Intro players selected in the 2023 draft are nearing the end of their second season in the W today I want to revisit my 2023 Prospect rankings heading into that draft then later in the video I'll rerank the players based on what we know now a little bit over a year later while also still factoring in projection because even though these players are going to be going into the third season in 2025 they're still super young and how they perform in their mid to late 20s is ultimately more important than how they perform in year Revisiting My 2023 Draft Board 2 like I said I want to start by looking at my 2023 draft board heading into this draft no prospects for me in tier one all time having went back and watch historical film contextualized what they were like as a prospect in their era I've had players like Candace Parker in this tier Caitlyn Clark Paige Beckers uh who's a couple other players I've had in this year AEL Wilson a lot of prospects that I would say are tier better than where I had aah Boston in tier 2 still though Boston is not quite the best center Prospect ever but like you have Sylvia fouls Britney grinder Lauren Jackson as well she's in that grouping of being one of the five best center prospects of all time so I did have a clear separation between Aaliyah Boston and everybody else in this class no prospects in tier three or in tier four for me but I did have one Prospect in tier five in my solid starters tier and that is Gordon hon to be completely honest I think it was malpractice for her to fall as far as she did in the draft multiple teams had multiple selections before Seattle was on the clock into Kon and they all passed up on her I understand Minnesota wed to take Diamond Miller they weren't the biggest Gap but there were some other picks where it was like okay hon is just clearly a better Prospect but I will say early takeaways on what we've seen so far in 2024 last season as well having at number two is one of my best takes as a evaluator of talent so I'm pretty proud about that in tier six I have average starter st/ topend backups only one Prospect here and that is Diamond Miller coming out of Maryland super interesting Prospect from an athleticism standpoint the defensive flashes were fun as well she made shots and spurts it just it depends there so Diamond Miller at tier six and then tier s is where it really opened up for me at number four had Haley Jones out of Stanford she was the number one Prospect in her class coming out of high school kind of staggered development wise but was still a pretty solid Prospect for me like more of like a role player type number five Grace Berger out of Indiana just a super steady guard number six mty seagrist out of villain NOA just an elite bucket getter she could score the ball and she could score it in a pinch honestly number seven Maya Hirsch she was selected number 12 overall by Minnesota out of France super young player still someone I'm high own longterm as a prospect and then moving to tier eight my depth tier Leticia Mi here Taylor Mike cell Lou lepes jisaw Jenice Wayne also had Zia cook Taylor Soul Alena cheni Stephanie Suarez at 15 who went so high in this draft and then at 16 I had Leah Brown out of Michigan what we know now what's No. 1 different now in 2024 how would my board of this class change if I'm looking at it in hindsight no changes in tier one I wouldn't bump aiyah Boston into tier one but I'll still say all W calber player oi Boston's going to be awesome still super super young we'll start with her today this season 14.3 points nine rebounds three assists 54% from two not as great as last season but still like a really solid mark for a second-year big the thing with Boston is she's only 22 years old will turn 23 next month I believe or later this month and despite not being the best interior post score like she was as a rookie wasn't quite that good this season coming into the season she's been better of late but still three% above League average in terms of her true shooting with Boston also my favorite thing about her development is just how she's improved as a short R playmaker being able to pass whenever Caitlyn Clark gets doubled on the ball it opens so much up for this Indiana team this season she is one of five players who play at least 20 minutes per game at least among power forwards and centers to post a 15% assist rate and less than a 15% turnover rate those players are nefisa CER Brianna Stewart Tina Charles Britney Griner and then Aaliyah Boston her assist numbers have been even better of late has been a really solid passer all season but she's really uped up a notch since the Olympic break and my overall scouting evaluation on Boston is you just can't find many more 6'5 bigs with her combination of interior scoring touch also her screening her footwork in the mid-range the post it's impressive then like I said the short roll passing that combination there along with her defense I was extremely high on her defense pre-draft still now though I think Boston's been better defensively since the Olympic break as well when you combined all of those things we're talking about a future top 10 player in the league year-over-year and for that in this draft she's pretty clearly the number one Prospect long term next in No. 2 tier three I don't see any pral Allstars but Jordan hon I would not be surprised if we do this video next year she's in that tier I want to see more as far as what she can do on the ball for me to Bank in that development but still Jordan horon is an incredible cutter an incredible offb move mover her defense this season has been one of the best bench players in the W seven points four rebounds almost two assist 58% from two we'll talk about that in a second 26% from three not great 68% from the free throw line 1.4 steals. 