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Breakdown of 2022 WNBA Draft Entry List

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Last year, all college players needed to declare for the 2021 WNBA Draft since all of them had the ability to play one more season in college.  While there are still players with the option for a fifth season of eligibility, there will be the need to confirm that players are entering the draft after their fourth or earlier season of eligibility.  The league did release a list of players who had contacted them prior to the applicable deadlines, but the league has included players who have exhausted their eligibility on their published list, muddying the waters on which players actually declared for the draft in accordance with the league’s instructions.  Last season, 53 players ended up being on the final list and at first glance, this year’s list of 108 names seems larger, but it includes a number of players who did not need to publicly declare.  Our look at the college careers of these players suggests that only 32 of the listed players needed to declare and that should have been the length of the list.  Given the possibility of players completely incorrectly being put on the list, the league should really expend more effort on confirming that players should be on the list each year before releasing it.  Our breakdown of the players based on information available from their college careers is below.

List

Players who needed to declare:

The 32 players below definitely had the ability to play at least another season in college and would not have been able to be picked in the draft or play this season without going through this declaration process.

Joanne Allen-Taylor Texas
Shakira Austin Ole Miss
Ty Battle Delaware
Kierstan Bell Florida Gulf Coast
Rae Burrell Tennessee
Veronica Burton Northwestern
Nia Clouden Michigan State
Jennifer Coleman Navy
Elissa Cunane NC State
Jasmine Dickey Delaware
Queen Egbo Baylor
Jayden Eggleston CSU Bakersfield
Emily Engstler Louisville
Miela Goodchild Duke
Aleksa Gulbe Indiana
Lexi Held DePaul
Destanni Henderson South Carolina
Naz Hillmon Michigan
Chantel Horvat UCLA
Rhyne Howard Kentucky
Lexie Hull Stanford
Rosy Johnson Ohio
Lotta-Maj Lahtinen Georgia Tech
Christina Morra Wake Forest
Olivia Nelson-Ododa Connecticut
Nyara Sabally Oregon
Akila Smith Longwood
Kianna Smith Louisville
NaLyssa Smith Baylor
Amandine Toi Virginia
Evina Westbrook Connecticut
Christyn Williams Connecticut

Players who appear to have already gone through a draft:

A pair of players on the list did not need to declare because both had theoretically already been through a draft and were already free agents in WNBA terms.  Arbrie Benson finished her college career at Ball State in 2020 after starting it at Northwest Missouri State in 2015 and was a part of the draft class that year.  Bethy Mununga is in a slightly different position.  She started her college career in 2017 at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, but she was not born in or a resident of the United States so she was eligible to be picked as an international in the 2017 WNBA Draft since that was the year in which she turned 20.  Given that situation, she would have been a WNBA free agent throughout the course of her college career and would have been able to sign at any time, including after the conclusion of her eligibility this season instead of needing to go through the draft process.  This site’s league sources have been asked for a long time for confirmation or clarification of her current status given that Mununga is listed on various mock drafts.  There is another player who has been in this situation as Tiana Mangakahia was listed on the league’s draft entry list last year despite having a similar college trajectory that would have made her an undrafted free agent after the 2015 WNBA Draft.  There are other potential WNBA caliber players who might want clarification of their status ahead of future seasons.

Bethy Mununga South Florida
Arbrie Benson Ball State

Players who did not need to declare:

The following 74 players appear to have exhausted all remaining college eligibility at the end of this season, making them automatically available for selection in this draft regardless of whether they submitted their names for consideration.

Faustine Aifuwa LSU
Amy Atwell Hawaii
Katie Benzan Maryland
Michelle Berry TCU
Chloe Bibby Maryland
Jazz Bond North Florida
Araion Bradshaw Dayton
Osh Brown Rutgers
Brice Calip Missouri State
Nicole Cardaño-Hillary Indiana
Jailin Cherry LSU
Natalie Chou UCLA
Deja Church DePaul
Lorela Cubaj Georgia Tech
Alana Davis Memphis
Mia Davis Temple
Jordyn Dawson Akron
Shug Dickson Rutgers
Maya Dodson Notre Dame
Alexus Dye Tennessee
Amaya Finklea Duke
N’Dea Flye Rocky Mountain
Krystal Freeman Tulane
Jenna Giacone Dayton
Lexi Gordon Duke
Vivian Gray Texas Tech
Chelsie Hall Louisville
Sara Hamson BYU
Paisley Harding BYU
Lauren Heard TCU
Mya Hollingshed Colorado
CeCe Hooks Ohio
Qadashah Hoppie Texas A&M
Gadiva Hubbard Minnesota
Aahliyah Jackson TCU
Kayla Jones NC State
Masseny Kaba UCF
Chloe Lamb South Dakota
Jordan Lewis Baylor
Kiara Lewis Clemson
Kelsey Marshall Miami
LaShonda Monk Ole Miss
Que Morrison Georgia
Nancy Mulkey Washington
Ali Patberg Indiana
Jaelynn Penn UCLA
Raina Perez NC State
Destiny Pitts Texas A&M
Khayla Pointer LSU
Amber Ramirez Arkansas
Taya Robinson VCU
Dor Saar Middle Tennessee
Tay Sanders UCF
Chanin Scott North Carolina A&T
Aisha Sheppard Virginia Tech
Hannah Sjerven South Dakota
Alisia Smith Michigan State
Tra’Dayja Smith Longwood
Jenna Staiti Georgia
Iimar’i Thomas UCLA
Sam Thomas Arizona
Taylah Thomas Texas Tech
Lianna Tillman Sacramento State
Moon Ursin Tulane
Lauren Van Kleunen Marquette
Cierra Walker Gonzaga
Kayla Wells Texas A&M
Erin Whalen Dayton
Sydne Wiggins SMU
Jade Williams Duke
Macee Williams IUPUI
Ameshya Williams-Holiday Jackson State
Anna Wilson Stanford
Deja Winters Minnesota

Translated Russian Newspaper Article about Griner’s condition in detention

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A famous American basketball player was found in a Russian pre-trial detention center: the US consul abandoned her

 

If it were not for the events in Ukraine, then, probably, the detention and arrest in Russia, at Sheremetyevo Airport of American Britney Griner, the famous athlete, two-time Olympic champion, would have been a sensation No. 1 in the world.

But as it is, it is – at the moment, the American consul has not been able to visit with one of the most famous basketball players on the planet to make sure that she was all right. So far, only two Russian lawyers are involved in her defense. The conditions of detention of 31-year-old Britney Griner were checked by human rights activists, members of the Public Monitoring Commission of the Moscow Region, among them a special correspondent for Russian MK Newspaper.

Britney Griner was detained at Sheremetyevo Airport in February. In her luggage, customs officers, according to media reports, found vapes with cannabis oil. In Russia, using hash oil is a crime, and in any doses and purposes. A service dog trained on drugs detected narcotics in the luggage of Griner who had flown from New York to Moscow. Now the two-time Olympic champion – in Rio in 2016 and in Tokyo in 2020 – faces up to 10 years in prison for drug possession and smuggling.

To Russia for millions

Information about the incident was widely disseminated by the media on March 5, when the decision to arrest Griner was made by a court in Khimki. Now American politicians are trying to link the criminal case against Griner with the aggravated relations between Russia and the West. However, this does not affect her position, who is currently in one of the pre-trial detention centers in the Moscow region.

