The 2026 rookies actually built for the WNBA

Summary

Podcast Summary: No Offseason – The Athletic Women’s Basketball Show

Episode: The 2026 rookies actually built for the WNBA
Date: May 21, 2026
Hosts: Zena Keita & Laysha Clarendon

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Zena Keita and Laysha Clarendon break down the meaning of being “league ready” in the WNBA, using this year’s stacked rookie class to illustrate what it takes to truly make an immediate impact. The discussion covers the five pillars of league readiness, dives into the specific strengths and growth areas of notable rookies (including both NCAA and international standouts), and challenges common assumptions about transition from college to pro. The hosts also touch on how post-draft fit, role, and opportunity shape rookie development.

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Key Segments & Timestamps

• [02:18] - [04:55] – The mental and physical toll of early-career injuries (Rekia Jackson example)
• [10:11] - [13:57] – Defining “league ready” and the five core qualities
• [15:47] - [28:35] – Deep dive into the five pillars: IQ, physical/mental readiness, consistency, and professional habits
• [29:04] - [60:48] – Rookie spotlights: Olivia Miles, Flau’jae Johnson, AZ Fudd, Pauline Astier, Yvonne Nogic, Gabriela Jaquez, and others
• [64:24] - [68:45] – Lightning round: “Ready right now, needs one more year, or future franchise player?”

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Five Pillars of Being “League Ready”

(Laid out by Laysha Clarendon and Zena Keita)

1. Basketball IQ — Instincts, ability to learn new plays quickly, see the floor, and make reads (“I could watch the play. I could be as backup point guard... you learn a new action, you learn two or three new actions because the pace is so quickly.” – Laysha, 12:52)
2. Physical Readiness — Strength, conditioning, and endurance for heightened WNBA pace and collision.
   • “The pace of the game, like, everything's just extremely faster... motor is one of the most underrated things.” (Laysha, 16:13)
3. Mental Readiness / Toughness — Confidence, resiliency when not winning or not being “the star,” ability to weather slumps and role changes.
   • “Do you still do the things you need to do to get you out of it?” (Laysha, 19:16)
4. Consistency — Not just star-power, but reliably delivering what the team needs—hitting open shots, consistent defense, knowing and embracing your role.
   • “Whatever you establish yourself as your rookie year, don’t lose that.” (Zena, quoting Draymond Green, 22:10)
5. Professional Habits — Off-court discipline: nutrition, recovery, study, punctuality, maximizing minutes—even when not in a starring role.
   • “Some other players, even some veterans on the team, were a little bit like, why do we have to do that? And Catch was like, y'all don't know what it takes to be great.” (Laysha, on Tamika Catchings, 27:44)

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Detailed Rookie Spotlights

OLIVIA MILES – Minnesota Lynx

• Core Strengths:
  • Elite basketball IQ, advanced pick-and-roll reads
  • Comfortable in traffic; calm (“She’s so comfortable playing in traffic... she’s really confident... she plays in PnR and in traffic as a rookie,” Laysha, 29:46)
  • 5.8 assists, 15 points, 1.5 steals per game, 31 mpg (Zena, 32:47)
  • Blending into Minnesota's culture while retaining her individuality
• Category: Ready right now; likely franchise player

FLAU’JAE JOHNSON – Seattle Storm

• Core Strengths:
  • Physical readiness, gets to the paint and free-throw line at will (5.8 FT made/game, tied with A’ja Wilson for rookie record, 38:37)
  • Unafraid of contact, seeks out tough matchups (“She wanted all the smoke... went right at BG’s chest and did the little too small,” Laysha, 37:56)
  • Developing consistency; currently subpar FG% (25%) but high upside
  • Strong mentality: “Sometimes just walk in the door like you’re supposed to be there.” (quoted by Zena, 38:57)
• Category: Future franchise player

AZ FUDD – Dallas Wings

• Core Strengths:
  • Adapting to reduced starting role, learning team fit (“She is a player... who knows how to play a role. Even when you’re the best player at UConn, you’re still humbled.” Laysha, 41:24)
  • Physical readiness; confident but adjusting to pro pace/physicality
  • Shoots 20% from three; not scoring heavily but fulfilling “role piece” and showing flashes
  • “She could be a part of building something really special at Dallas.” (Laysha, 43:25)
• Category: Ready right now, but best suited as a high-level role player

INTERNATIONAL ROOKIES – Pauline Astier (Liberty) & Yvonne Nogic (Mercury)

