Lou Samuelson, G, Connecticut
8. Phoenix Mercury: Alanna Smith, F, Stanford
9. Connecticut Sun: Kristine Anigwe, F, California
10. Washington Mystics: Arike Ogunbowale, G, Notre Dame
11. Atlanta Dream: Sophie Cunningham, G, Missouri
12: Seattle Storm: Megan Gustafson, F, Iowa
Top Prospects
Sabrina Ionescu, G, Oregon
Ionescu is basically a cheat code. She's averaging 19.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 8.2 assists this season. She's also shooting 45.1 percent from the floor and 43.3 percent from beyond the arc.
In December, Ionescu set the NCAA career triple-doubles record. As if that wasn't enough, she owned the single-season triple-doubles record by February. She has 18 triple-doubles over three years and eight in 2018-19 alone.
Ionescu relishes the big stage, too. She had 31 points, seven rebounds and eight assists in Oregon's Elite Eight victory over Mississippi State. She delivered a pair of daggers to the Bulldogs from beyond the arc in the fourth quarter. Watching her discuss the moment after the game nearly eclipsed the shots themselves.
If Oregon fails to win a national championship, then Ionescu might be tempted to come back for her final season. After back-to-back losses in the national championship, Teaira McCowan likely would've been a top pick in the 2018 draft but returned to Mississippi State.
Teaira McCowan, C, Mississippi State
The Bulldogs were unable to capture that elusive national title, but that was through no fault of McCowan. The senior center averaged 18.4 points, 13.5 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game.
Traditional centers are a dying breed in the NBA, but that isn't the case in the WNBA.
The Seattle Storm were WNBA champions despite the lack of a true rim protector, but they nearly fell victim to Brittney Griner and the Phoenix Mercury in the semifinals. The Atlanta Dream finished first in defensive rating (97.1), per WNBA.com, and Jessica Breland was a big reason why.
Teams will be able to exploit McCowan by switching her onto more athletic guards and forwards, and she's a little limited offensively—one career three-pointer.
But McCowan is such an imposing presence inside and a good enough scorer (59.7 percent for her career) that it makes up for her flaws.
Asia Durr, G, Louisville
College basketball fans didn't see the best of Asia Durr during the NCAA tournament. Over Louisville's four games, Durr averaged 20.3 points but shot 40.9 percent from the field and 31.0 percent from beyond the arc.
When she's rolling, Durr is unguardable. North Carolina State saw that firsthand when she dropped 47 points on the Wolfpack in a 92-62 victory on Feb. 28.
Durr's consistency is what will help her make an immediate impact in the WNBA.
The senior guard became a regular starter for Louisville as a sophomore in 2016-17. Over the next three years, she averaged 19.2 points, 18.7 points and 21.2 points. She showed steady improvement as a playmaker as well, with her assist numbers climbing over each season: 1.4 per game in 2015-16, 1.8 in 2016-17, 2.3 in 2017-18 and 3.3 in 2018-19.
Durr is the scorer the New York Liberty need after finishing with the league's second-worst offensive rating (97.1) in 2018, per WNBA.com.
Hidden Gems
Megan Gustafson, F, Iowa
Megan Gustafson leaves Iowa as one of the greatest basketball players in Hawkeyes history.
This year alone, Gustafson helped lead Iowa to the Elite Eight and became the fourth player in Division I women's basketball to eclipse 1,000 points in a single season.
As good as Gustafson has been over her four-year career, there are real concerns about how her game will translate to the WNBA.
At 6'3", she's a bit undersized for a post player and will likely struggle to guard the league's bevy of skilled centers. Adding onto that, she can't stretch the floor and thus drag bigger opponents away from the basket. Gustafson attempted two three-pointers at Iowa.
Having said that, fans shouldn't get so wrapped up in Gustafson's flaws they overlook her obvious strengths. In her final two seasons at Iowa, she averaged 26.9 points and 13.2 rebounds while shooting 68.7 percent from the field.
Gustafson has a refined scoring game in the post, and she knows how to position herself to crash the boards.
While she won't be a perennial WNBA All-Star, she has the potential to be a useful rotation player, and that's a lot more than teams generally find at the end of the first round and into the second.
Sophie Cunningham, G, Missouri
The trend of position-less has grown in the NBA in recent years, and now it's becoming more popular in the WNBA. Along with that, teams are putting more of an emphasis on floor-spacing.
Five years ago, the San Antonio Stars led the league with 6.7 made three-pointers per game. In 2018, that number would've been good enough for a share of sixth place.
With the direction in which the WNBA is going, players such as Sophie Cunningham will become more valuable. The Missouri guard shot 40.3 percent from long range in four years with the Tigers.
Cunningham finished her college career with nearly as many turnovers (381) as she had assists (390), so she won't be an ideal player through whom to run the offense. But her shooting could help her carve out a role as a three-point specialist.
Kiara Leslie, G, North Carolina State
Kiara Leslie's WNBA draft stock couldn't have been much lower when she transferred to North Carolina State in June 2017. She was only a role player for Maryland in her first two years and then missed all of 2016-17 with an ankle injury.
The Wolfpack gave Leslie an opportunity to shine and she ran with it. In two seasons with the team, she averaged 14.3 points. 6.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists. Her rebounding numbers were particularly impressive since she's only 6'0".
Between 2017-18 and 2018-19, Leslie made big strides as a shooter. She attempted 61 more three-pointers this past year than she did two seasons ago yet saw her three-point percentage improve from 32.5 to 38.1.
Although Leslie doesn't excel in any one area, the totality of her skill set should earn her a sustained look during training camp this offseason.
Brianna Turner, F, Notre Dame
Brianna Turner has hardly missed a beat after being out for all of 2017-18. Through 37 games, she's averaging 14.4 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.8 blocks for Notre Dame.
Turner will suffer from the same problems as Gustafson. As 6'3", she profiles as a center in the WNBA but doesn't have the ideal size for either position. Also like Gustafson, Turner's offense comes largely close to the basket. She hasn't attempted a single three-pointer.
Turner is a better defender, though. According to Her Hoops Stats, her 9.2 percent block rate is 49th among all Division I players.
The Fighting Irish star differs from Gustafson in one key area—a factor that will suit her well in the WNBA.
Much of the Iowa offense ran through Gustafson because she was by far the Hawkeyes' best player. Turner, on the other hand, has shared the court with Arike Ogunbowale, Jackie Young, Marina Mabrey and Jessica Shepard.
Gustafson will have a big transition to make at the next level as she grows accustomed to a supporting role and getting into position to score away from the ball. Turner is already doing that with Notre Dame, so she won't face nearly the same kind of difficulty upon making the step up.
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