She flew from New York to Russia to play for one of the leading basketball teams in our country. Griner earns more than $1 million a year – playing for the Yekaterinburg Basketball Club.

“Phoenix Mercury center Britney Griner is one of the most prominent WNBA (Women’s National Basketball Association) players of all time. Now she is in custody in Russia, and this situation not only threatens her security in a deep global crisis, but also exposes the problems of professional women’s basketball in America.”

Apparently, Greiner plays in Russia for financial reasons. In the offseason, many WNBA (Women’s National Basketball Association) stars compete in other countries during the off-season simply because it is several times more profitable than at home. For several weeks, the Griner family, her business and legal representatives, the WNBA, the NBA and some players were aware of the problem with Russian law, but avoided drawing attention to Griner so as not to provoke.

The American consul is in no hurry

Everything, as usual, is an ordinary weekday, here the prisoners are talking on a landline phone, others are going to court in the temporary detention center. The institution where Britney is located functions not only as a colony, but also as a pre-trial detention center. They are waiting for the American consul, he must come at least someday. In the end, their citizen was detained, and even a celebrity. But the diplomat does not seem to be in a hurry.

             This detention center houses Brittney Griner. Photo Ekaterina Sazhneva

 

Although the Israeli consul, for example, regularly visited a citizen of his country, 26-year-old Naama Issahar – she, as many probably remember, was also detained at the airport with hashish in 2019. The Issachar case and the Griner case are almost a blueprint except that Britney flew directly to Russia, where she has been living and working for several years, that is, she could in advance take an interest in our laws.

In the case of Naama Issachar, an unremarkable girl, unfolded before the pandemic and all this world confusion, therefore, it caused an unprecedented public outcry. On October 19, 2019, rallies were held in Tel Aviv and New York demanding her release. The President of Israel personally addressed the head of the Russian Federation with a request to pardon Naama. And the Prime Minister of Israel apologized to Vladimir Putin for Issachar and also asked for her release. Also, the mother of the arrested woman achieved a personal meeting with the President of Russia. In general, they saved Naama at the level of heads of state. As a result, she wrote a petition for pardon to Putin, he accepted it, and on January 30, 2020, the Israeli woman flew on a private plane of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sarah Netanyahu to her home. I remember how Issachar drew, taught her cellmates to do yoga, in general, tried to be positive, despite the fact that her nerves were at the limit.

Sleeping with legs crossed

People in the colony are used to celebrities of all kinds. Although, of course, there are certain nuances. For example, Britney’s height is 2 meters 6 centimeters. The bed on the second tier, where she sleeps, is designed for a maximum of 1.80, and even the foot of the bed itself is limited by bars, so you can’t stretch your legs up to the wall. However, the bed is standard, as it should be according to the house rules. Britney is not discouraged. She is generally very peaceful and calm. As if nothing had happened to her at all – well, yes, she ended up in prison, well, yes, snow-covered Russia outside the window, well, that’s how it happens, there is nothing special here.

– Have you ever been in a prison before, Britney? – we ask her. – You somehow do not look shocked and alarmed. – Yes, my father worked in the police, and my brother was in prison, – she spreads her hands.

– And how, is there a difference between the places of detention in our country and in yours? – Yes, prisons are very different. If I were in America, they could probably release me on bail now.

Her shoes are size 53. And a dimensionless dark jacket, to which multi-colored stripes are sewn – red, black, yellow, green. “Blacks live for the world, that’s what it says on them,” explains Britney Greiner. She is also, most likely, an activist of the extremely popular BLM social movement in the states, she opposes racism and violence against blacks. The same movement when African Americans force whites to kneel and apologize for the behavior of their slave-owning ancestors.

– How do you sit with white neighbors? – I nod at the cellmates of the basketball player.

-“Oh, no problem, I like white people,” she exclaims.

There are two cellmates – Olya and Alena. Olya is 21, Alena is 28. Both are here under the “people’s” article 228 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, that is, for the same drugs. They speak English and therefore can communicate with a foreigner. Pioneers. Human rights activists do not have the right to be interested in the details of their criminal cases, but most often the so-called “mortgagers”, that is, young people who are used as intermediaries between sellers and buyers of illicit drugs, are serving time in this composition.

– Do you have enough food? Are you well fed? Are the portions small? – we bombard the athlete with questions.

“No. Everything is fine. There is enough food. -I ate noodles with milk for breakfast today. And for the first time I tried this, like her, buckwheat. We don’t have that kind of grain.”

– Do you receive transmissions? – Yes. There is no problem with this. I have two lawyers that I am allowed to meet with.

– Did you manage to contact your relatives in the USA? There is such a paid service of the Federal Penitentiary Service-letter, you write an electronic news to whom you want. You are answered. You can even write in English, however, in this case you will have to wait for some time, according to the law, the translator will have to check the content. – I know about it. But, unfortunately, in America it is impossible to register on this site, so I have not spoken with relatives, – the Olympic champion sighs.

 

She has two books that the lawyer brought. This is a biography of the Rolling Stones and in English Dostoyevsky.

“Demons,” Olya explains the name to me.

– “Demons”? Isn’t it “Demons”?

– A, accurately “Demons”!

Britney doesn’t speak Russian at all. Not a single word, although she played in Russia for several years. “It was just that translators were always there,” she explains. The same Naama Issachar for six months in a Russian pre-trial detention center spoke the great and mighty quite decently.

But Britney either does not understand that, according to her article, she faces up to 10 years in prison, or keeps her face well. At least until she learns the language.

“I lost track of time in the temporary detention center, where I spent about ten days until they sent me here,” she sighs.

A flat-screen TV hangs in the cell – this is a must for women. It shows up to twenty channels and switches centrally by clock in all chambers. News is coming, but it’s frankly scary to watch, and yesterday we got to the “Magnificent Century”. The story about the inhabitants of the harem of the Turkish Sultan, as they say, really liked.

Another of the entertainments is to walk in the walking yard and bath twice a week. The night before, Britney was playing Battleship with her neighbors. They also have such a game in America, but it’s a board game, but here it’s school-style in a checkered notebook. “Once I won, another she,” picks up the second neighbor Alena.

What’s next for Britney? Still, up to ten years. And it seems that the United States is not very eager to save its citizen. For now, Britney needs to think about simple and affordable household items in order to simply save herself. For example, how to cut off the cut-off the locs generously scattered on her head.

So far I can wash them once every two weeks with shampoo that her lawyer brings. If, Griner stay behind bars drags on, something will also need to be done about this.

PS The famous American basketball player Britney Griner arrested in Russia is called a political prisoner in the US press. Without any reliable information, the media publish articles about how hard it is for her behind bars.

Meanwhile, in the future, her situation can be improved. Moreover, Griner can even return to her homeland.

There are convicts in the United States with Russian passports, who otherwise have no chance of returning home. Why not trade one of them for Britney?

Is such an exchange of prisoners possible in principle, says human rights activist Ivan Melnikov, vice president of the Russian branch of the International Committee for the Protection of Human Rights.

– Ivan, how many citizens are held in places of deprivation of liberty in our country and in the United States? – Russians in America, I suppose, about 2.5 thousand. We have much fewer Americans, about 10 people: Trevor Reed, Britney Griner, Paul Willan, Mark Vogel and others.

