CHICAGO — After receiving the No. 3 pick in the WNBA draft lottery Sunday, the Chicago Sky are drawing a clear road map for next spring’s draft.
The Sky have two major roster needs this offseason: adding efficient shooters after finishing last in the league in 3-point production and improving at the point to initiate the offense more effectively.
After drafting Kamilla Cardoso and Angel Reese last year — plus re-signing veteran center Elizabeth Williams — the Sky don’t need another big. That rules out players such as USC’s Kiki Iriafen and UCLA’s Lauren Betts, both of whom are projected to land high in the first round.
As he sorts through a stacked class of guards and wings, general manager Jeff Pagliocca emphasized shooting as his main focus for the draft. While the Sky need to acquire a point guard, they’re wary of expecting a rookie to helm the offense straight out of college, potentially leaning toward free agency to fill that role.
“It takes time to understand the schemes, the actions, the coverages and the pick-and-rolls in our league,” Pagliocca said Sunday. “That’s the adjustment that takes time in the role.”
In addition to shooting, Pagliocca highlighted length as another key factor in evaluating the best pick for the Sky. He would prefer not to draft a guard who is shorter than 6 feet and prefers wings to be at least 6-1 and upward toward 6-3.
While players who are only a few inches under 6 feet might occupy a gray area, that criterion effectively eliminates highly rated point guard prospects such as Kentucky’s Georgia Amoore and Texas’ Rori Harmon, both of whom are 5-6.
“It’s a critical factor if you can really dominate at your position,” Pagliocca said. “Obviously small guards can still be extremely successful in our league, but in all reality, you’re looking for size. Especially at the guard and wing spots, if you can find some length there, it’s going to be a big-time factor in our league.”
With those parameters in mind, here are eight players for Sky fans to watch during the college season — including options for the No. 3, No. 10 and No. 19 picks.
Fitting the mold
These two guards fit all of Pagliocca’s specifications while ranking in the top tier of 2025 draft prospects.
Sonia Citron
Notre Dame shooting guard, 6-1
Citron is a career 36.2% 3-point shooter who made 1.8 3s per game last season. Her length contributes to her rebounding (7.7 per game this season and 5.9 for her career), which would be a bonus for the Sky, who already dominated the glass last season.
Her high-level shooting isn’t contained to the 3-point arc. One question for the Sky to weigh is whether Citron’s shooting volume or accuracy dip as she adjusts to the return of Olivia Miles.
Shyanne Sellers
Maryland point guard, 6-2
Sellers is more of a combo guard whose 3-point efficiency (32.8% career, 40% this season) is balanced by her playmaking on the ball. She would need to increase her volume to prove she can become the high-rep shooter the Sky are seeking, but her perimeter defense and overall athleticism are promising for that wing position.
No mock drafts have Sellers projected in the lottery-pick range, so she might be an option for the Sky to consider with their second first-round pick at No. 10.
On the fence
These three players are standouts in their class but have an outlying concern — either height or health — holding them back from the ideal mold Pagliocca described.
Olivia Miles
Notre Dame point guard, 5-10
A lot of Sky fans will argue that Miles shouldn’t be in this category — and I get it.
Miles passed every aspect of the eye test in her first four games this season. She’s a savvy playmaker whom Pagliocca described as “one of the best passers in college basketball.” And she appears to be on the precipice of taking a gargantuan leap in 3-point shooting, opening this season at a 47.4% clip on 4.8 attempts (2.3 makes) per game after being a sub-30% shooter on 3s previously in her career.
Excited yet?
There are a few factors to watch with Miles. She missed all of last season with an ACL injury, so she’s essentially reintroducing herself as a draft prospect. And her height could be an issue for a Sky front office clearly focused on building out a lengthy team.
Pagliocca made his feelings about drafting a point guard fairly clear, but he also emphasized that some players would be too good to pass up if they remain available on draft night. If Miles stays healthy and keeps shooting at this clip, she could fall in that category.
Azzi Fudd
Connecticut shooting guard, 5-11
Fudd is in this category only because she hasn’t played a minute of basketball this season. I don’t think the front office would quibble too much over that one inch (put her in lifts!), but she hasn’t played since tearing her her right ACL and medial meniscus in November 2023.
That was the latest in a series of major injuries for Fudd, who tore her right ACL and MCL in high school. She then missed 11 games as a freshman at UConn with a foot injury and suffered two separate knee injuries that caused her to miss 22 games as a sophomore.
It feels cruel to label a 22-year-old as “injury prone,” but Fudd’s history is hard to ignore. Pagliocca anticipates that WNBA teams will want to watch how Fudd performs when she returns to the Huskies this season, then have her undergo a thorough medical consultation before the draft.
If Fudd is healthy, she might be the best shooter in this draft. But she has to prove she can play a full college season before teams will be willing to buy in with a lottery pick.
Te-Hina Paopao
South Carolina point guard, 5-9
Do you like 3-pointers? New Sky coach Tyler Marsh certainly does — and that’s a prime reason for the Sky to take a long, long look at Paopao.
She shot 46.8% on five attempts per game in her first season with the Gamecocks after transferring from Oregon, making her one of the most efficient shooters in the draft pool. And she has shown reliable playmaking, which would help diversify the backcourt without carrying the expectation of immediately playing the point.
Yes, she’s undersized, and that might be enough for the Sky to take a pass. But when it comes to pure firepower, Paopao is one of the smaller players I think the Sky should seriously track as they look to boost their shooting.
Hear me out
These are three outliers to track this season — maybe not options for the No. 3 pick but fun alternatives for the Sky to consider for their next two selections.
Ajša Sivka
Schio small forward, 6-4
The Slovenian forward has one of the most exciting upsides in this year’s draft class — the only issue is she isn’t playing at a U.S. college. Currently playing for Schio in Italy, Sivka is an incredibly versatile player who can switch down to the three on defense, create like a wing on the perimeter and rip off a sweet pull-up jumper.
Sivka would be a bit of a project for the Sky, who would need to develop her into more of a wing role than she plays in Europe. But if she isn’t taken earlier, they absolutely should snatch her up with the 10th pick.
Aneesah Morrow
LSU small forward, 6-1
A Chicago paper can’t compile this list without giving the hometown product a shout — and Morrow has done enough since transferring from DePaul to LSU to land on any WNBA team’s radar.
Morrow is not a volume 3-point shooter and won’t develop that shot this season (Tigers coach Kim Mulkey rarely adapts players’ shot profiles in season). But while the Simeon alumna is listed as a forward, Morrow is a prime example of the jumbo wing position that is becoming popular in professional basketball. She would bolster the Sky’s already dominant rebounding while adding scoring at the rim and in the midrange.
My pitch: The Sky could take a swing on Morrow if they opt not to re-sign Chennedy Carter, who supplied a ton of points inside the arc.
Gianna Kneepkens
Utah shooting guard, 6-0
Kneepkens is the prototype for the type of wing the Sky hope to add. A career 42.9% 3-point shooter, she was shooting 54% on 6.3 attempts per game in her first eight games last season before suffering a season-ending foot injury. She has picked right back up where she left off this season, hitting 56.3% on 16 attempts through three games.
Even if she maintains that shooting pace, Kneepkens won’t be drafted in the first round. But she could be an interesting option for the Sky’s second-round pick (No. 19) to bring a lengthy shooter into training camp.
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