The 2026 WNBA season is rolling right along, and the majority of teams have played at least 15 games. With the first trimester of the season complete, we have more than enough evidence to examine how the league’s sophomores have performed.
This group features a number of stars from the vaunted 2025 draft class, including Rookie of the Year Paige Bueckers and fellow All-Stars Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen, as well as some former first-round picks and undrafted players who made their WNBA debuts last season.
Let’s hand out some early-season grades.
Note: 2025 first-round picks Justė Jocytė (No. 5), Georgia Amoore (No. 6) and Ajša Sivka (No. 10) were not included. Jocytė (overseas) and Amoore (ACL) did not play last season, so they are now rookies, while Sivka has decided to take the college basketball route and will play for Kentucky next season. Additionally, only select second- and third-round picks were included.
First Round
The former No. 1 overall pick, who was an All-Star, named to the All-WNBA Second Team and won Rookie of the Year last season, has picked up right where she left off. Consistency has long been Bueckers’ trademark, so it’s fitting that her numbers through her first 14 games as a sophomore are nearly identical to her rookie numbers. In fact, she has been even more efficient, particularly from 3-point range.
If there’s a criticism to make of Bueckers, it’s that she should be more assertive, given her talent. The Wings are 7-2 when she scores more than 15 points and 2-4 when she does not. Still, she’s one of the most efficient guards in the league, and is 11th in the league in scoring and seventh in assists, while leading the much-improved Wings in both categories. Bueckers is well on her way to racking up more accolades and should make her playoff debut this season. Grade: A-
Malonga, who was brought along slowly last season behind Nneka Ogwumike and Ezi Magbegor, had three 20-point games in 42 appearances as a rookie. She had two in her first three games as a sophomore, but suffered a concussion against the Tempo in that third outing — her second concussion in three months — and missed the next eight games.
Despite a frustrating start to the season, Malonga has shown why she’s one of the league’s most promising bigs. She’s putting up career highs across the board and is coming off the best performance of her career Wednesday against the Fire: 28 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, two steals and three blocks. Her impact as a rim protector, in particular, is remarkable. Just look at these numbers, via databallr:
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ON
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23.5%
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50.7%
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OFF
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26.8%
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65.5%
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Grade: A
Citron, who was an All-Star and finished as runner-up to Bueckers for Rookie of the Year in 2025, immediately shed the low-floor, low-ceiling label with which she entered the league. And her first 12 games in 2026 have proven that her performance last season was no fluke. While her 3-point shooting has fallen off a cliff — league-best 44.5% last season to 28.6% this season — she’s actually been more efficient overall (60.9% true shooting last season to 63.8% this season). She’s finishing everything in the paint and, thanks to the league’s emphasis on freedom of movement, her free-throw attempts per game have nearly doubled (3.4 to 6.6).
Citron also delivered one of the plays of the season when she sank a turnaround fadeaway off a jump ball to beat the Tempo at the buzzer.
Grade: A
Along with Bueckers and Citron, Iriafen was one of three rookies to make the 2025 All-Star Game, and she came flying out of the gates this season with three consecutive double-doubles. During that stretch, she set career highs in scoring (25 points vs. Indiana) and rebounds (16 vs. Toronto). Her production has slowed a bit since then, but her numbers are still up across the board on better efficiency (60.4% true shooting, compared to 54.8% last season) and she’s eighth in the league in rebounding. She’s also already made more 3-pointers (five) than she did all of last season (two).
Iriafen sprained her ankle in a loss to Indiana on June 8, however, and has not played since. Thankfully, it does not appear to be a long-term issue. Grade: A
Morrow didn’t do much as a rookie, but her time with Athletes Unlimited in the offseason has paid off. She started her sophomore campaign with four double-doubles in five games, and is one of three players — along with Jessica Shepard and Angel Reese — averaging a double-double (11.9 points, 10.4 rebounds).