– Many Russians who sit there are well-known personalities. – Yes, this is Viktor Bout, who was sentenced in 2012 in the United States to 25 years in prison, and Konstantin Yaroshenko, a Russian pilot involved in a diplomatic incident between Russia and the United States. In 2010, he was arrested in Liberia as part of the Relentless operation and extradited to the United States without proper documents, later Yaroshenko said that he had been tortured.

They were recently joined by Vladislav Klyushin, accused of trading insider information, but the US is said to have detained him to obtain information about the time he worked on a monitoring system for the presidential administration.

What needs to be done to make this exchange possible? – I sent appeals to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation personally to Sergey Lavrov and the US Secretary of State with a proposal to return to the issue of a possible exchange and provide assistance so that appropriate measures are taken. Being so far from home and in such difficult conditions is always a concern for our citizens, Yaroshenko and Bout, as far as I know, are now experiencing serious health problems, and because of the imposed sanctions, it is impossible to send money for medicines to them. I understand that relatives cannot send money to American prisoners in the Russian Federation either.

– Britney Griner opened an account, and her lawyer transferred some amount for purchases in a store at the SIZO.

– But, of course, this should not be regulated in each specific case, but in general, a regulation should be adopted that makes transfers for imprisoned foreigners possible. If it is possible to remove all bureaucratic obstacles as quickly as possible and exchange our prisoners, then this must be done. Everyone is waiting for their loved ones at home. Both in America and in Russia.

Dear BG,

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None of us can even begin to imagine how you’re feeling right now. I know I can’t. Many of us have played in Russia and know all too well how dark and grim that country can sometimes be, especially in the winter. But as I sit here and think of you, I can only think about the joy you bring to so many people. Young girls and boys look up to you with amazement. They really can’t believe how tall you are, that you’re a real person. Even adults are in awe; they either push for a picture or an autograph or just stop and stare.

People love watching you play. The Mighty Mercury would do anything for you. They love their players! You really are larger than life. I just wish people really knew you. I wish they knew how you take the time to speak to people, to smile and laugh with kids, how considerate and compassionate you can be. How you’d give the clothes off your back to someone in need. They don’t get to see that side of you. They only see what the media shows, and assumptions people make on their own, but we know you, your basketball sisters know you and guess what? We have your back! I mean we REALLY have your back.

The abundance of love and support around this situation has been powerful to say the least. From the top to the bottom, we are aligned, and we just want you home safe and sound! Nothing else matters. #FREEBG is catchy, but this isn’t just some trending moment or a hashtag, this is your life, and we genuinely care. Not sure what news you’re catching over there, if any at all, but my hope is that you feel the outpouring of concern, support, attention, and love coming from us. Maybe you’re confined to some hotel or something for now. I don’t even let my mind wander to anything other than that but wherever you are and whatever you are feeling, I hope that you are safe and that someone is showing you care.

This situation sucks and we honestly don’t even know what’s true, but I hope that this is a lesson for us all to show grace. For our community to come together and understand that life is much bigger than sport, but sport is what connects us all. Through trials and tribulations, through the highs and the lows, the one thing that has the power to bring people together is sport and Britt we are thinking about you, we love you and we can’t wait to have you back!

-Mo

Post-College Players to Know for 2022 WNBA Draft

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While nearly all of the players drafted by the WNBA are picked right after the end of their college careers and people are generally aware of the concept of international players being drafted, there is a set of players whose selections have created confusion in the past.  These would be the players who were in college, but played professionally leading up to the draft, either because they were too young to enter a prior draft or because they did not declare for a draft that they were eligible for and entered the next one automatically.  The two players picked after falling in the latter category were Diamond DeShields, who did not enter in 2017 out of Tennessee as she could have, leaving her in the 2018 draft pool after a season in Turkey, and Kitija Laksa, who could have entered in 2018 or 2019, but did not opt to leave South Florida until later to turn professional in her native Latvia, leaving her to be picked in 2020.  There have been five draftees in the former category with Epiphanny Prince being the most prominent as the only one to play in the WNBA and the only American, having opted for a professional career when she was too young to enter the WNBA draft.  The other four are Diandra Tchatchouang, who played two seasons for Maryland and then two seasons in France before being picked in 2013, Maria Conde, who played two seasons for Florida State and two professional seasons before being picked in 2019, Angela Salvadores, who played one season for Duke and three professional seasons leading up to her selection in 2019, and Aina Ayuso, who played played one season at Oregon and three professional seasons before being taken in the last draft.

As with any other draft class, there are current professional players who went to college who are now eligible for this draft due to birth year, this time encompassing those who were born in 2000.  Due to the WNBA changing rules last year in response to college associations declaring that the 2020-21 season would not be counted toward eligibility limits, there is going to be an unusually large number of professional players who are automatically eligible for drafts by virtue of not declaring for the previous draft.  Some of those players did not decide that they would end their college careers and turn professional until after draft while others may have known that they were not going to return to school, but were not necessarily aware that declaring for the draft earlier could have a benefit.  Players who fit this general category of drafting are not always selected on current or even college production with some reliance on how they have been historically viewed as prospects.  In order to reduce confusion given that these players will not be listed on the draft declaration list or international prospect lists or have recently exhausted their college eligibility, here is a list of some players that are available to picked.  After the player name, position is listed, then college, the country of the national team that the player would currently fall under representing, their current club with country listed if it is not their nationality in national team terms, and a brief description of the nature of their eligibility.

Sam Simons, SF, St. Mary’s, Australia, Adelaide Lightning, Born in 2000

A player who would have definitely been firmly on the draft radar for this or next year had she continued her college career, Sam Simons has been a little further away from the picture recently.  She had two very productive seasons at St. Mary’s, but opted to remain at home and not travel to California during her junior year, leaving open the possibility of returning.  After the season, she decided that she would turn professional and, after a long time without playing a competitive game, first played with the Forestville Eagles in the state level leagues in her native South Australia.  She is now playing for her local national league team and figures to be a key reserve all season long for Adelaide.  After not playing for so long, she does have some work to do to grab everyone’s attention again and there just may not be enough opportunity to do that this year.  In the long run, if the shooting prowess that she demonstrated in college along with general scoring ability can be shown again at volume, she will certainly be able to contribute at more than the local level in the future.

Emma Clarke, SG, Colorado, Australia, Perth Lynx, Born in 2000

A player who showed development in her first two seasons in college at Colorado, Emma Clarke then announced a transfer to Texas Tech.  Rather than attending last season, she opted to turn professional and the decision by Australia’s league to not play with imports gave her more playing time than would have been available in other cases and she took advantage of the situation.  The league returning to regular roster rules this season and unexpected player availability means that this season she is competing for playing time against three established WNBA players and, as a result, there will not be much opportunity to show what she can do.  Past productivity could leave her with a solid reputation, but at this point it is much more likely that she will continue to try to take advantage of the opportunities that she gets and develop during the rest of the year to play a bigger role at the local level in the future.