7 blocks in 23.1 minutes per game this season horison is the third best finisher in the W only behind Britney grinder and John Co Jones Griner is 6'9 JN Co Jones Is Like 6'6 Jordan horon is a 6'2 Wing who plays on the perimeter and doesn't post up we're talking about pretty much the best interior finisher among Wing players in the world she's that that level one of the best defensive Wings her ability to slash create at The Rim the hang time she gets on her layups and finishes through traffic is absurd I will say though with Hon's game if looked at her at Tennessee you saw the passing ability you saw what she could do on ball we've seen that in spurts with Seattle but still they have NECA they have Sky diin Smith they have eie mbor they have so many creators juwel Lloyd as well they just need our to fill gaps offensively and defensively but I still think the long term eie and Jordan horison as like your main young core is super fun and I just think there's a chance you could be an All-Star if not I think we're talking most valuable role player in the league the shooting is a question if she doesn't untap the shooting ability it makes it tough to Bank in Allstar upside or at least like more than one All-Star appearance but still year-over-year all defensive Cowper player along with her ability as a slasher and cutter there's just not many more better players at that we've basically ever seen besides like a Lup beard Britney Sykes as well but Britney Sykes is like a guard so just not many players as good as Jordan horon at her position and that takes us to our next tier this is our solid No. 3-5 starters tier I have Matty seagrist in this tier out of Villanova secist 24 years old 6'2 I'll just call her a scoring forward she's a combo forward is but you don't really want her playing the three as far as her athleticism but at the four I would say that's where she's best position wise this season almost 10 points three rebounds one assist 56% from to 28% from three 77% from the line in 24 minutes per game another trend is this class was extremely efficient and they've been extremely efficient so far in their W career this season Sis's true shooting percentage is 2.4% above League average as far as her evaluation it's the same as it was coming into the draft she is such a funky mid-range SL post score her shot is unblockable it doesn't look aesthetically pleasing but it just goes in in it's super reliable she can shoot from very weird angles she's not the most athletic player but she just finds her spot she finds ways to score the basketball and that is so valuable the interesting part is she hasn't shot the ball from three as well as she did in college so whenever you're thinking about what's the value she can bring longterm to winning that is my biggest concern and why she isn't in the tier with Jordan hon I don't think she quite has the same off ball value she's a good cutter she can find Spas offensively but when you aren't a great defender not really a valuable Defender I think you need to be able to hit catch and shoot threes at a League average level she hasn't done that yet still only 24 years old so there's a chance there but I'll just say like long term there's such a high floor with her ability as a scorer that I just think she's going to be a rotation player at the very least with upside to potentially be better than that if the offense continues to develop as well and that takes us to tier six my average starter SL topend backups tier you're looking at on a good team a very very good team you're probably banking on them being sixth woman Off the Bench seventh but on an average team or a below average team I think their starters longterm and those two players are diamond Miller and Dorka uas if you've watched Minnesota this season you might think I'm crazy for having Dorca below Diamond Miller but like I said there's projection here Diamond Miller was someone I was way higher on the draft draft I was so low on Dorca if you saw my board pre-draft like I showed there was no Dorka uas I didn't view her as a prospect I would say my two biggest misses as an evaluator have been dorky uas and then Lexi Hull I was just not high on them as a prospect and I miss there but still though long term you can't teach Diamond Miller's athleticism and what she can do as a downhill driver and a downhill Force so in 2023 not going to look at her stats this season because she was injured to start the season so she got she came back late by the time she came back Bridget Carlton had solidified herself as that fifth starter Minnesota was on a winning streak they were playing so well they weren't going to reintegrate uh piece like diamond Miller into the lineup when everything was working so well coming back from an injury she's played a little bit but she hasn't really been in the rotation on a regular basis or at least at the level she was last season she played 26 minutes per game 12 points almost four rebounds 2.5 assist 44% from two 31% from three 79% from the line the defense is fun in flashes she can make plays in passing Lanes she's pretty aggressive on that end but for Miller I just think it comes down to injuries and why for me I can't have her higher than number four because she's just had so many injuries I would also say my questions go beyond that as well because her game is so riing on athleticism but but unlike Jordan hon I don't think she maximizes her athleticism as well as she could because of how she finishes it's similar to Angel ree where maybe it's a Maryland thing I don't know what it is but they they mostly go for these underhand finishes and I feel like that limits what she can do because she's going those underhand finishes on like 85% Just a random guess on most of her layups it's underhand finishes these underhand scoot finishes and I just don't think she's as versatile of a finisher I would also say her handles a little bit stiff the shooting off the ball it's so hit or miss but the upside long term I think I have her over Dorca still W Dorca 24 years old 6'5 big out of Yukon this season she's been more effective than Diamond Five Points four rebounds one assist just a super solid connector offensively defensively as well she does everything they need for her you talk about just a role player that just knows your role coming out of Yukon she's done the