Checking in With the WNBA’s 2023 Rookie Class

As the league heads into the All-Star break, here’s how some top rookies have been adjusting to the pros.

Since the 2023 WNBA draft in April—and the quick turnaround to training camp just 20 days later—there has been a mixed bag of results for this year’s rookie class. Some, like All-Star Aliyah Boston, have taken the league by storm. Others have seen their debut seasons put on hold due to injuries. And more than half—21 out of 36 players drafted, to be exact—did not make a roster at the start of the season.

Of the 12 first-round picks from this year, nine made their respective team’s opening-day roster. Of the remaining three, one is out with an injury, one is a draft-and-stash pick, and the other was waived by her original team but was ultimately picked up elsewhere on a hardship contract.

After a quick glance at the numbers, let’s check in on each first-round pick from the 2023 draft, with some other notable updates below.

Tony Gutierrez/AP (Siegrist); Trevor Ruszkowski/USA TODAY Sports (Boston)

1. Indiana Fever’s Aliyah Boston

Boston quickly adapted to the WNBA, as most expected she would. The consensus No. 1 pick by a large margin, coaches, players and fans alike knew her transition from South Carolina stardom to the big leagues would be a fun one—it was presumed that she would have more space to work offensively in the WNBA, rather than constantly being double-teamed like she was in her time as a Gamecock.

In late June, the four-time All-American became the first rookie since 2014, and the eighth rookie in league history, to be named an All-Star starter. Boston averages more than 30 minutes a game with the Fever and is in the top three in the league for field goal percentage (excluding players who have played fewer than three games). No rookie has totaled more points (308), rebounds (168), blocks (26) or minutes (620) per game this season. 

2. Minnesota Lynx’ Diamond Miller

Ahead of the draft, Miller was heralded as a pro-ready rookie, someone who could come in and make an immediate impact with the Lynx amidst their rebuilding. And to start, she did just that, averaging 20.8 minutes in her first five games played with Minnesota. But the former Maryland star was injured in early June and missed nearly the entire month with an ankle sprain before returning in the Lynx’ win over the Storm on June 27. (Miller played 31 minutes and had 18 points in that game.)

Though her time on the floor has been limited, Miller’s usage percentage (25.8) leads all rookies in the league. That plus Miller’s flashes when she has been healthy enough to play prove that this is just a bump in the road en route to an impressive professional career. 

3. Dallas Wings’ Maddy Siegrist

The nation’s top college scorer in 2022–23 has slowed down a bit since reaching the WNBA, averaging less than 10 minutes and fewer than three points per game. She has, however, seen action in 20 games.

With a new coach in Latricia Trammell, and offseason additions like Diamond DeShields and Natasha Howard, the Wings added a lot of talent to an already strong 2023 roster. (Both Arike Ogunbowale and Satou Sabally were named to the All-Star starting lineup in June.) So it’s only natural that Siegrist takes some time to find her footing in Dallas.

4. Dallas Wings’ Stephanie Soares

Soares was drafted in the top five despite it being known ahead of time that she would be out for this season, returning to Iowa State as a graduate assistant in 2023 instead of immediately taking her place on the Wings’ roster.

The Iowa State alum will rehab from her torn ACL this year in Ames while periodically heading to Dallas for updates.

5. Dallas Wings’ Lou Lopez Sénéchal

Sénéchal had surgery in late May after sustaining a knee injury in UConn’s Sweet 16 loss two months before. The guard still made the Wings’ final roster despite starting the season, and training camp, on the sidelines.

6. Atlanta Dream’s Haley Jones

After falling past her projected draft spot, Jones has seen the court a fair amount with the Dream. She averages about 20 minutes per game, and her usage rate was up to 17% at the start of July. The former Stanford star sits just outside of the league’s top 20 for assists; she leads that category amongst rookies.

Jones has struggled with turnovers in her transition to the big leagues, but she is on track to finding her rhythm in Atlanta, especially playing alongside fellow USA Basketball teammates Rhyne Howard and Naz Hillmon.

7. Indiana Fever’s Grace Berger

The Indiana native has had a more quiet start to her rookie season compared to teammate Boston, but she is nonetheless gaining momentum after going from not really seeing the court, to playing more than 16 minutes per game in early June. That number has fallen back down to closer to nine minutes per, but the former Hoosier is still seeing the court.

8. Atlanta Dream’s Laeticia Amihere

The forward has played in only 11 games so far for the Dream, but her height and natural athleticism—she went viral in 2017 for being the first Canadian woman to dunk during gameplay—means that she brings plenty of potential.

Amihere is 6'3", three inches above the WNBA average, and her usage rate, when she is on the court, is 20.2%. She averages just under four points per game.

9. Seattle Storm’s Jordan Horston

Another draft prospect that fell a bit in the first round, Horston has struggled a bit settling in with the Storm. At the start of June, the former Tennessee player was averaging just four points in under 20 minutes off the bench. She was shooting poorly as well, making 20.7% of her field goal attempts. Those numbers have since climbed (she averages over seven points, 21.8 minutes and is making 35.6% of her field goals), but there’s still room for the forward to grow.

Horston is doing her fair share elsewhere on the court, however: She has totaled 13 blocks, 22 steals and 99 rebounds in just 17 games played so far this season. Her usage rate is 21.6%.

10. Los Angeles Sparks’ Zia Cooke

Cooke went viral in May as the basketball world witnessed her “Welcome to the WNBA” moment, when fellow former Gamecock A’ja Wilson blocked her shot big time. Nonetheless, there’s been much more to Cooke’s professional game. She had a strong debut earlier that month, scoring 14 points in 15 minutes played. The guard has appeared in every matchup so far for Los Angeles, totaling 94 points and 20 assists across 20 games.

11. Dallas Wings’ Abby Meyers

Dallas announced it waived the former Maryland player on May 17, but Meyers was picked up by the Mystics on a hardship contract just over a month later—bringing the former Maryland player back to the larger Washington, D.C., area for a short time. Her contract ended on July 4 (when guard Li Meng returned after winning the Asia Cup). Meyers played in five games for the Mystics, averaging fewer than two points per game.

12. Minnesota Lynx’ Maia Hirsch

The Lynx selected Hirsch out of France as the final first-round pick of the 2023 draft, designating the forward as a draft-and-stash pick. This means Hirsch can keep playing abroad in France, but Minnesota holds the rights to sign her to a rookie deal sometime in the next few years.

Other notable rookie updates

• No. 13 Taylor Mikesell out of Ohio State, waived by the Fever, Dream
• No. 22 Alexis Morris out of LSU, waived by the Sun
• No. 26 Monika Czinano out of Iowa, waived by the Sparks
• No. 24 Brea Beal out of South Carolina, waived by the Lynx
• No. 23 Kayana Traylor out of Virginia Tech, waived by the Sky