Anna Makurat, SG, Connecticut, Poland, Gorzow, Born in 2000

Once in the conversation for the top international draft prospect in in the 2020 Draft, Anna Makurat opted not to remain in Poland and chose college with Connecticut.  It took a little time for her to integrate into the system as a freshman, but she showed reasonable promise.  Injuries contributed to her going from starter to the end of the rotation of a talented team in her sophomore year and she then opted to turn professional.  Unfortunately, injury issues have again affected her season again and there is just not a lot of recent footage to see what she can contribute now.  While her spot-up shooting was supposed to be her future calling card as she was emerging as a prospect, it has not always been consistent, but demonstrated better passing ability over time and on the club level makes her an ideal future player to pair with a scoring-oriented point guard in Europe.  Even though she may not be able to show as much as was expected this season without a late surge in productivity on her return, it would not be completely out of the question for a team at the end of the draft to use a pick on her with her history in mind and the hopes that she is fully back on track in a year or two.

Valerie Nesbitt, PG, Mississippi, Bahamas, Gran Canaria (Spain), Did not declare for 2021 Draft

A player who definitely had the chance to play her way into draft consideration heading into the season, Valerie Nesbitt has had a career with a number of stops already.  A native of the Bahamas, she played high school basketball and at the junior college level in Florida.  She then headed to Mississippi to play for her national team coach, but the transition there did not go perfectly.  Even with that, her play for significant parts of her junior season made her a player to watch coming into last season.  There did not end up being the leap in production that might have been hoped for and she did not enter the draft, but did turn professional and headed to Gran Canaria in Spain where her nationality confers benefits for counting under the league’s foreign player limits.  Having some talented scorers on the team, including top international prospect Sika Kone, there has been an opportunity for her to facilitate as well as call her own number and she has done so at a pretty solid level even if it may not end up being draft-worthy, but she has a clear path at a long professional career.

Lydia Giomi, C, Oregon, United States, Gran Canaria (Spain), Did not declare for 2021 Draft

There are plenty of cases of players who end up with successful professional careers in ways that were not particularly obvious given their college careers.  Lydia Giomi spent five years at Oregon backing up a number of more well-known post players, but did not submit her name for consideration in the last draft.  She started her professional career in Spain with Gran Canaria and was a key player for them early on both ends of the floor as they were waiting to assemble their full roster.  With the season in full swing, she will be called on more for defense and rebounding than being the main scoring threat as the team had a tough start to the season, but is now rolling back toward preseason expectations.  Her rookie season has shown that she has a long future as a center overseas ahead of her if that is her goal, which might not have been that obvious this time last year.  The contrast between international and non-international draft rules is abundant in this case as she is nearly five and a half years older than her teammate Sika Kone who is in the same draft class.

Holly Winterburn, SG, Oregon, Great Britain, London Lions, Born in 2000

A player who was not exactly on the draft radar to start the season, Holly Winterburn came off the bench in her freshman year at Oregon.  After that season, she announced a transfer to UC Davis that would have given her more opportunities for playing time, but she ultimately decided to return to the Leicester Riders in the British League where she played before college and continue her studies closer to home.  While she was an excellent player in that league again, that probably would not have been enough to put her in draft consideration with the competition not considered the strongest, but then she signed with the ambitious London Lions, which had continental aspirations with a roster of as many local stars as they could assemble.  Even with more established veterans, she was the driving force behind them qualifying for the EuroCup regular season and there was at least the chance for her to play against bigger name opponents and impress.  While her performances ranged from solid to very good in those games, it may not be enough to warrant consideration with only domestic play before the draft.  Depending on continued plans to pursue a degree locally, it could be still be some time before her scoring ability is tested at a higher level league that would give a better idea of what her career could look like in her prime.

Kyra Lambert, PG, Texas, United States, Banska Bystrica (Slovakia), Did not declare for 2021 Draft

Once considered a high-level recruit, Kyra Lambert lost two straight seasons at Duke due to injury that was taken care by QC Kinetix Homewood but it took her some time to get back in rhythm when she returned for her fifth season.  She opted to transfer to Texas for her sixth season and was a solid starter for them as she showed that she could play big minutes and stay healthy.  Rather than play a seventh season in college, she turned professional, but did not declare for the draft.  Her first destination was Karsiyaka in Turkey’s second division, where each team’s lone foreign player often puts up massive numbers and she was no exception.  She then moved on to Banska Bystrica in Slovakia and had an inauspicious start, but will have the chance to play her way up the overseas ladder in the future.  The entity that might benefit the most from her having a healthy and long basketball career would be the Guam Basketball Confederation as she was born on the island and thus qualifies for their national team without any administrative headache and with the merger of Asia and Oceania for FIBA play, there might be more global opportunities for their program in the future.

Could Athletes Unlimited be the ‘G League’ of the WNBA?

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In October of 2021, Athletes Unlimited, a player driven all-new model for pro athletes and sports, announced the launch of a new basketball league for women set to begin later this week. Received with great enthusiasm, the league will run for about a month from January 26th to February 26th, 2022. The first season is being held at Athletes Unlimited Arena at the Sport Center of Las Vegas. AU’s season doesn’t conflict with the WNBA’s season which usually kicks off in May. This allows current WNBA players to compete in the AU league. Instead of a league counter to the W, which isn’t the goal, Athletes Unlimited has the potential to serve as a ‘G-League’ for women to develop and display potential talent for future opportunity in the WNBA.

The league started with the signing of current Washington Mystics guard Natasha Cloud and former WNBA players Sydney Colson and Tamara Young. Since its announcement, the league has grown to include 11 current WNBA players and 16 who have WNBA experience. 44 total players will compete in the league where there are no set teams; instead, each week four players draft their squads for the week in a fantasy sports format that awards individual points.

This unorthodox approach to a professional league just may bring the added attention and opportunity women’s basketball continues to garner. It will afford players the chance to stay home and compete instead of playing abroad during the WNBA off season. More importantly, Athletes Unlimited could be used as a steppingstone for players to showcase their talent to WNBA General Managers and Head Coaches. If there were some sort of collaboration in the future between the WNBA and AU, W teams could assign players to the AU league to allow time for development. This would alter the history of players basically being dismissed from the radar of the W if you don’t make a roster during training camp.

The WNBA has 12 teams for a total of 144 players. With the league being the size that it is, for now, many talented players don’t have a real shot at making a team. This is especially the case for players who may not be WNBA “ready” but have great potential. Look at Shay Peddy, current Mercury guard who found success in the league seven years after playing overseas. Imagine if there was an opportunity for her to develop stateside with the eyes and expertise of the W.

Of the 11 WNBA players competing next week, several are currently free agents. AU could also be a platform for players on the market to display their talents to other teams during Free Agency. Courtney Williams, who last played for the Atlanta Dream, is on the market for a team and although her game speaks for itself, it would be an opportunity for her to wow a team with her play and perhaps convince them to take a chance on a player who has had a few controversies off the court in the past.

Tianna Hawkins who also played for the Dream last season was recently waived and is on the market for a new team. AU would give her the chance to display her skills beyond what she was able to contribute last season. Hawkins started 8 games for the Dream and averaged 5 points per game and 3 rebounds per game; a far cry from some of the success Hawkins had in the past where she played a major role during the Mystics championship season in 2019.

Odyssey Sims, is another former Dream player who is an Unrestricted Free Agent and will compete in the AU league. Restricted Free Agent Lexie Brown, who recently re-signed with the 2021 WNBA Champs Chicago Sky has also signed up. Mercedes Russell, who Seattle is expected to re-sign has the opportunity to show more than the role she was assigned to with the Storm. Potentially, Russell can display a skillset unseen which may bring more suitors to the table. In addition to current W players, you have Imani McGee-Stafford who hasn’t played in the W since the 2019 as she pursues her law degree. Dallas has her rights but being away from the game will give her the opportunity to get back into the swing of competing on a team.