• Pauline Astier:
  • Slides into starting role seamlessly with Sabrina Ionescu out
  • “Her confidence... if you’re up there looking shaky, the team feels that... she kind of already has that for me.” (Laysha, 48:34)
  • Elite player efficiency (25.3 PER; 4th all-time rookie since 1997 for PER, Zena, 51:36)
  • Scoring 17 ppg, high-level production for rookie
• Yvonne Nogic:
  • Experienced; averaging 15 ppg, older rookie (28), played in Europe and NCAA before
• Category: Both ready right now, both seen as international “cheat codes” who benefit from pro experience

GABRIELA JAQUEZ – Phoenix Mercury

• Core Strengths:
  • Ultra-consistent role player (“Her ability to cut... her positioning... she just makes the right read,” Laysha, 56:00)
  • 2nd most minutes among rookies, 53% FG, 50% 3PT, 5.8 rpg, 12.5 ppg
  • High rebounding guard, seamless fit, “Already playing like a mini Alicia Clark,” (Laysha, 56:00)
  • “Most like a veteran already... easily taken for granted versus the Olivia showmanship.” (Laysha, 56:00)
• Category: Ready right now; possible sleeper for Rookie of the Year

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Other Notable Rookies & Quick Takes

• Lauren Betts: Needs to build endurance and pace, but strong post skills. Needs one more year for full impact.
• Cody McMahon: Coming off injury, already very physical. “Mini Kayla Thornton” vibes (Laysha, 58:53). High upside.
• Cass Prosper (Washington):
  • Defensive switch-ability, unique for post player, but still fouling and learning offensive decision-making. (“Giving me that young Brianna Turner,” Laysha, 59:13)
• Gianna Kneepkens: Needs one more year, primarily improvements needed on defense and quickness to get shot off (66:17).

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Hot Takes – “Ready Right Now, Needs One More Year, Future Franchise Player”

(Rapid-fire segment [64:24])

• Flau’jae Johnson: “Future franchise player.”
• Medina Otte: “Ready right now.” (Strong rebounding, high player efficiency)
• Gianna Kneepkens: “Needs one more year.” (Defensive improvement needed)

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• “If you hit three out of the five [core qualities], you’re probably league ready.” – Zena, 15:13
• “Whatever you establish yourself as your rookie year, don’t lose that... the second you lose your identity... the credibility in your game goes away.” – Draymond Green, quoted by Zena, 22:10
• “Some of it is... the learning. What rookie year is, is figuring out who you are, what you are in this league.” – Laysha, 25:01
• “Stay ready, don’t gotta get ready.” - On Pauline Astier stepping in for Sabrina (Laysha, 48:34)
• “Gabriela Jaquez... most like a veteran already. How are you already playing like Alicia Clark and it's your first year?” – Laysha, 56:00

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Tone & Style

• Friendly, conversational, with a balance of personal experience and analytical breakdowns.
• Lots of laughter, basketball “insider” banter, and honest player assessments.
• Regular references to personal experiences, e.g., Laysha’s rookie year, pro habits, learning from Tamika Catchings.

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Useful for New Listeners/Readers

• This episode comprehensively demystifies what it actually means to be “league ready” and provides tangible examples from the current rookie class.
• Listeners gain a deeper appreciation for the grind, adaptation, and professionalism required from NCAA-to-WNBA transition (and for international pros).
• Key distinctions between star rookies, role players, and the slow burn of developing talent are made, with attention to defense, consistency, and opportunity.

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For Further Listening

• This episode sets up an upcoming deep dive on international rookies (tune in Friday with Annie and Sabreena).
• Don’t miss the newsletter summary from The Athletic’s women’s basketball team.

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Summary by No Offseason Podcast Summarizer // The Athletic

Transcript

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this episode is brought to you by Gradient FC, the go to Soccer app for player discovery and analysis. If you're somebody who doesn't follow soccer year round but suddenly gets pulled into the World cup conversation every four years like the rest of us, this app is made for you. Gradient FC makes it really easy to figure out who matters, why they matter, and what exactly makes certain players elite. You can explore global player rankings across Europe's top five leagues, filter by nationality, position, age and more, and quickly get up to speed before the World cup takes over sports discourse this summer. What's really cool is that Gradient FC's player grades are not just surface level numbers. They evaluate the context behind over 2000 actions per match with analysis from real expert graders including former players, coaches and analysts. So you're getting a much deeper understanding of how players actually impact games with the data that is trusted by scouting departments across Europe. And if you love sports debates, the comparison tools are kind of addictive. You can go head to head between players across more than 100 different grades and metrics to actually back up your takes. So whether you're brand new to soccer or already locked in for the World Cup, Gradient FC is the app for you this summer. Discover and Compare [e-mail] or download the Gradient FC app from any app store.