same thing she did in college so I was just wrong on Dorca and I just think there's value in just being good at basketball she doesn't have some signature sh skill she's not some 40% shooter she's not some Elite Defender she's not some exceptional passer but she's just good at everything she's a good screener she's a quick decision maker she can space from three enough like she can make threes she can space the floor she can move off ball and she defends Hard In Like A Team defensive role all of that that coming together is just so valuable to what this Minnesota team wants to do they want to play they want to play spread out they want to go five out they want to defend they want to be aggressive she does all those things but the reason I don't have her higher is I just think her upside longterm is nowhere near as high as Diamond Miller a year later from now if Diamond hasn't made any progress as far as her finishing style also the injuries still are are around I'm probably gonna bump Dorca up over Diamond but right now I'm gonna give Diamond the benefit of the doubt for being such a young unpolished raw Wing No. 6-8 moving to tier s now I have three prospects in this tier and that starts with Grace Berger Maya Hurst and Chenise Swain with Burger this season she hasn't played much she fell out of Indiana's rotation I could don't completely understand why because she was awesome last season as a rookie Four Points two rebound Downs almost two assist 44% from two 47% from three awesome Mark but it was super low volume much more of a mid-range pull-up threat than being some three-point pull-up shooter still though super effective rookie with a true shooting percentage above League average as a rookie guard that is hard to do with Burger even though she hasn't played much the season for Indiana I think she has a role in this league there's just not many guards with her ability to score in the mid-range but also just decision making wise she's got the size at 6 foot if it's not with with not with Indiana I think she has a role whether it's with someone like Los Angeles they could use more guard depth whether it's Chicago they could use more guard depth Atlanta COnnecticut there's so many teams that I think could utilize what Grace can do as a guard she is 25 years old so she's not as young as a Leah Boston or some other rookies but still other second-year players still though I I think she has a role in this league and that takes us to number seven Maya Hirsch she hasn't played a WNBA game yet we aren't completely sure yet when she'll come over to the W but as far as this Minnesota draft they killed it getting Diamond Miller dorky uas and Maya hirs three of my top seven players in this redraft are Minnesota links players with hirs 20-year-old big so she's still only 20 years old out of France that's the thing the French rules is as far as prioritization are tough to project her to come to the W but I still think it's possible she could come and if she does come to the W in a couple years let's say she's 21 22 years old there's so much value in what she can do similar to Dorca she is such a perfect fit for this Minnesota scheme but I think her upside is just way higher than dorcas's because of what she can do as a Defender I think she's a better Defender even better than that projection wise and also her shooting ability I think it's got a little bit more as far as far as being able to shoot off movement be a pick and pop threat the main question for hch is injuries she's had multiple injuries over the last year and a half only played a couple games last season we'll see what she can do this season in a larger role for esva in the Euro league SL the French first division still excited about her longterm had her seven pre-draft not going to change that now and that takes us to at number eight another International Prospect another International Prospect ECT that has dealt with a lot of injuries as well or really only one injury won't say it's been multiple injuries but Chenise Wayne out of Australia was selected number 14 overall in this draft by Los Angeles for me I just think she's a better Prospect long term than Zia cook I had a higher grade like you said like you see higher grade on SW over cook in pre-draft and I don't think that's changed now either with Swain she didn't play many games last season only played about three games in the wnbl because of a foot fracture or stress fracture in her foot that caused her to miss pretty much the entire season up until late January this upcoming season she'll be playing with Sydney alongside Celeste Taylor you know Celeste who plays plays for Phoenix played at College at Ohio State and Duke that'll be a fun Duo there in the backourt but with Swain 5'9 combo guard only 20 years old her ability as a as an off- dribble shooter the ability to shoot at so many different angles her step backs the range from Deep the secondary playmaking is also fun her ability to generate Rim pressure the questions I would say are her finishing I think it was a question pre-draft as well she can get to the rim but can she finish consistently at The Rim the floater can that continue to develop as well the defense projection wise she's long she's a solid athlete can she put everything together defensively for me if La I think your main building blocks are obviously Cameron Brink Ria Jackson as far as like young core those two probably who you draft this season who you draft for sure but that number four young Prospect for me is Swain I think she needs to be a building block for them whether it's coming over next season or a year later if she can put together a solid season overseas this season in Sydney this could be an interesting Prospect for La long term and finally tier No. 9-11 whatever this is my TBD tier are they legit WNBA players at first I had some of these players in the dep tier but also some of these players might not be in the W or they aren't in the W right now but they might be in a couple years I like their prospects overseas or wherever they're playing so it's just