There are also non-league players competing who are certainly hoping it may lead to a training camp contract this summer. Although most women take their talents overseas to compete in European and Asian leagues during the off-season, AU could potentially create a space for players to stay stateside and continue to play the game they love in the U.S.. I’ll refer to a tweet recently sent by Dallas Wings forward Isabelle Harrison who has been interning with the Dallas Mavericks this fall and will compete in the AU league where she had 20 & 12 in her scrimmage debut last weekend lightheartedly said;

Although said in jest, I can assure you that if given the opportunity, along with financial incentive, WNBA players would much rather compete stateside than be away from friends and family for months at a time to play the game they love. Athlete’s Unlimited will play nationally televised basketball games on CBS Sports Network, Fox Sports 2 ,and on Bally Sports’ regional sports networks be sure to tune in!

 

-Monique Currie

International Names to Know for 2022 WNBA Draft

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One of the major stories from last year’s draft was the six players under the international designation that were selected.  With draft prospects playing all around the world during the WNBA offseason, it is no surprise that talent evaluators are looking everywhere for players that they can pick.  While last year’s group was historic for a number of reasons, this year’s international group does not have the same level of headlines attached to it, but there will certainly be international players selected again.  Teams will also continue to be weighing up options for later round picks as the right international pick can certainly pay off in that portion of the draft.  The age difference between international and non-international prospects, especially with college players getting to choose another year of eligibility, will see some teams take risks on younger players with the potential to develop beyond older draft candidates.  In the same manner as in past years, we are providing a comprehensive list of 2002 born players who have retained international status, covering players who will almost certainly be picked to players who are more likely on the edge of consideration.  There will also be interest in non-internationals no longer in college who are auto-eligible for the 2022 WNBA Draft without the need to declare, but a list of notable players who qualify under that path will be covered in a separate article.  Player names are followed by position, the country that the player is currently representing, and their club team with country listed if it is different than the one that the player represents on the national team level.

Sike Kone, PF, Mali, Gran Canaria (Spain)

Only one other player with international status representing an African national team at the time of the draft has been picked and it was a decade ago, but Sika Kone figures to be considered the top international prospect in this draft.  She is from Mali, but has spent her professional career in the Canary Islands of Spain and this is her third straight season with Gran Canaria.  She helped them achieve promotion to the top division in her first season, continued to be a contributor in steering them to safety last season, and then had the team built around her this season as some of the more experienced players went elsewhere.  It has been a tough battle for her although she has continued to put up strong numbers for a team that is trying to string together enough wins to stay in the league.  She was also fantastic over the summer for her youth national team and was relied on as a contributor with the full national team and she will have three more chances to show what she can do at that level before the draft.  The WNBA figures to be a path that can help her grow in stature on the international stage so she should be a reliable pick compared to most internationals.  It remains to be seen where her offensive game will end up outside of scoring near the basket, especially playing against taller players, but she plays consistently hard on both ends and figures to at least have a role rebounding and defending at a higher level.  The team that picks her will probably have to operate under the expectation that we will come over before she is fully ready to contribute and that committing to developing her will pay off over time.

Jade Melbourne, PG, Australia, Canberra Capitals

A year ago, she was not on the draft board at all, but Jade Melbourne is now one of the players who will almost certainly be picked.  At that time, she had already signed her Letter of Intent to attend Arizona State starting this season.  Then the WNBL season started in Australia and roster needs suddenly gave her the opportunity to take the initiative for her team and she became one of the revelations of the season.  Those results led her to opt against college and turn professional, putting her in contention for this draft.  The teams may be stronger this season, but early indications are that she will continue to take any chances that she is given to show her scoring ability.  She also had a productive summer with the youth national team and then a chance to play with the senior team when player availability left them fielding a younger than usual team in the continental championship.  Given that she views herself as a point guard, she will need to continue to develop the rest of her game to contribute at the highest levels, but she has the attributes to be an effective lead guard or a scoring option off the bench.  The question that teams will have to ask is how to handle her rights if they draft her as more players are not accepting being stashed and choosing to start their clocks as soon as possible and she is probably ideally not a rostered player yet.

Gemma Potter, SF, Australia, Dandenong Rangers

Another player who was not expected to be part of the draft pool, Gemma Potter was a freshman at UCLA a year ago, unable to actually play for the team because she and several other players who were not enrolled in-person classes were not permitted to enter the United States.  Having already lost the season, she ultimately decided to turn professional.  Given this unusual set of circumstances, it is not entirely clear that she is actually eligible for this draft, but our site’s sources indicate that, barring an unexpected objection, her not actually being able to play allowed her to retain her international status.  Unfortunately, her tough year continued with an injury suffered during the national youth championships that could leave her not playing a competitive game before the draft and, as a result, her camp might not actually oppose her instead being considered non-international and being in the draft pool in 2024 instead when she would figure to be back on track with her development and in a better position to be drafted and then brought over immediately.  If she is in this draft class, teams will definitely be interested in investing a late round pick on hoping for her to return to the form that made her a highly regarded versatile wing prospect.  Canberra has her on their roster with the hope that she will be available for them late in the season.

Reka Dombai, SF, Hungary, Gyor

Compared to other international players in this draft class, Reka Dombai has been on radar for this moment for a lot longer period of time and there has been plenty of curiosity about how she would develop leading up to this point.  Hungary has focused a lot of effort into creating opportunities for young players in their local league and in recent years have had a number of prospects that were on the fringe of what would be a big recognition of their efforts for this generation, but none have been picked yet.  Those opportunities meant that she was the primary option on her team at a young age, finishing 3rd in the league in scoring as a 16 year old in a league that has its fair share of number of WNBA players.  This is now her third season with Gyor after moving clubs as she has continue to adapt to being a key player alongside more experienced players and she has shown development even without reaching the same counting stat threshold.  She had one big chance to show what she could do on the global stage against players her age with Hungary hosting the U19 world championship and she had a good tournament, but perhaps not to the level that would have cemented her prospect status, though she demonstrated a solid level of versatility.

Julia Boros, SG, Hungary, BEAC

The player who greatly improved her stock for this draft at the last U19 world championship was Julia Boros as she led the hosts to a medal and was voted to the team of the tournament.  With an impressive number of makes beyond the arc and showcasing an ability to do a little bit of everything, there was an expectation that she would build on a solid first season with BEAC and take the minutes that were available to her to continue a developmental leap.  When the club season rolled around in Ujbuda, that track was not exactly followed and instead her counting stats and percentages have taken a hit even with the chance to be a key player on a team firmly in the middle of the standings.  There is still plenty of time in the second half of the season for her to find her stroke and her scoring ability in general, but after moving from the edge of the radar to a player whose upcoming season was looked at with some anticipation, she is back more in the out of draft consideration range with more interest in where she could be a few seasons down the line.

