WNBA Rookies Watch – The First Month of the WNBA Season

Hi everyone, welcome back! We are now into the first month of the WNBA season. There continues to be some remarkable moments, some standout performances and some terrific players. It is now time for Week 4 update of WNBA Rookie Watch. You can view the third week of WNBA Rookie Watch here.

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WNBA Rookies Watch – The First Month of the WNBA Season

*Note – This WNBA rookie watch will be updated every two weeks instead of every week. This is because in the WNBA, there are a limited number of roster spots and so rookies have to compete with veterans/star players for spots. A majority of them either get cut, get limited minutes or need time to get adjusted. Their minutes will vary from game to game, opponent to opponent. It will be hard to find consistent minutes and so it won’t be easy to judge rookies on a week to week basis. I’m updating this every two weeks so that I have several games and data(!) to work with.

1. Aliyah Boston, C – Indiana Fever

Aliyah Boston continues to shine during her rookie season. She was recently named the WNBA Rookie of the Month for the second consecutive month AND she was named as a starter for the upcoming WNBA All-Star Game. That’s quite impressive. Since the last WNBA Rookies Watch report, Boston is averaging 13.1 points per game, 9.8 rebounds per game, 2.8 assists per game, 1.5 steals per game and 1.3 blocks per game. She’s been doing it all for her team but unfortunately, her team is on a current 5 game losing streak.

2. Diamond Miller, F – Minnesota Lynx

Watch out for Diamond Miller! The Lynx forward has emerged since the last WNBA Rookies Watch report. She’s averaging 15.75 points per game, 4.75 rebounds per game and 2.25 assists per game. She shot the ball at a high percentage during the last four games, except in the recent game against Indiana in which she struggled in. Her success helped Minnesota as they are on a current four game winning streak.

3. Dorka Juhász, C – Minnesota Lynx

Dorka Juhász continues to remain a steady force for the Minnesota Lynx. She put up a double-double recently and has shot the ball above 50% FG. Her presence has been exellent on the defensive side as well and has helped her team accumulate some wins as they are on a current four game winning streak. She averaged 8. 2 points per game, 7 rebounds per game and 2.6 assists per game since the last WNBA Rookies Watch report came out.

4. Zia Cooke, G – Los Angeles Sparks

Zia Cooke has had some ups and downs recently but she’s turned it around in her last three games as she scored in double-figures. However, she’s trying her best as in majority of her games, she struggles shooting well from the field. She still has work to do but she is improving and remains one of the improving rookies even as the Los Angeles Sparks are on a current four game losing streak.

5. Haley Jones, F-G – Atlanta Dream

Haley Jones continues to show promise in her rookie season. Although she’s kind of struggled since the last WNBA Rookies Watch report came out, she’s still managed to find ways to contribute even in games where she’s been held scoreless. She’s averaged 3.6 assists per game and has either blocked a shot, gotten rebounds despite the inconsistency of minutes she’s been given. She’s trying her best, even amongst her rookie struggles.

This concludes this week’s WNBA Rookies Watch. As we get closer to the midpoint of the WNBA season, make sure to keep an eye out for these rookies and to see if others can maybe get their oppurtunities to play as well. Until then, the next WNBA Rookies Watch report won’t be out until July 20th.