Morrow is putting up career highs across the board, but is still shooting under 40% from the field despite taking the majority of her attempts in the paint. Notably, Morrow is shooting just 53.3% within five feet. Of the 16 players taking at least five attempts per game within five feet, only Reese (48.4%) is shooting worse. Grade: B-
Rivers is an incredible athlete and a versatile perimeter defender, but since her days at NC State, there have been serious questions about her offense. Those have not gone away. She showed some encouraging signs as a rookie, particularly toward the end of the season, but got off to an extremely rough start as a sophomore. While Rivers has looked better since Leïla Lacan’s return from her overseas commitments, her 35.3/18.9/63.3 shooting splits are brutal.
The good news for her is that the Sun‘s rebuild and her defensive ability will give her a long runway to figure things out. Grade: C-
Barker didn’t play well to begin her rookie season with the Sparks and fell out of the rotation after the first month. The team then left her unprotected in the expansion draft and she was selected by the Fire. In Portland, she’s taken full advantage of her new opportunity. She’s tripled her scoring from last season, is fifth in the league in 3-point percentage (45.3%) and her relentless effort on both ends is infectious.
Plus, Barker wrote herself into franchise history with a buzzer-beater over the Liberty to give the new iteration of the Fire their first-ever win. Grade: A+
Van Lith had a rough rookie season with the Sky, who waived her prior to opening night. She caught on with the Sun and had a few really nice outings to start the season, but struggled to maintain that level of play and got waived again to clear a roster spot when Lacan returned from overseas. Van Lith is now back with the Sun as a developmental player, though she has only played once in June. Grade: C
Hailey Van Lith returning to Sun on developmental deal: Can the ex-college star stick in the WNBA?
Jack Maloney
James had one really strong stretch during her rookie season, but didn’t do much otherwise. She hasn’t done much early in her sophomore season either. To be fair, she’s in a tough spot in Dallas behind Arike Ogunbowale, Bueckers and now Azzi Fudd, but when she has gotten some extended playing time, she hasn’t set the world on fire. Shooting 37.7% overall and 24.2% from 3-point range isn’t going to cut it as a score-first guard. Grade: D+
Second Round
Nye has had a whirlwind start to her professional career. She appeared in all 44 regular-season games and won a title as a rookie with the Aces, but was left unprotected in the expansion draft and was selected by the Tempo. Her time in Toronto was short, however, as she failed to make the team’s final roster. While she eventually found a spot with the Dream, she has barely played this season. Grade: Incomplete
It was a bit of a surprise that Kosu came over to the WNBA right away, and the Russian forward barely played as a rookie. The same might have been true this season if not for injuries. But with Napheesa Collier still sidelined and Emma Cechova out for the season with a torn ACL, Kosu has been inserted into the rotation.
She still doesn’t play huge minutes or put up big numbers — she’s scored in double-digits twice this season — but she has 50/50/91.7 shooting splits and has been very solid off the bench for the first-place Lynx, who have stunned everyone this season. Grade: B+
Westbeld showed some promise toward the end of her rookie season with the Sky as a floor-spacing big, but did not end up making the team’s full roster this season. She is still in Chicago on a developmental contract, but has not appeared in a game, which is confusing given their offensive issues. Grade: N/A
No one could understand why Paopao fell all the way to No. 18 in last year’s draft, given her obvious shooting ability. And sure enough, she finished third among rookies in 3-pointers made and sixth in 3-point percentage. She’s shooting an even higher clip from 3 this season (39.5%), but she’s been very poor inside the arc (27.3% on 2s) and coach Karl Smesko prefers to ride with his starters. With Jordin Canada, Rhyne Howard and Allisha Gray all healthy, Paopao isn’t playing as much as she did as a rookie. Outside of the one game she started in place of Howard, Paopao has played more than 15 minutes just twice. Grade: C+
The Fever‘s injury issues last season opened the door for Timpson, who didn’t play much as a rookie but showed the coaching staff enough to earn a bigger role as a sophomore. Though a bit undersized, she makes up for it with her unique length and athleticism, which gives the Fever a different look in the frontcourt. She’s a strong rebounder and arguably the best rim protector on the team — or at least the most exciting. While her offense remains limited, she is shooting 60.6%. Grade: B
Third Round
Chen was one of the Valkyries‘ final cuts out of training camp last season, but after a month, she rejoined the team for the remainder of the campaign and became the first player of Taiwanese descent to play in the WNBA. After a terrific offseason with Athletes Unlimited, Chen has been one of the most improved sophomores.