Eden Zipel, SF, Israel, Hapoel Rishon Lezion

An effective scoring wing, Eden Zipel is one of a number of emerging talents from Israel as the younger generation has seized the opportunity from increased minutes and look to form a new core for a national team guaranteed a spot back at the continental stage.  Last season, her club team dealt with roster issues all season long and relied on her and other local players to provide stability during import changes.  This season, they have found a strong trio of imports and she is an effective fourth option behind them as they have gone from battling relegation to possible championship favorite.  That typical roster construction does make it hard to evaluate local talent as the imports are high level, but do tend to match up with each other, leaving locals on locals most of the time with the capacity for the top ones to take advantage in the right matchups.  She is starting to build a bigger role at the senior national team level, but is still a little bit away from an impact there.  While she has put up scoring numbers while given the volume to do so, there is still a lot of room to work on the efficiency front, especially when it comes to shooting from long range, although she has also shown promise as a secondary playmaker.

Serena Kessler, SG, France, Tarbes Gespe Bigorre

Long considered a future national team-level player, Serena Kessler may be one of the most promising players in this draft class, but she faces quite an uphill battle to actually being picked.  After being a solid player in the second division with the national academy team, she headed to Tarbes last season for top league experience, only to lose most of the season due to injury.  While she recovered enough to participate in the world championship with France’s U19 team late in the summer, it was clear that she was not at her best yet and did not show what she could do.  After getting into rhythm for another month, she had a very promising start to the club campaign before suffering what could be another season-ending injury.  The nature of the draft means that she is either picked this year or becomes a free agent and there will be little opportunity to convince a team to make a pick, although a team could gamble at the end on her getting back on track over time.  Given her injury history, there will be concern about whether she can reach the ceiling that had been projected previously since shooting ability has not generally been a key part of her game.

Pauline Astier, SG, France, Bourges

Not necessarily considered the biggest long-term prospect, it seems disrespectful not to include Pauline Astier on this list considering that she has generally been trusted with rotation level minutes on one of the best teams.  That solid experience at Bourges should allow her to continue to make an impact on a high level, but she has not had much chance to be a team’s primary option.  That changed over the summer with youth national team experience at the world championship and she took on a much bigger scoring role than usual and showed some ability to create as a secondary playmaker.  Even with the likelihood of a lot of available footage for her between now and the draft, it is not clear that there is a path for playing her way up draft boards, but she is the kind of player who can continue to carve out a role for herself and become a solid contributor at the European level or elsewhere once she hits the prime of her career.

Kamila Borkowska, C, Poland, Arka Gdynia

Late round picks can be efficiently used on international players that have the room to develop over time before they are ready for WNBA action and Kamilla Borkowska definitely fits into the category of player who might be able contribute quite a bit in a few years.  Listed at 6’7″, she has the tools to be an effective center at a higher level, especially with teams looking to have at least one center who can offer defensive resistance against other taller centers and she has displayed reasonable mobility as well.  While she is getting consistent minutes with Polish powerhouse Gdynia, not many of those have been with the result on the line so there will be some reading into a limited sample size of high stakes situations, although she did also feature for the senior national team this year.  Out of the players that seem to fall into the gamble category, she seems the most likely to be a free agent target in the future if she goes undrafted so it would not be a surprise if a team near the end of the draft used their final pick on her.

Magdalena Szymkiewicz, SG, Poland, Arka Gdynia

Around the world, leagues balance a variety of priorities and realities instead of simply attempting to be the strongest competition possible.  Amid the pandemic and its continuing effect on team budgets, the Polish league adopted rules that gave young players more minutes and Magdalena Szymkiewicz is one of the players that is taking advantage of the situation.  She is not getting time in continental play, but has a bigger role in the domestic league, and is learning to assert herself in a group of veterans.  Over the summer, she did get to play at the youth national team level and had several strong performances with her team relying on her to take the lead in the scoring department.  While she is starting to put up numbers in league play, she is still more on the fringe of draft consideration right now.  With the likelihood that she will continue to play a lot of minutes over the next few seasons as a lot of competitors for those minutes have opted for the college route or moving to other leagues early, it seems more likely that continued development over time will determine whether she is a factor on the continental or global levels.

Sude Yilmaz, SF, Turkey, Galatasaray

Long considered one of the top prospects in her birth year, Sude Yilmaz has certainly been among the players where questions arise about the right development path for players at a critical time in their youth.  She displayed potential at an early age and then got to a point where she was good enough to be needed on the roster, but not at the level that would earn her consistent minutes on a team with high-level aspirations.  Given mostly cameos and playing with more established teammates, she just has not had the chance to show what she can do in the same way that she might on a different team.  The fairly limited youth national team scene last summer after not having any competition the year before also did not present much opportunity to impress.  Her team has struggled to have its full roster on the court at the same time so her minutes have ticked up recently without much to show in terms of counting stats.  Previous perceptions of potential do sometimes play into draft decisions, but it seems more likely that she will continue on a path to being a solid role player at the local level.

2021 Individual Stats Update

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With the different types of stats made available now, there are more ways to try to dissect player performance than ever before.  Let’s take a look at several non-traditional stats and which players lead in those categories.  We included players who played in more than half of the regular season and averaged at least 5 minutes per game.

Usage:

Usage measures the percentage of a team’s possessions that a player terminates when she is on the court and there were 10 players who did so for at least a quarter of the possessions when they were on the floor.  It is no surprise that Tina Charles leads this category by a wide margin as the Mystics needed her to do a lot on the offensive end this season.  Myisha Hines-Allen did also make the list, but she did miss nearly half of the season.  Arike Ogunbowale was also high this list as expected with Marina Mabrey also being active in a variety of spots in the rotation.  Seattle was expected to be primarily a two-threat offense and that was apparent with Breanna Stewart and Jewell Loyd checking in at third and fourth.  One of the surprises was a lack of low-minutes players sneaking on to this list since this measure does not bias against playing time and in fact often highlights players who carry the load by playing minutes without their team’s starters.  Crystal Bradford ranks the highest among players who played less than half of the game on average, using 21.6% of Atlanta’s possessions and Dana Evans was the leader for those playing less than a quarter of the game on average, terminating 20.9% of possessions while on the court.

Effective Field Goal Percentage:

Effective field goal percentage awards a bonus to three-pointers made so that it is easier to compare players across all positions and not just have those who shoot closer to the basket lead field goal percentage.  The effect is pretty clear as Sylvia Fowles leads in this category as she would in the traditional format while Sami Whitcomb gets a boost from all the shots that she makes from distance.  Kiah Stokes checks in at fourth despite not shooting very much when she plays.  While post players still dominate the list, there is a good spread among different positions and there is solid representation from players who do not play that large a percentage of available minutes with 17 players overall achieving a mark above 55%.

Rebounding Percentage:

Rebounding percentage measures the amount of available rebounds that a player grabs when she is on the floor, which helps measure the rebounding effectiveness of players who play less minutes.  Splitting it into offensive and defensive categories removes any penalty from players on teams that strategically do not pursue offensive rebounds as aggressively.  17 players grabbed at least 8% of their own team’s misses while on the court and 16 players grabbed at least 20% of their opponent’s misses while playing.  Teaira McCowan had a healthy lead on the offensive end followed by a sister act in Brionna and Stephanie Jones.  Jonquel Jones had a clear lead on the defensive end and was the only Connecticut player even with the Sun being the team leader in the category.  Chicago may have been on the lower end of teams in defensive rebounding, but it would be hard to blame Candace Parker’s work on that end.  With the Sparks being terrible at both ends, Lauren Cox appearing on the defensive list may show that she has value in changing that in the future.  Splitting the categories has a clear benefit as only four players appear on both lists in Teaira McCowan, Jonquel Jones, Brianna Turner, and Kiah Stokes.

