WNBA draft 2021 grades – Dallas Wings draft Charli Collier, score highest marks

The 2021 WNBA draft might be best remembered for three things: a potential dynamic duo for the Dallas Wings with 1-2 picks Charli Collier and Awak Kuier, teams betting on young international talent, and Indiana throwing some unexpected curveballs that will prove to be either surprisingly brilliant or way off base.

At maximum, there are only 144 roster spots in the 12-team WNBA. Not every team is expected to carry 12 players this year, though, due to contractual obligations and fitting under the salary cap, so there might be even fewer spots up for grabs. When you consider how good the rosters already are, the chances for the draftees to make it to the league in its 25th anniversary season are going to be tough for most.

We saw international players such as Kuier (Finland), Shyla Heal (Australia) and Iliana Rupert (France) go in the first round. All are 19 years old and already playing professionally. It’s not uncommon for international players to be drafted as soon as they are eligible (if they are at least 20 in the year the draft is held) and then possibly wait a year before they actually join the WNBA.

We’ll have to see how many in this draft play in the league in 2021, but it is pretty certain that some teams chose players knowing they’re not likely to make a roster this year, but could in the future.

Here are grades for the 11 teams that participated in the draft. The Washington Mystics did not have any picks. The 2021 season tips off May 14.

Dallas Wings: A-plus

Picks: 1. Charli Collier, Texas, C; 2. Awak Kuier, Finland, PF; 5. Chelsea Dungee, Arkansas, SG; 13. Dana Evans, Louisville, PG

We gave the Wings an A-plus grade last year, too, and then they didn’t make the playoffs. Still, that haul of players and this year’s group should fill out a good foundation for the Wings’ future, and at least garner them a postseason berth this year.

We’ll have to see how Collier and Kuier both develop as big post players — Collier and Kuier are both 6-foot-5 — who have high ceilings. Dungee gives the Wings another version of Arike Ogunbowale — a guard who can always create her shot. And Evans, who some thought could be a lottery pick, seems like a second-round steal.

For new coach Vickie Johnson, the task is making all these 2020 and 2021 picks pay off.

Minnesota Lynx: A

Picks: 9. Rennia Davis, Tennessee, SF

With just one pick, it obviously wasn’t a busy draft for the four-time WNBA champions, but coach/general manager Cheryl Reeve has to be happy that Davis, who seemed to have a lot of traction as a lottery pick, fell to No. 9.

Nobody is ever going to replace Maya Moore. But getting a 6-2 wing who can rebound and has good scoring potential seems like just what the Lynx were looking for.

Los Angeles Sparks: A-minus

Picks: 7. Jasmine Walker, Alabama, PF; 10. Stephanie Watts, North Carolina, SG; 22. Arella Guirantes, Rutgers, SG; 28. Ivana Raca, Wake Forest, SF; 34. Aina Ayuso, Spain, PG

Based on what coach/general manager Derek Fisher said he wanted going into the draft, the Sparks did pretty well. When they traded up with Dallas on Wednesday to get the No. 7 pick, Walker was one of Fisher’s hoped-for targets.

But if Watts was a surprise in the first round, Guirantes was an even bigger surprise dropping to the second. There was no player whom the media projected higher but who went lower than Guirantes, so she could really be motivated.

Raca just completed a good career at Wake Forest, and Ayuso spent her lone college season at Oregon in 2017-18 before turning pro. But these players won’t all make the Sparks’ roster this year.

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The Chicago Sky select Shyla Heal from Australia as the No. 8 overall pick in the WNBA draft.

Chicago Sky: A-minus

Picks: 8. Shyla Heal, Australia, PG; 16. Natasha Mack, Oklahoma State, PF

Heal has shown great promise at a young age, and it should be fun to see her learn from Courtney Vandersloot. In that sense, the Sky got exactly what they were seeking in the draft.

Getting Mack — a potential first-rounder who led Division I in blocked shots this season — in the second round had to be a pleasant surprise. She has a lot of upside and brings a needed defensive mindset to the Sky.

Las Vegas Aces: B-plus

Pick: 12. Iliana Rupert, France, C; 14. Destiny Slocum, Arkansas, PG; 36. Kionna Jeter, Towson, G

Like many of the European players, Rupert could opt to wait at least a year to play in the WNBA. But even if she doesn’t play in the league in 2021, this is a good pick. The 19-year-old could be a center for the future for the Aces. Liz Cambage turns 30 in August and has missed several WNBA seasons since being drafted in 2011, so having Rupert as part of a long-range plan makes sense.

The best use of the Aces’ second-round pick was on a point guard, and we’ll see if Slocum can…