Her playing time and production have been sporadic, but she’s had some big nights off the bench, including a 15-point outing in the Valkyries’ win over the Wings on Wednesday — their fourth in a row. She’s putting up career highs across the board, has tripled her scoring output and is shooting 52.2%. Grade: A-
Undrafted
Salaün had offers from multiple WNBA teams ahead of last season and chose to sign with the Valkyries. She had a terrific debut campaign and was named to the All-Rookie Team alongside the four lottery picks from the 2025 Draft. Though Gabby Williams‘ arrival in free agency meant Salaün had to move to the bench this season, her usage rate (23.5%) and scoring production (13.7 points per game) are actually up.
Salaün’s ability to space the floor and shoot a high percentage from 3 is crucial to the Valkyries’ offense, and she’s currently on pace to become just the 11th player in league history to shoot at least 40% on six or more 3-point attempts per game. The Valkyries have a 112.7 offensive rating with Salaün on the court and a 103.1 offensive rating when she sits. Grade: A
Akoa Makani was a relative unknown when she signed a training camp contract with the Mercury last season as an undrafted rookie, but that changed quickly as she helped lead the team to the Finals as their starting point guard. She missed the first few weeks of her sophomore season while overseas, which was a big blow to the Mercury, who have not been able to recover from their slow start.
Though the Mercury have not been able to recapture their form from last season, Akoa Makani has. In fact, she’s been even better. She’s putting up career highs across the board and has been her usual relentless self on the defensive end. She hasn’t played enough games yet to qualify for leaderboards, but her 1.6 steals per game would be tied for seventh in the league. Grade: A
Previous year picks
Geiselsöder, a second-round pick in 2020, made her WNBA debut last season with the Wings. Though she played fairly well, Dallas left her unprotected in the expansion draft and she was selected by the Fire, who initially made her their starting center. She has since been benched in favor of Megan Gustafson, however, amid a poor shooting season. Geiselsöder’s biggest value is her ability to space the floor from the five spot, but she’s shooting 35.2% overall this season, including 31.9% from 3-point range. Grade: C-
Leite, the No. 9 pick in 2024, has had an interesting start to her career. She didn’t play in the WNBA in 2024, and the Wings left her unprotected in the Valkyries’ expansion draft. Golden State selected her, but after a so-so rookie season, left her unprotected in this year’s expansion draft. This time around, she was selected by the Fire, who wanted to bet on her potential. Portland has already cashed in.
Leite has been extremely impressive as the Fire’s starting point guard. She’s not only putting up career highs across the board; she’s doubled her scoring and assist numbers and has been a maestro in the pick-and-roll. Her 20.3 pick-and-roll possessions are first in the league and generating 1.023 points per possession. Grade: A+
Pick-and-rolls including passes
The No. 10 pick in 2024, Lacan made her WNBA debut last season and was a revelation for the Sun. If she hadn’t missed the first two months while overseas, she likely would have made the All-Rookie Team. Lacan again missed significant time to start her sophomore season and has struggled to find a scoring rhythm since her arrival. She’s shooting just 38.6% from the field, including 24.2% from 3-point range.
Despite her poor shooting, Lacan’s playmaking — team-high five assists per game — and elite perimeter defense have made the Sun far more competitive. Prior to her arrival, they were 1-7 with a -17.6 net rating. While they still aren’t winning, they are 1-6 with a -8.7 net rating with Lacan. Grade: B