Miscellaneous Stats:

Lexie Brown launched a whopping 86.8% of her field goal attempts from behind the arc, followed by some other players known for making that their primary method of scoring as Leilani Mitchell did so 78.7% of her shots just ahead of Shekinna Stricklen at 77.6%.  Danielle Robinson scoring 24.5% of her points on the fast break is not that surprising, but Sue Bird checking in at 22.4% might not have been expected.  The least surprising stat is that Courtney Williams scored nearly half of her points from mid-range at 48.4%.  There was some positional variety among players who scored over 30% of their points from the free throw line with Tiffany Mitchell, Natalie Achonwa, Jordin Canada, and Park Ji-Su reaching that mark.  Layshia Clarendon got no assist on a made field goal three-quarters of the time followed by Erica Wheeler at 73.1% as guards dominated this category as would be expected.

Lineups:

33 different 5-player lineups played together for at least 64 minutes this season.  Las Vegas is known for their strong bench and having a variety of rotation options.  The top lineup in net rating was their Gray-Williams-Young-Hamby-Wilson group at 34.6 over 78 minutes fueled by an impressive defensive rating.  New York had player availability issues all season long, but they can take heart in their Ionescu-Whitcomb-Laney-Allen-Howard lineup checking in at second with a 24.9 net rating despite only being fielded in 8 games, having the highest offensive rating.  Minnesota also benefited from being able to field a Clarendon-McBride-Carleton-Collier-Fowles lineup followed by Seattle’s lineup when Stephanie Talbot joined the group of Bird-Loyd-Stewart-Russell.  No lineup played longer together than Connecticut’s starting lineup, but there was no drop-off when Natisha Hiedeman replaced Jasmine Thomas with the rest of that group.

On/Off Ratings:

Besides measuring the effectiveness of various lineups, focusing individually on how a team played with a player on or off the court can provide additional insight.  The player whose team had the highest offensive rating when she was on the court may be a surprise since she is not known for offense, but Jackie Young leads by nearly a whole point over Jonquel Jones.  Dearica Hamby checks in at third having played just under 55% of her team’s minutes followed by Breanna Stewart.  In terms of the largest difference, Connecticut had a great offense when Jonquel Jones was on the court, but was nearly 20 points per 100 possessions worse when she off the court.  The next highest disparity came in the 20% or so of Phoenix’s minutes that Skylar Diggins-Smith did not play.  While those two along with Breanna Stewart in fourth place are no surprise, Indiana’s offense was at least functional with Teaira McCowan on the floor, but was absolutely dreadful with her off the court, only surpassed by the Fever’s offense without Kelsey Mitchell.  Among players playing below what would be considered starter’s minutes, Allie Quigley and Isabelle Harrison were notable in their team’s offense being more efficient with them on the court.

Having the strongest defense overall, it is no surprise that many of the players with the best on-court defensive ratings come from Connecticut, but it is a surprise that Kaila Charles was the one at the top of the list.  Liz Cambage is the first non-Sun player on the list followed by Bella Alarie who leads the list in terms of biggest on-off difference as Dallas played great defense during the minutes she played while being much worse the rest of the time.  There are some other surprising names on that list as she is followed by Kylee Shook, Lexie Brown, Stefanie Dolson, and Emma Cannon before Brittney Sykes, the first player listed who played at least half of available minutes.  In the case of Cannon, the Fever were especially terrible in the minutes that she was not on the court after she joined the roster, only surpassed by how bad their defense was when Tiffany Mitchell was on the bench.

Combining into a net rating, Connecticut was outscoring their opponent by 20 points per 100 possessions with Jonquel Jones on the court.  Breanna Stewart and Layshia Clarendon helped break the Sun and Aces monopoly on the top of the list since those two teams had the best net rating overall.  Indiana still had a very negative net rating with Kelsey Mitchell on the floor, but without her were outscored by nearly 26 points per 100 possessions.  In terms of difference, Skylar Diggins-Smith had the largest as Phoenix outscored opponents by 7.6 points per 100 possessions with her on the court, but were outscored by nearly 17 points per 100 possessions without her.  Jonquel Jones was next on that list, but Connecticut nearly played opponents even during her minutes on the bench.  Breanna Stewart was next on the list followed by some players who would generally not be considered their team’s key players in Jackie Young, Brianna Turner, and Jasmine Thomas.  Making the list at a lower level of minutes played is Isabelle Harrison as Dallas outscored their opponents by a reasonable margin with her on the court, but were outscored by a significant margin without her.

2021 Career Stats Update

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With another regular season in the books, let’s take a look at how players moved up the all-time rankings for individual stats.  Highlighted players appeared in at least one game this year.  11 players are on the lists for all 5 statistical categories including active players DeWanna Bonner, Candice Dupree, Angel McCoughtry, Candace Parker, and Diana Taurasi.

Points:

Diana Taurasi crossed the 9,000 point mark along with other milestones this season.  There had been some expectation that Candice Dupree would cross the 7,000 point barrier, but her team situation changed drastically this season and now is looking behind her at Tina Charles, whose return had her move from 11th to 6th with no signs of slowing down.  Candace Parker and Sylvia Fowles will be looking at the next year when they battle to reach 6,000 points first.  DeWanna Bonner should also reach that mark next year with Angel McCoughtry hoping to get there with a return to full health.  Tiffany Hayes and Skylar Diggins-Smith are the two newest players to this list.

Rebounds:

Sylvia Fowles continues to lead this list, but Tina Charles reached second in her return and Candace Parker reached the 3,000 mark.  DeWanna Bonner figures to move into the top 10 next season with Brittney Griner poised to jump up the chart more as she approaches 2,000 rebounds.  Jessica Breland and Jantel Lavender are the two new additions and there are a lot of players that they can pass next year.

Assists:

Sue Bird cracked the 3,000 assist mark as the leader in this category, but Courtney Vandersloot is still on a torrid pace as she and Diana Taurasi made it past 2,000 dimes.  Candace Parker narrowly missed out on reaching 9th this year.  Skylar Diggins-Smith is the latest player to reach 1,000 with Chelsea Gray ready to join her next year.  Odyssey Sims and DeWanna Bonner are the newest members of this list with the latter making it to all five lists this season.

Blocks:

It will still be a few seasons before anyone can challenge Margo Dydek, but Brittney Griner continued her pursuit.  While there will be lots of move outside of the top portion of this list, the top numbers will be hard to chase.  There was only one newcomer to the list as A’ja Wilson made it.

Steals:

Tamika Catchings remains so far ahead of everyone that it looks unlikely that anyone can steal the top spot from her anytime soon.  Sue Bird could reach 700 with another season while Angel McCoughtry’s injury prevented her from making a significant move up this list.  In the middle of the list, there is a lot of room for movement next year.  Teammates Jasmine Thomas and Briann January joined this list this season.

2021 Team Stats Update

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With the regular season over, let’s take a look at the final team stats in a variety of categories before the playoffs.

Net Rating:

The blue bars represent points scored per 100 possessions and the orange bars represent points given up per 100 possessions.  The net rating is the difference between the two.  Teams are sorted by offensive rating.