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[Laysha Clarendon]

May 25th Wayfair Every style, every home, from college to pro, I would say is like the pace of the game. Like everything's just extremely faster. Like processing it is faster. The people are faster, they're bigger. And I think the endurance is probably the motor is one of the most underrated things. Like can you sustain the physicality over time, like the getting bumped, the getting bruised, the getting hit, the getting picked up full court, the having to guard full court, the getting hit by screens. Like as a guard, there's a difference between post and guards. And I think this is like such a fun argument we could have in an episode of the different kinds of physicality you feel within the game. As a guard, you're getting hit by screens all game. So you're getting bow. Natalie Chamois smacks you. Boom. Steph Dolson hits you great key Ivan hits you like they're headhunting you. That's their job, is to try and take your head off on every screen.

[Zena Keda]

Hello everyone and welcome to no off season. I'm Zena Keda.

[Laysha Clarendon]

And I'm Laysha Clarinen.

[Zena Keda]

And today on the show, every year we see new talent enter the league with incredible resumes. But when the lights come on and the season tips off, we have to ask ourselves who's truly got what it takes to make it. We're gonna break down what it really means to be quote unquote, league ready in the wnba. And highlighting the rookies who are showing it all off. But first, gotta make sure y' all know do not forget to send in your questions for our upcoming mailbag episode. It is coming up soon and we wanna hear from you guys and we love. So please make sure you get your questions in at no offseason theathletic. Com it is no offseasonheathletic. Com okay, Lay, let's get into some tough news for the Chicago sky that happened this week. They will now be without Rekia Jackson for the rest of the season after she suffered a torn ACL in her left knee. If you all remember, the injury occurred late in the first half of Sunday's win over the Minnesota Lynx for the Sky. When Rekia Kalida with Nia Coffee on a drive to the basket, it immediately looked no contact like the way that she landed it just you could tell something was gravely wrong. And so it is really tough news to get that and lay. Injuries like this are always tough in general, especially for young stars. It's interesting that we're talking about players that are league ready because I think Lakia Jackson was a perfect example of that coming out of Tennessee. How difficult is it mentally for a player to go through an ACL tear like that early in their career?

[Laysha Clarendon]

God, I mean, Former teammate Cambrink came through it and was having a great season back in her rookie year. I think about that combination of those two players, both going through that early in their career, it's. It's sad. It breaks my heart. I feel like the fans feel it, everybody feels it. Whether it's your favorite player, your least favorite player, you're just like, ah. Cause that entire season now and depending when you have that injury, you think about next year, like, can you get back? The fortunate thing for this with her is she could probably get back for next season versus when you have it later in the year. That kind of affects your ability to return for the next year. But that's a huge hit for Chicago. I think the confidence for Rekia with anybody who goes through an injury is always like I talked about last week on the episode, is that like trusting your body again after an injury? Knees are like one of the main movements for us laterally. Rekiya is a super shifty player, so it's just like, I don't know, all the love to her. It's like, like we're always all holding our breath, praying anytime that especially that no contact. Oh, you rather see somebody get, hey. And they show the replay and you see the knee do the what, what? Like little wiggle thing and you just look. Oh yeah. So, ah, yeah.

[Zena Keda]

It's one of the reasons why I like, as a color commentator, I am absolutely blocking the screen when anyone gets like injured and you can see ligaments and such. It's just you hate to see it. Not only because it physically is hard to watch, but you hate to see it for what it might mean for a player because everyone responds to these type of things so differently. I'm happy you brought up Cam Brink because they have such a tight relationship from their time in LA together. I'm sure they probably are leaning on each other. And also just like we've also seen a lot of things off the court with Rekia Jackson. And so like the compounding of all of these things feels very unfair and so definitely sending our thoughts to her and praying for a speedy but healthy and safe recovery from that injury. It's interesting that we're talking about Rekia Jackson because I think she is a perfect example about what we're going to be talking about today. This is someone that from her time in Tennessee, we were like, oh, Rakia needs to be at the league now. Skip all the rest of this, just go ahead and be in the league now. And there's certain things it's the way that the body is shaped, the way that certain player plays. Well, you know what? Let me not ruin it. We're going to get into all of this right after this.

