🏀 WELCOME TO THE W!

Now that the WNBA Draft is complete, training camp is on the way.

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Brian Fleurantin & Black Rosie
April 23, 2025

DALLAS WELCOMES ITS NEWEST STAR

“It’s not a rebuild,” Bueckers told the media after the Draft. “It's just a build from where we are.”

The Wings find themselves in an interesting position. Pro basketball fans have been in a state of despair since February when Luka Doncic was shockingly traded from the hometown Dallas Mavericks. The move has sent shockwaves throughout sports and in Dallas in particular, fans and sponsors have left the team in droves.

For Bueckers and the Wings, they have a chance to capture new fans and give them a basketball team the community is proud and happy to cheer for.

It’s improbable they compete for a championship in 2025, but a season where they show progress and play entertaining basketball will go a long way.

đź“° WHAT WE’RE READING!

At Black Rosie Media, we love to give flowers to other writers and creators in women’s basketball.

Here’s what we’re reading

AROUND THE DRAFT

Dominique Malonga. Photo via the Seattle Storm Twitter account.

The Seattle Storm had the second pick and went with 19-year-old French phenom, Dominique Malonga. We talked about Malonga in the last edition of the Women’s Basketball Roundup, and it still holds.

Seattle plans to compete for a playoff spot, and having Malonga in a frontcourt that includes former All-Stars Ezi Magbegor and Nneka Ogwumike should make them a fun team to watch. Malonga’s been in New York City for the past few days and wowed basketball fans with an incredibly impressive workout

The Washington Mystics made the most of their three first round picks with the trio of Sonia Citron, Kiki Irafen, and Georgia Amoore. Unlike the Wings, the Mystics are in the early stages of a deep rebuild and will spend 2025 looking to find the right players to lead them into a new era.

Another team entering a deep rebuild will be the Connecticut Sun. While the Sun has set in Uncasville, there’s still room for optimism. The team picked Aneesah Morrow and Saniya Rivers with the seventh and eighth picks, and both figure to make the team out of training camp.

For Morrow in particular, she’s excited to play with the WNBA’s greatest rebounder, Tina Charles:

She's a dog, double-double machine, as well, and being able to be a sponge and learn as much about the league as she knows will be great. You have to come in, you have to learn from your vets. You're trying to get where they're at, so you have to be respectful, come up in there and be dominant on the floor but also be able to go under their shoulder and ask them questions and learn.

Aneesah Morrow

Morrow and Rivers will get plenty of opportunities to earn starters’ minutes on the new look Sun.

The newest kids on the WNBA block made the most of their evening as well. The Golden State Valkyries selected Lithuanian teenage phenom Juste Jocyte with their first draft pick and later drafted college stalwarts Shyanne Sellers and Kaitlyn Chen with their later picks.

The Valkyries have found a lot of success with international talent thus far, and they have a unique opportunity to establish great habits right out the gate. At her post Draft media availability, I asked Chen about setting that foundation, and she told me that it’s exciting to be part of something starting from scratch and being a part of that build.

For more on the Draft, our very own Erica Ayala was on the scene at the Draft and joined Terrika Foster-Brasby, Chris Williamson, and Ashley Nicole Moss for post Draft analysis!

It was an exciting night at The Shed and it was a blast to cover it in person.

Gold Medal DispatchA limited run or pop-up newsletter dedicated to exclusive interviews, analysis, podcasts, and other content during the Olympics & Paralympics.

BRM PODCAST NETWORK

It’s a special time of the year, and on Sunday evening, we had a joint Tempestade Talk x Gotta Get Up episode!

Roberta, Erica, and I discussed the Bueckers to Dallas pick as well as bounced around the WNBA. With training camp a few weeks away, we’ll have you covered from coast to coast.

 đź’° MONEY MOVES

UNRIVALED DELIVERS IN THE CLUTCH

We have to say it every year, but it bears repeating: the draftees are NOT taking a pay cut to be in the WNBA. It’s a narrative that the league hasn’t been able to shake despite their best efforts to explain it. In 2024, Aliyah Boston explained the NIL set up with Khristina Williams of Girls Talk Sports TV and In Case You Missed It with Khristina Williams

“Because you go to the league, that does not stop your NIL deals. You just fully call it endorsements. … These brands still want to follow you. Your fan base does not change.”

Aliyah Boston

Just because you leave school doesn’t mean that everything you’ve built stays on campus.

The point Boston made about the fan base not changing is absolutely essential to remember going forward. In recent years, the WNBA has done a better job of building a bridge between the pro and college games. Fans can follow a player’s entire career and connect with like-minded fans all around the world. Rivalries and stories from college carry over to the professional ranks and give everyone even more goodness to dig into.

As the WNBA continues to expand its horizons, maintaining connections from college will help keep the game on its upward trajectory and keep the money rolling in.

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