As many of the NCAA’s best descend on New York City for the WNBA draft, which starts at 7 p.m. ET Monday on ESPN, Just Women’s Sports has rounded up the projected first-round picks from the latest the mock drafts.

For an analysis on the top 50 prospects in this class, see Just Women’s Sports’ Draft Big Board.

No. 1: Atlanta Dream (from Washington)
Consensus: Rhyne Howard (Kentucky, Guard)

• JWS: Rhyne Howard (Kentucky, Guard)
• ESPN: Rhyne Howard (Kentucky, Guard)
• CBS Sports: Rhyne Howard (Kentucky, Guard)
• Bleacher Report: Rhyne Howard (Kentucky, Guard)
• The Athletic: Rhyne Howard (Kentucky, Guard)

JWS analysis: Rhyne Howard “is an all-around playmaker and scorer who can come in and make an immediate impact as the Dream look to build around her for the future,” according to Lyndsey D’Arcangelo.

No. 2: Indiana Fever
Consensus: NaLyssa Smith (Baylor, Forward)

• JWS: NaLyssa Smith (Baylor, Forward)
• ESPN: NaLyssa Smith (Baylor, Forward)
• CBS Sports: NaLyssa Smith (Baylor, Forward)
• Bleacher Report: NaLyssa Smith (Baylor, Forward)
• The Athletic: NaLyssa Smith (Baylor, Forward)

JWS analysis: NaLyssa Smith “has the impact potential the Fever can build around for the future, and she fills an immediate (and desperate) need on their roster with her size, competitiveness and athleticism,” Rachel Galligan says.

No. 3: Washington Mystics (from Atlanta)
Consensus: Shakira Austin (Ole Miss, Center)

• JWS: Nyara Sabally (Oregon, Center)
• ESPN: Shakira Austin (Ole Miss, Center)
• CBS Sports: Shakira Austin (Ole Miss, Center)
• Bleacher Report: Nyara Sabally (Oregon, Center)
• The Athletic: Shakira Austin (Ole Miss, Center)

JWS analysis: Shakira Austin’s “pro-readiness is too appealing to pass up, especially as Elena Delle Donne’s health remains up in the air,” according to managing editor Hannah Withiam.

No. 4: Indiana Fever
Consensus: Kierstan Bell (FGCU, Guard)

• JWS: Shakira Austin (Ole Miss, Center)
• ESPN: Emily Engstler (Louisville, Forward)
• CBS Sports: Kierstan Bell (FGCU, Guard)
• Bleacher Report: Shakira Austin (Ole Miss, Center)
• The Athletic: Kierstan Bell (FGCU, Guard)

JWS analysis: Kierstan Bell “has good size at the guard spot and the overall skill and strength to do well in the pros,” per Galligan.

No. 5: New York Liberty
Consensus: Emily Engstler (Louisville, Forward)

• JWS: Emily Engstler (Louisville, Forward)
• ESPN: Nyara Sabally (Oregon, Center)
• CBS Sports: Emily Engstler (Louisville, Forward)
• Bleacher Report: Emily Engstler (Louisville, Forward)
• The Athletic: Nyara Sabally (Oregon, Center)

JWS analysis: Emily Engstler’s “instincts and length would be a game-changer for the Liberty on defense,” according to Galligan.

No. 6: Indiana Fever (from Dallas)
Consensus: –

• JWS: Kierstan Bell (FGCU, Guard)
• ESPN: Elissa Cunane (NC State, Center)
• CBS Sports: Nyara Sabally (Oregon, Center)
• Bleacher Report: Veronica Burton (Northwestern, Guard)
• The Athletic: Christyn Williams (UConn, Guard)

No. 7: Dallas Wings (from Chicago)
Consensus: –

• JWS: Elissa Cunane (NC State, Center)
• ESPN: Rae Burrell (Tennessee, Guard)
• CBS Sports: Rae Burrell (Tennessee, Guard)
• Bleacher Report: Kierstan Bell (FGCU, Guard)
• The Athletic: Sika Kone (Mali, Forward)

No. 8: Las Vegas Aces (from Minnesota)
Consensus: –

• JWS: Sika Kone (Mali, Forward)
• ESPN: Sika Kone (Mali, Forward)
• CBS Sports: Destanni Henderson (South Carolina, Guard)
• Bleacher Report: Khayla Pointer (LSU, Guard)
• The Athletic: Emily Engstler (Louisville, Forward)

No. 9: Los Angeles Sparks (from Seattle)
Consensus: –

• JWS: Rae Burrell (Tennessee, Guard)
• ESPN: Kierstan Bell (FGCU, Guard)
• CBS Sports: Christyn Williams (UConn, Guard)
• Bleacher Report: Rae Burrell (Tennessee, Guard)
• The Athletic: Elissa Cunane (NC State, Center)

No. 10: Indiana Fever (from Minnesota)
Consensus: –

• JWS: Destanni Henderson (South Carolina, Guard)
• ESPN: Destanni Henderson (South Carolina, Guard)
• CBS Sports: Nia Clouden (Michigan State, Guard)
• Bleacher Report: Christyn Williams (UConn, Guard)
• The Athletic: Queen Egbo (Baylor, Center)

No. 11: Las Vegas Aces
Consensus: –

• JWS: Naz Hillmon (Michigan, Forward)
• ESPN: Naz Hillmon (Michigan, Forward)
• CBS Sports: Elissa Cunane (NC State, Center)
• Bleacher Report: Evina Westbrook (UConn, Guard)
• The Athletic: Rae Burrell (Tennessee, Guard)

No. 12: Connecticut Sun
Consensus: –

• JWS: KiKi Smith (Florida, Guard)
• ESPN: Christyn Williams (UConn, Guard)
• CBS Sports: Veronica Burton (Northwestern, Guard)
• Bleacher Report: Destanni Henderson (South Carolina, Guard)
• The Athletic: Nia Clouden (Michigan State, Guard)

One full month before then end of the 2025 regular season, the WNBA shattered its overall attendance record, with Front Office Sports reporting that the league topped the 2.43 million fan mark last Friday.