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[Gradient FC Advertiser]

this episode is brought to you by Gradient fc, the Go to Soccer app for player discovery and analysis. If you're somebody who doesn't follow soccer year round but suddenly gets pulled into the World cup conversation every four years like the rest of us, this app is made for you. Gradient FC makes it really easy to figure out who matters, why they matter, and what exactly makes certain players elite. You can explore global player rankings across Europe's top five leagues, filter by nationality, position, age and more, and quickly get up to speed before the World cup takes over sports discourse this summer. And what's really cool is that Gradient FC's player grades are not just surface level numbers. They evaluate the context behind over 2000 actions per match with analysis from real expert graders, including former players, coaches and analysts. So you're getting a much deeper understanding of how players actually impact games with the data that is trusted by scouting departments across Europe. And if you love sports debates, the comparison tools are kind of addictive. You can go head to head between players across more than 100 different grades and metrics to actually back up Your takes. So whether you're brand new to soccer or already locked in for the world Cup, Gradient FC is the app for you this summer. Discover and Compare [e-mail] or download the Gradient FC app from any app store.

[Zena Keda]

Okay, Lei, let's get into it. What does it mean to be league ready?

[Laysha Clarendon]

My God, what does it mean? We've got to, like, all the things is the basketball iq. It's the physical readiness, the mental toughness, the consistency, the professional habits. Okay, we're going to give it like, we're giving you, like, the five of them right there.

[Zena Keda]

Yeah, there you go. Okay, so let's. Okay, wait, let's break this down. Let's break this down. Because it's so funny. Every time I hear league ready, I want to go war ready. And that is such a basketball song. Or like a. If you play sports, you've heard that song, you're like,

[Laysha Clarendon]

whatever. Someone says, what time is it? I always go time, same time.

[Zena Keda]

Right? It's like, yeah. So what I see when I hear league ready, I'm like, war ready. It's like, no, not war league. And I think that over the course of the. I would say, like, even the last five years, the concept of league ready has been more prominent and more prevalent and easier to see because these programs are preparing league, you know, players for the league way more than in the past. Right. The concept of going to the league has trickled down to the Ivies. Right. That wasn't a thing back in the day. You were. If you weren't in the top 25, you weren't thinking about getting to the league. And now there's just like, there's. There's more care around how to prepare players in this regard, whether it's how they're watching film, how they're preparing in the weight room. Um, you know, the. The things that they're doing in the off season. Back in the day, off season was time away from basketball, and there were just a handful of folks that were still working on their game in the hopes to get better, you know, for the next level. But now it feels like everyone has the capacity at least to be league ready. So you've named some of these things, you know, kind of like the bullet points. Let's start with the basketball iq because you're a point guard lay.

[Laysha Clarendon]

Yes.

[Zena Keda]

When you think about someone that was league ready. Actually, you know what? First I want to ask you, do you think that you were league ready?

[Laysha Clarendon]

Oh, that's a good question. In basketball IQ specifically or in My particularly my list of things.

[Zena Keda]

Well, you know what I would say overall, but then we can go through each one. But overall, did you feel like you were basketball league ready for the W?

[Laysha Clarendon]

Ooh. Because I think if you look at a rookie and out of those five categories, if they have like three of them, they're pretty solid. And you rarely find a rookie who's got all five. Right. I think if you can hit a few, you know, with a rookie, you're probably going to see one of like, oh, she's got the IQ physically needs a little. And that was more me, right? Okay, I was tough, but I was just scrawny as hell. Like I was little.

[Zena Keda]

Okay.

[Laysha Clarendon]

So I was just like, ping, ping. Getting like bounced around. Even though I. I liked contact and I was still like getting in there, but it was like girl, boom. Just like bumping me. And that's like kind of example why I see flage where I'm like, ooh, like she has more of that. Like she's more league ready than I was physically at then I was in 2013. Although I was a very physical player in college, my body just wasn't quite. I didn't get my big girl body. I didn't have like my. My girth to me that I was known for much later in my career. So from an IQ perspective, I was like really whip smart and I picked up things really fast. I could watch the play. I could be as backup point guard. So oftentimes, first group goes on, you learn a new action, you learn two or three new actions because the pace is so quickly. And then you're the second group. And as a point guard, you have to go out there, know your role and know everyone else's role. Mind you, you've seen the play or one time and it's a brand new play and you just learned it. So I could watch and be like, okay, that's where I go. That's where I go. Got it? Okay. And then as a point guard, I have to know everyone else's spot because I get in trouble if I start the play. And Xena's on the left side. Zena supposed to be on the right