Las Vegas had the best offense before the Olympic break and that did not change after it, but there was a change in leader in net rating as Connecticut improved their offensive efficiency while becoming even stingier on defense to finish more than 4 points per 100 possessions better in that metric.  Phoenix also improved in both categories, changing from a negative net rating to a positive.  Seattle declined in both as their place in the standings also dropped.  Chicago’s offensive efficiency improved, but their defensive also slid after the break.  Indiana’s defense ended up being the worst by some margin while Los Angeles actually improved their moribund offense and got even tougher on defense, but still fell short of the playoffs.

Rebounding Percentage:

The x-axis represents the percentage of a team’s own misses that it grabs while the y-axis represents the percentage of its opponent’s misses that a team grabs.  Splitting rebounding into two categories and using percentage instead of raw numbers due to the difference in shooting percentages involved can provide different insight than traditional methods.  In this season, Connecticut is a fantastic rebounding team regardless of the methodology with a lead on both ends of the court.  Splitting offensive and defensive rebounding does show that Las Vegas does clean up their opponent’s misses while not pursuing their own misses as much, which may represent a strategic decision.  Regardless of how counting is done, Los Angeles ended up dead last in both categories and their overall defensive efficiency is pretty impressive given how many extra possessions that they handed their opponents by not rebounding.  Dallas and Indiana were pretty aggressive with offensive rebounding, but were more in the middle of the pack on the defensive end.

Changes from 2020:

The blue bar represents change in offensive rating with a positive representing improvement.  The orange bar represents change in defensive rating with a negative indicating improvement.  The difference is the gray bar, representing change in net rating with a positive meaning improvement.  Teams are sorted by improvement in net rating.  There was no surprise with the top two teams.  Connecticut had the second largest improvement on offense and the best improvement on defense to become the top seed after finishing in the middle of the pack last season.  New York had a marked offensive improvement and it moved them from the worst team in the league to the last playoff spot.  Los Angeles had their offense turn into the worst in the league, which helped precipitate their fall down the standings.  Seattle had decreases in both categories, but that was falling from the top marks in both categories last year.  Washington was the only other team to have worse defensive efficiency as teams generally saw improvement on defense and a decline in offensive efficiency with exactly half the league improving net rating.

There were notable changes in other categories as well.  Connecticut and Dallas made big strides in rebounding on both ends while Seattle and Minnesota grabbed more defensive rebounds, but less offensive rebounds.  While Los Angeles was already at the bottom of the league in offensive rebounding, their defensive rebounding went from above average to the bottom.  Atlanta had an impressive reduction in turnover percentage while also improving the rate at which they turned their opponents over to rank second in both categories.  Connecticut and Dallas were the only two teams to turn it over at a higher rate.  Los Angeles already was the best at turning their opponents over, but increased that margin further.  Only Washington and Minnesota played at a faster pace this season with Phoenix and Connecticut seeing their pace drop by over 4 possessions.

Home vs. Road:

Much was made of the wubble home-road splits given that all of the games were at a neutral site.  Home court advantage returned this season with the home team having a 103-89 record in the regular season.  Atlanta and Dallas had the same records home and away.  Phoenix and Chicago were the only two teams with worse home records and they happen to be hosting the first two playoff games while trying to avoid upsets.  Connecticut, Los Angeles, Minnesota, and Washington all had four more wins at home than on the road.  Phoenix’s biggest difference at home was offensive efficiency as they had the league’s strongest road offense, but Chicago’s defended at elite efficiency on the road.  Even though Dallas had the same record, they had significantly better efficiency on the road.  Washington had the largest net rating increase at home because of their poor defense on the road, a problem that also affected Indiana.  Connecticut was by no means poor on the road, but was even better at home while Minnesota defended particularly well at home and Las Vegas had the largest positive difference in offensive efficiency at home.  New York and Seattle had better offensive efficiency at home, but that was offset on the defensive end.  Phoenix rebounded less at home, but were far from the only team to do so with Washington, Las Vegas, Chicago, Dallas, and Seattle in that boat.  New York was a much better defensive rebounding team at home even though they crashed the boards less effectively at the offensive end and also took care of the ball better.

Olympic Break Team Stats Update

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With the long break this year, let’s take a look at various team stats from the first portion of the season and see if there can be any insights for the rest of the season.

Net Rating:

The blue bars represent team’s offensive ratings and the orange bars represent team’s defensive ratings with teams sorted by offensive efficiency.  With four teams having a gap between them and the rest of the league, they make up four of the top five on each end of the court.  Dallas has the third most efficient offense, but their porous defense has hurt them despite having a positive net rating.  Chicago’s defense has been the big concern in recent seasons, but they have the third most efficient defense and are trying to get their offense closer to the average.  At the bottom of the standings, Indiana is the second worst on both ends of the court.  Above them, Los Angeles has struggled mightily offensively while Atlanta’s concern is their defense.  Seattle currently sits in the lead in the standings, but Las Vegas has superior efficiency ratings at this point.

Rebounding:

Breaking rebounding into offensive and defensive percentages gives a better view of how teams are crashing the boards.  The x-axis shows what percentage of its own misses that a team is rebounding while the y-axis shows what percentage of its opponent’s misses that a team is rebounding.  Even with the split, the teams at the top and bottom are pretty clear.  Connecticut is the leader in both categories with a lead of nearly three percentage points on the offensive end.  Los Angeles is last at both ends, handing opponents lots of extra possessions by grabbing over three and a half percentage points less defensive rebounds than the next worst team.  Strategy changes over the years mean that not every team is crashing the glass on the offensive end as much.  Las Vegas is not rebounding many of their own misses, but is second in defensive rebounding.

Changes from 2020:

Teams are sorted by improvement in net rating, which is represented by the gray bar.  The change in offensive rating is represented by the blue bar and the change in defensive rating is represented by the orange bar with a negative number in that category representing an improvement.  The change with New York moving from the worst team in the league by some margin to one in the middle of the pack is clear here.  Even though their offense is still not that potent, the improvement from last year’s dismal showing is clear.  Three other teams have improved on both ends as Connecticut returned to contender level play while Dallas has had a smaller improvement in record so far.  Atlanta still has the worst defense in the league, but did improve slightly from last season.  No team had a larger defensive improvement than Chicago, but they also regressed nearly as much on the offensive end for minimal net benefit.  Indiana was second in defensive improvement, but their offensive efficiency declined even more for a net negative effect.  Los Angeles had the worst change with offense as the main culprit.  Seattle and Phoenix also had their numbers fall in both categories, but Seattle continues to lead in the standings despite having the worst defensive change.

There have been some notable changes in other categories as well.  Phoenix and Connecticut are playing at a slower pace, but with differing impacts on their place in the standings.  Atlanta is taking much better care of basketball, but turning it over more often has not hurt Connecticut’s offense.  Atlanta is also turning their opponents over more often, but that has not moved their defensive efficiency much while Chicago has improved in both categories.  Los Angeles was already the league leader in the category, but has managed to force turnovers at an even higher rate.  Seattle and Phoenix are forcing turnovers at a much lower rate.  Minnesota and Seattle improved their defensive rebounding by the largest margins, but both also happen to have the largest decreases in offensive rebounding.  Dallas had strong increases in both while New York saw decreases in both.