The WNBA has sailed past the previous season-high attendance of 2.36 million set in 2002. Even more, it surpassed the record in 41 fewer games than the entire 2002 season, claiming the new mark in a total of 215 games.

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Leading the attendance charge are the No. 7 Golden State Valkyries, the No. 6 Indiana Fever, and the No. 2 New York Liberty. Both the Valks and the Fever passed the 300,000 total this week, with the reigning champion Liberty guaranteed to hit that mark on Thursday night.

Though the clamor to see the Fever is not a surprise, 2025 expansion team Golden State is somewhat unexpectedly topping the WNBA demand this season, continuing to break records by selling out every one of the Valkyries' 17 home games so far — fully packing San Francisco's Chase Center to its 18,064-seat capacity.

While this year's additional franchise plus the expanded 44-game schedule would be enough added inventory to significantly boost the league's attendance totals, overall demand is also driving the new record, with the WNBA logging a record-setting 11,000 additional fans per game throughout the 2025 campaign so far.

With 59 games still left on the 2025 regular-season docket, expect a banner year for the still-expanding league, as the WNBA is currently on track to blast through the 3 million attendance mark.

Dallas star Paige Bueckers all but slammed the door on the 2025 WNBA Rookie of the Year race on Wednesday, tying basketball legend Cynthia Cooper's 1997 single-game rookie scoring record by dropping a career-high 44 points in the No. 11 Wings' narrow 81-80 loss to the No. 9 LA Sparks.

Despite the Sparks officially eliminating the Wings from playoff contention, Bueckers's efficiency was on full display, tallying the highest single-game performance by any player in the league this season while shooting over 80% from the field.

"People have [seen] the struggles — the injuries, the ups and downs," Bueckers said afterwards. "For people to continue to follow me and still believe in me, it really means a lot."

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The 2025 No. 1 overall draftee leads a rookie class thriving in the pros, with the No. 10 Washington Mystics' Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen and the No. 13 Connecticut Sun's Saniya Rivers hot on Bueckers's heels.

On the WNBA stat sheet, Bueckers currently sits fifth overall in points per game and ninth in assists per game, while Iriafen is fourth in rebounds per game and Citron — who recently set a new Mystics rookie scoring record with 537 career points — is fifth overall in clutch points.

Despite the Sun's struggles, Rivers has excelled defensively, becoming the fastest-ever WNBA player to record 30 career blocks by doing so in just 31 games.

Ultimately, while Sparks guard Kelsey Plum's game-winning buzzer-beater ended Bueckers's postseason dreams on Wednesday night, the rookie's heroics continue to shine with the WNBA's end-of-season awards fast approaching.

Coming off Tuesday's 85-75 momentum-grabbing win over the No. 1 Minnesota Lynx, the No. 2 New York Liberty will shoot to maintain late-season consistency against the now-eliminated No. 12 Chicago Sky in Thursday's WNBA slate.

Tied with the No. 3 Atlanta Dream at 22-13 on the year, the Liberty could benefit from the lopsided Thursday matchup, potentially adding space above Atlanta in the WNBA standings considering the Dream face an uphill battle against a motivated Lynx side.

"We're focused on the next nine games," New York head coach Sandy Brondello said following Tuesday's victory. "It's all about focusing on us and getting as high a position as we can in the standings."

The reigning champs still have work to do, however, with recent weeks seeing the Liberty post the second-worst 10-game record for any team above the playoff line — complete with three losses to their 2024 WNBA Finals rival Minnesota.

As for Chicago, the Sky are now focused on the future, bolstered by star forward Angel Reese's return from injury as they continue to build under first-year coach Tyler Marsh's system.

"I want to hoop," Reese said earlier this week. "I'm just happy to be out here to play the game I love."

How to watch Chicago Sky vs. New York Liberty in Thursday's WNBA slate

The No. 2 Liberty will host the No. 12 Sky at 7 PM ET on Thursday, tipping off live on Prime.

As the regular season winds down, the WNBA announced this year's postseason schedule on Wednesday, with the 2025 Playoffs officially tipping off on September 14th.

The latest possible finish for the 2025 WNBA Finals is October 17th, with three rounds of play standing between the eight-team postseason field and this year's championship trophy.

Notably, the WNBA is instituting two main changes to its previous Playoffs format in the 2025 schedule.

The postseason's first round — a best-of-three series — will shift from the WNBA's home-home-away format, in which the higher seeds could sweep at home, to a one-one-one structure.

With this change, the league is guaranteeing that every playoff team will host at least one home game.

Additionally, while the best-of-five semifinals will remain the same with its two-two-one hosting structure, the 2025 WNBA Finals will be the first to expand to a best-of-seven series, feeding fans' growing appetite for additional postseason clashes and offering upwards of four title-deciding matchups.

This new Finals format will see the higher seed host Games 1, 2, 5, and 7, giving each team a possible two opportunities to clinch the 2025 championship in front of a home crowd.

All games in the 2025 WNBA Playoffs will air on ESPN platforms, with matchups across ESPN2, ESPN, and ABC.

Currently, the No. 1 Minnesota Lynx are the only team to clinch their 2025 postseason berth.

On the other hand, the No. 11 Dallas Wings, No. 12 Chicago Sky, and No. 13 Connecticut Sun were all recently eliminated from playoff contention.