[Zena Keda]

side, so sorry in advance. Yeah, because that would definitely happen

[Laysha Clarendon]

and a lot of growth to learn. Like, you know, learning second, third layers of reads. But I generally can understand like, yeah, how to hit the pocket pass, how to do certain things. Mentally, I was very prepared because I was a player who already knew how to stay really stoic, even if internally I was pissed, annoyed, upset, angry. Mad I'm not playing. Why aren't I playing? I'm pissed. But I had, like, the maturity to just keep that, like, still gonna clap my. Like, you could do this and be mad as hell inside. Like, I'd be doing that. Like, this, this. That's that maturity of, like, sure, like, I'm gonna show up and still be a great teammate because of course I'm mad. Like, everybody wants to play. Like, everyone thinks they should be playing more, but, like, not being that player who then is on the bench, like, hella sulking because I'm not in the game. And that's something I think so many people don't understand. It doesn't mean you're actually always happy inside. It's your ability to still show up. And I had that really well. And I had professional habits really well already. Like, I still had to learn, like, what it took, but I knew, put extra time in, do recovery. If Tamika Ketchik says, go do the pull workout. Okay, what time? We were like, yes, ma', am.

[Zena Keda]

I'll be there and I'll be there on time. I'll be there early. Like, yeah, okay.

[Laysha Clarendon]

Okay.

[Zena Keda]

So I like that. And I. And I like the. The breakdown of here are these five things. Basketball iq, physical readiness, mental readiness, consistency, and professional habits. If you're hitting three of the five on average, you're probably league ready. And if we're going through these five things, basketball IQ you've kind of already hit on. Can you read plays, read defenses quickly, communicate quickly, make the right reads. Physical readiness, You've hit on strength, but there's also a level of endurance.

[Laysha Clarendon]

Right.

[Zena Keda]

I just saw Kayla McBride tweeted out, threaded out one of these posts. They're somewhere on social media where she was like, does anyone else feel like it's the playoffs already? I just ran five miles in a game. Yeah, the pace is crazy this year, but in general, I think the pace has just been getting progressively faster.

[Laysha Clarendon]

And that's one of the biggest jumps. Yeah. From college to pro, I would say is like, the pace of the game. Like, everything's just extremely faster.

[Zena Keda]

Sure.

[Laysha Clarendon]

Processing it is faster. The people are faster, they're bigger. And I think the endurance is probably the motor is one of the most underrated things. Like, can you sustain the physicality over time? Like the getting bumped, the getting bruised, the getting hit, the getting picked up full court, the having to guard full court, the getting hit by screens. Like, as a guard, there's a difference between post and guards. And I think this is like, such a Fun argument we could have in an episode of, like, the different kinds of physicality you feel within the game as a guard. You're getting hit by screens all game. So you're getting bow. You know, Natalie Chalma smacks you. Boom. Steph Dalton hits you great. Kiavon hits you like they're head hunting you. That's their job, is to try and take your head off on every screen and so on.

[Zena Keda]

But scare me deeply.

[Laysha Clarendon]

Yeah, the amount of like, boom, boom. And learning to navigate screens and, you know, post players are having to do it by, like, physically having to, like, bump, bump every time and grind and hit. And so, like, that physicality over time with Kayla McBride also running five miles on top of it and her also getting bumped on screens. Like, that overall picture of endurance is

[Zena Keda]

like, ooh, yeah, okay. All right. So that's part of the physical readiness. Then there's that mental readiness. You're talking about being able to stay mentally tough, mentally locked in under pressure. Some of the things that. I always find it so funny you see this on the men and women side, but I physically remember it, like, seeing it with Rekia Jackson last year, Cambrink last year. There's a lot of these lottery picks are going to teams that did not perform well and they're not used to losing. They're looking like, what is going on? Like, this sucks. I have not lost these, this many games in a, like, in a row. And so, like, since middle school, what are you doing? And so just even having to handle that, like, and also understand that, like, you're doing everything you can to win, but you're not expected to. Your program is developing, your program is rebuilding. Your program is. That's why you got drafted there. You know what I mean? And so, like, that aspect of that mental toughness as well in tough situations, it seems really important. And also, if you're someone that came from a winning program and you go to a winning program, how do you handle not being needed? Right. Not being the person that needs to be the scorer, the game and finisher. That seems to be a part of that mental aspect, too. The consistency is a big one. Can you break down, like, first the difference between mental readiness and the consistency? Because sometimes that could overlap. Right? Like being consistently present, being consistently supportive of your teammates, being consistently locked in. Sure. I think I would put that in the mental aspect. But from a floor perspective on the basketball court, when you say consistency and being league ready, what do you see?

