Hi everyone, welcome back! We have now reached the midpoint for the WNBA season for some teams while other teams are just about to reach the midpoint of their season. The 2023 WNBA All Star weekend in Las Vegas was a tremendous success and it is now time for a Week 5 update of WNBA Rookie Watch. You can view the fourth week of WNBA Rookie Watch here.
WNBA Rookies Watch – Reaching the Midpoint 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.
- Aliyah Boston, C – Indiana Fever
Aliyah Boston continues to shine for the Fever and her consistency to put up very good numbers seperates her from her fellow rookies. The #1 overall draft pick was drafted #1 for a reason and she continues to perform at a star level. Despite the close losses the Fever endured versus the Mystics on the road twice and two home losses versus the Wings and Liberty, she still put up excellent stats. She averaged 16 points per game and 8 rebounds per game since the last WNBA Rookies Watch. She truly continues to be a standout rookie.
2. Diamond Miller, F – Minnesota Lynx
Diamond Miller continues to perform at a consistent level for the Minnesota Lynx. She continues to remain steady since the last WNBA Rookies Watch report. She averaged 10.5 points per game and 3.25 rebounds per game during that span. Despite the Lynx being on a three game losing streak, she continues to be an integral part of the Lynx and a good contributor.
3. Jordan Horston, G/F – Seattle Storm
Jordan Horston has really turned it up a notch. She wasn’t on the previous WNBA Rookies Watch list but her play during this span was excellent. She averaged 9.75 points per game and 6.75 rebounds per game during the last WNBA Rookies Watch. She recently put up a double double of 23 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals in Seattle’s recent loss to Atlanta on July 12th.
4. Dorka Juhász, C – Minnesota Lynx
Dorka Juhász continues to be a key contributor for the Lynx. Her ability to help her team in rebounding helps the team. Despite the team being on a current three game losing streak, she is currently averaging 5 points per game, 6.75 rebounds per game and 2.75 assists per game since the last WNBA Rookies Watch came out. She continues to grow and get better as a rookie as the season progresses.
5. Zia Cooke, G – Los Angeles Sparks
Zia Cooke continues to help out the Sparks whenever she can. Since the last WNBA Rookies Watch came out, she tries her best to be a scorer. The team had a light schedule since the last WNBA Rookies Watch came out so she only played in three games. Her team is on a current six game losing streak but she tried her best in the previous three games. She scored 3 points, dished out 4 assists in Sparks loss to Mercury on the road and then scored 8 points in the home loss versus the Aces. Despite playing limited minutes, she just tries her best to make use of her minutes and contribute.
That concludes this week’s WNBA Rookies Watch. We have now unofficially reached the midpoint of the WNBA season and we are starting to see the consistency and growth of the rookies since the season began. We shall continue to see how these rookies progress and there will be an update on August 3rd.
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