2021 WNBA Draft: Evans' fall is Wings' gain, international players make a splash
The 2021 WNBA Draft featured an extremely talented pool of players, and the 11 teams – the Washington Mystics did not have any picks – had plenty of fantastic options to choose from.
From international players taking the stage to a few surprise picks, the unpredictability increased the excitement for the upcoming season as many players’ dreams of playing professionally came true.
Here are three takeaways from the draft as the 2021 WNBA season approaches on May 14.
1. Dana Evans was a steal for the Dallas Wings with the 13th pick.
Evans was considered by many to be a lottery pick, and most mock drafts predicted her going in the first round.
Instead, the Wings got Evans with the first pick of the second round, leaving the guard with something to prove.
The two-time ACC player of the year led the Louisville Cardinals to the NCAA Women’s Tournament this year, making it to the Elite Eight before the team was eliminated by the eventual national champion Stanford Cardinal.
At the beginning of the tournament, Evans was in a bit of a shooting slump, going 3-for-18 from 3-point range in the first two games.
That might have contributed to her fall in the draft, but the All-American has certainly proven herself to be one of the winningest players in Cardinals’ history.
In her last season with Louisville, Evans averaged 20.1 PPG on 43% shooting and 3.9 APG.
In Evans, the Wings get a top-notch guard to go with No. 1 overall pick Charli Collier and No. 2 pick Awak Kuier.
2. The Dallas Wings loaded up for the second year in a row.
The Wings did well in the 2020 and '21 drafts, with the second pick in both and the first pick in 2021.
Last year, the Wings selected forward Satou Sabally from Oregon, Bella Alarie from Princeton and Tyasha Harris from South Carolina.
In her rookie season, Sabally made the all-rookie team and was in contention for rookie of the year, averaging 13.9 PPG and 7.8 RPG.
This year, the Wings collected even more talent. With the No. 1 pick, they chose Collier, a center from Texas. With the No. 2 pick, they got Kuier, a 19-year-old power forward from Finland who has already been playing professionally.
Dallas also drafted Chelsea Dungee, a shooting guard from Arkansas, with the fifth pick. And, of course, the Wings got Evans at the top of the second round.
Collier, Kuier, Evans and Dungee all averaged double figures in points last season, and Collier and Kuier also averaged double figures in rebounds.
The Wings already had a good foundation with Sabally and Arike Ogunbowale, and with all the fresh talent, the team should be primed to make a playoff run this season.
3. The WNBA's international outreach is growing.
The past couple of years, international players have begun to make more of an impact in the WNBA Draft.
In the 2020 draft, Kitija Laksa represented Latvia, and Luisa Geiselsoder and Leonie Fiebich represented Germany. Those players went late in the first and second rounds.
This year, international players made a statement by being drafted early in the first round.
Kuier, chosen by the Wings with the second pick, is the first player from Finland to be drafted into the WNBA.
In addition, Shyla Heal from Australia was drafted by the Chicago Sky with the eighth pick, and Iliana Rupert from France was drafted by the Las Vegas Aces with the 12th pick.
In total, six international players were drafted this year. As the WNBA gains more of a platform abroad, fans can expect to see even more in the future.
Overall, the 2021 WNBA Draft featured many teams making big moves for the future. This season will be one for the books as a new crop of talented women look to make names for themselves on the professional level.