a list of players that could have a chance of sticking in the league for a couple years could be interesting young flyers on a team whether it's an expansion team or whatnot but that starts with Haley Jones at number nine with Haley she started for Atlanta to start the season with Jordan Canada's injury since Jordan's come back she hasn't played as much has played a little bit off the bench this season though Four Points two rebounds two assist the main problem with Haley Jones is she's a non-shooter from three really in the mid-range as well can't really shoot at all her true shooting percentage is 7.9% below the league average not great there just not been great from three the mid-range or at The Rim all well below average marks for her and my main question with Haley is it's multiple questions but like what's her position because Atlanta's tried to have her be a point guard she played some point guard in college but her point guard in college was more so like in transition and that's for sure like her best skill but to be a starting WBA point guard or a rotation point guard at that you have to be able to do stuff in the half court and I just don't think she can create separation off the dribble I don't think she's a high level enough defender or a passer or a shooter or interior scorer so does she move to like more of a combo forward role where she's more off the ball as a cutter play finisher that's probably her best role but like at the same time if you aren't a Jordan horon level play finisher slash cutter it's hard off the ball because you either have to be an awesome finisher at that archetype or be an awesome spot up shooter she's just not really either of them right now maybe she can develop Haley is one of my favorite players I've covered since I've been following the W just an awesome awesome person to talk to and talk basketball with but as far as her game it's got a long ways to go still have some stock long term as a former number six overall pick and just her feel for the game in general I think she has a chance of finding a role but it might take a couple more years before she like actually puts it all together and that takes us to the rest of this tier Leticia me here just hasn't played much with Atlanta um I don't really know what to take make of that I hope for her sake that she gets picked up by the expansion team in Golden State or whatever I think that would be an awesome opportunity for her as like a young Wing Ford she just needs to play probably more of a Ford than a wing but she can defend on the perimeter I just don't think she's had an opportunity so maybe that'll be a good chance for her if if that happened at number 11 Taylor Mike cell just an awesome shooter she played a little bit for Atlanta last season a couple games she's going to be overseas this off season I believe didn't make LA's raw training camp but one of the best Shooters on the planet I believe just doesn't really have many secondary skills there next I have No. 12-16 doualy with dol's game she was a solid big for Seattle last year as a rookie didn't make their roster this season but there might be a role for some team's bench just with her ability as a Defender and just her energy on that end as well at number 13 I have licha she just hasn't had much opportunity with Dallas I don't understand what they're doing they are eliminated from the playoffs and they're still not playing Lou and Stephanie Suarez a lot of minutes it's really weird I would be prioritizing their development to see what you have with Stephanie Suarez I didn't understand why they took her so high in the draft she wasn't that level of a top five pick caliber Prospect with Suarez maybe there's something there they've had her playing on the wing she's not a wing she's a 6'6 big it's just a disservice to her playing her on the wing so I don't really know what to think but maybe she could find a role on some team's end of the bench I don't really trust what Dallas is doing to help her development though and then to close it out at 15 Elena cheki and then at 16 Zia cook cheni was drafted by Washington didn't make the roster hasn't played in a training camp since but she's a good guard overseas I believe there's a chance she could make a roster at some point just with her ability as a shooter but also just her secondary skills to play off the ball as well at 16 like I said Zia cook Zia is such an interesting situation because she's such a naturally gifted scorer but she just has been she's been so inefficient she's barely been able to play for La in a tanking situation where they're just not trying to win they're more looking at development long term and they've really preferred to play Ray Burell or even some of their veterans over Zia so we'll see maybe she could make a expansion teams roster similar to Leticia Mi here get some minutes get some buckets there's a chance a player with her scoring Talent could put it together but I think it'll need some some more years over or whatever to really hone in on the rest of her game to be more of a bucket getter because it's the off ball shooting it's her defense it's her finishing there's just a lot of aspects of her game that need a lot of work before I could see her being anywhere higher on this board than TBD are they legit WBA players tier anyways let me Outro know what you agree with in the comments below what you would disagree with the 2023 draft has been a mixed bag for sure Jordan hon Leah Boston Matty seagrist I'll even say dor uof and Diamond Miller are the best players from this class but everyone else it's a wide open field like you see me going 16 players deep here there's so many players that have a chance from this draft of finding a role on a team especially with the two expansion teams with golden state and Toronto there's going to be more opportunities from these players to make a roster or training camp team as well we'll see how it goes for them anyway subscribe for for more WBA content let me know you want to see more of in the comments below anyways I'll see youall next time