{"id":854704,"date":"2025-06-10T19:12:59","date_gmt":"2025-06-11T00:12:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/10\/way-too-early-wnba-rookie-ladder-where-do-paige-bueckers-sonia-citron-stack-up-after-week-1\/"},"modified":"2025-06-10T19:12:59","modified_gmt":"2025-06-11T00:12:59","slug":"way-too-early-wnba-rookie-ladder-where-do-paige-bueckers-sonia-citron-stack-up-after-week-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/10\/way-too-early-wnba-rookie-ladder-where-do-paige-bueckers-sonia-citron-stack-up-after-week-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Way-too-early WNBA rookie ladder: where do Paige Bueckers, Sonia Citron stack up after Week 1?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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We\u2019re only one week into the WNBA<\/a> season, but already, several players look like Rookie of the Year prospects. It\u2019s no surprise that Paige Bueckers, the consensus No. 1 pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft, is an early standout. But the Washington Mystics two first-round selections have exceeded expectations too, as have several others in the early days. <\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a way-too-early WNBA rookie ladder, which we\u2019ll update every month through the season. <\/p>\n

#1. Sonia Citron<\/strong>, Washington Mystics<\/h3>\n
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Photo by Noah Graham\/NBAE via Getty Images<\/cite><\/p>\n

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2025 Stats: 14.7 points (50% FG, 36.4% from three), 3.7 rebounds, 2 assists<\/em><\/p>\n

Sonia Citron, the Mystics\u2019 third overall pick, has been stellar through three games. She leads all rookies in scoring and was a crucial part of the team\u2019s 2-0 start, posting 19 points on 6-7 shooting on opening night against the Atlanta Dream and 15 points on 5-10 shooting in a subsequent win over the Connecticut Sun. <\/p>\n

She\u2019s also shown off the defensive abilities that made her a lottery pick, holding Dream All-Star Rhyne Howard to 4-14 shooting. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a challenge that I like,\u201d Citron said after opening night. \u201cI told Coach that I want to be able to play both sides of the ball, and defending players like Rhyne [is] only going to make me better.\u201d<\/p>\n

#2. Kiki Iriafen<\/strong>, Washington Mystics<\/h3>\n
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<\/p>\n\"Atlanta<\/p>\n<\/picture>\n

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Photo by Kenny Giarla\/NBAE via Getty Images<\/cite><\/p>\n

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2025 Stats: 13.7 points (51.7% FG), 10 rebounds<\/em><\/p>\n

Kiki Iriafen was selected fourth overall by the Mystics after a standout career at Stanford and an up-and-down final season at USC. But, the 6\u20193 forward has been masterful through three games as a pro, posting a double-double in each of the last two games and matching up well against the Atlanta Dream and Connecticut Sun\u2019s bigs \u2014 a veteran group that includes some of the sport\u2019s all-time greats in Brittney Griner and Tina Charles. <\/p>\n

\u201cHer poise in the moment is exceptional,\u201d Mystics head coach Sydney Johnson said after the Mystics\u2019 loss to the Golden State Valkyries. \u201cWe\u2019re talking about a rookie three games into her career. I just love everything about her, and we\u2019re expecting she\u2019ll continue to build.\u201d<\/p>\n

Iriafen tallied 10 points (5-11 FG) and 12 rebounds on Wednesday night in the Bay \u2014 and impressed her coach in the process. <\/p>\n

\u201cHer having a double-double when she\u2019s probably not at her best says a lot about her as a player,\u201d Johnson said. <\/p>\n

#3. Paige Bueckers<\/strong>, Dallas Wings<\/h3>\n
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Photo by Ron Jenkins\/Getty Images<\/cite><\/p>\n

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2025 Stats: 13.7 points (37.1% FG, 33.3% on threes), 6.7 assists, 4.7 rebounds<\/em><\/p>\n

The Dallas Wings (0-3) have struggled in the early days, and Bueckers has been less efficient than her incredibly efficient UConn self. <\/p>\n

Still, she\u2019s shown flashes of brilliance through her first week as a professional, posting 19 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds, 2 steals, and a block against the Seattle Storm. She followed that up with a 12-point, 10-assist, 3-steal performance in front of a hometown crowd in Minnesota. <\/p>\n

Unsurprisingly, Bueckers leads all rookies in assists per game. And, in Wednesday\u2019s loss to the Minnesota Lynx<\/a>, she became the second-fastest rookie to record a double-double with points and assists (and just the third rookie to ever do so in the first three games of her career). <\/p>\n

\u201cI think Paige is gonna be really good,\u201d said Lynx star Napheesa Collier<\/a> after competing against Bueckers for the first time in her career. \u201cShe\u2019s a three-level scorer. She\u2019s a great passer.\u201d <\/p>\n

#4. Saniya Rivers<\/strong>, Connecticut Sun<\/h3>\n
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<\/p>\n\"Las<\/p>\n<\/picture>\n

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Photo by Joe Buglewicz\/Getty Images<\/cite><\/p>\n

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2025 Stats: 11 points (42.9% FG), 4 rebounds, 2 assists<\/em><\/p>\n

Saniyah Rivers has only appeared in one game so far, but she showed some excellent flashes in her WNBA debut. The 8th overall pick tallied 11 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block in 25 minutes off the bench for the Connecticut Sun.<\/p>\n

Honorable Mentions: Janelle Salaun (Golden State Valkyries), Kitija Laksa (Phoenix Mercury), Te-hina Paopao (Atlanta Dream), Carla Leite (Valkyries), Kathryn Westbeld (Mercury)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Noa Dalzell
Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We\u2019re only one week into the WNBA season, but already, several players look like Rookie of the Year prospects. It\u2019s no surprise that Paige Bueckers, the consensus No. 1 pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft, is an early standout. But the Washington Mystics two first-round selections have exceeded expectations too, as have several others in<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":854705,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23112,28941],"tags":[7854,144514],"class_list":{"0":"post-854704","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-rookie","8":"category-way-too-early","9":"tag-rookie","10":"tag-way-too-early"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/854704","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=854704"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/854704\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/854705"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=854704"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=854704"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=854704"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}