[Laysha Clarendon]

Yeah, the first thing on the mental readiness, too is like, your ability to Keep your confidence or weather the storms of confidence up and downs. Cause that's like one of the number one things in the league is like your confidence will get shook at some point. Point. Whether it's your introduction to the league, whether you're not playing as much, whether you're missing shots you normally make, you're losing more games than you ever have, your team's on that five game losing streak, everybody's gone through one five to eight. Or you're just like, you're skidding, you're just downhill and you're like, the whole team is a little shook of like, how do we get out of this? So that's probably a big one. Mentally, how do you handle those? And do you still do the things you need to do to get you out of it? Like, are you still showing up? Or are you only a player who can only show up when things feel good? Or are you a player who can show up and put in the reps knowing even when it doesn't feel good? And so consistency is like probably the funniest word when you think of a rookie. Because they're like the least cons. That's the point. Like, they're just not. And you don't really expect them to be in terms of performance. Consistency, yes. In terms of like, you know, habits. Put in the work, show up, do the things. But if you get a rookie who can show up, I'm thinking like, I don't know her numbers off the top of my head, but I remember Stewie was just so good her rookie year. Like, she was league ready. Or these rookies who can come in and impact the game right away. Usually you see like rookies who like, have a great game.

[Zena Keda]

Cool.

[Laysha Clarendon]

They got that 19 points and then they're like, they had six and then they did something. Then they, you know, one game they showed up and played the best events of their life. The other game they just ping ponged everywhere because they're learning. And they usually hit the wall at some point in the season. There's this rookie wall where all of a sudden they just bow because mentally, physically, emotionally, all of it just comes crashing down. And so I think consistency, like, it's just kind of the funny one with them. Because if you get a rookie who can even like sustained streaks of consistency, that's great. Like they can string together three to five games or they can, like, if you can trust a rookie to like make the right pass, that's like, oh my God, so valuable in a practice. Like, they always make the One more or they're not gonna make the same mistake over and over again. I think you can measure in like all these different ways.

[Zena Keda]

Yeah, no, it's interesting. Like when you were just talking about Stewie, thinking about consistency, it's. I think it's important to also call out that your consistency can look a lot of different ways. Right. When you look at some of the top performances in terms of rookie leaders and rookie records over the years of the wnba, there are some folks that are almost in every category, right. And they're the ones that you would imagine. The Stewies of the world, the Asia Wilsons, the Candace Parkers, the Tamika Catchings, the Elena Del Dons. Right. Like these people that have made hall of Fame careers for themselves. You see that across the board, not only in points and rebounds and blocks, et cetera, but then there's also these aspects of consistency. And the one thing that you're expected to do, right, like if Kia Stokes, we're asking you to block per game. Like you need to be consistently blocking per game. And that's what she did her rookie year.

[Laysha Clarendon]

Yeah.

[Zena Keda]

She averaged two blocks a game and that. And that's something that she's been consistent about her entire career. You know what I mean? She's going to protect the rim. And I think that. I can't remember. I think it might have been Draymond Green, actually. I cannot believe I'm quoting Draymond Green on a WNBA show right now, but Draymond Green said this, and it resonated with me deeply that. And I don't know who he was talking to, or I think he was talking about rookies to the media, but paraphrasing. He was basically like, you need to. Whatever you establish yourself as your freshman year, your rookie year, excuse me, don't lose that. Become someone that plays defense really, really hard. And then all of a sudden, years after that's no longer who you are. Don't be this person that's a high volume shooter and is counted to be a high volume shooter off the bench or whatever. And then all of a sudden you lose that. Because the second you lose your identity that you're establishing your rookie year now, the credibility in your game goes away. And so when I think of consistency, I think about that. It's like, whatever you establish your rookie year, keep up with that. If you're, if you're not a big time scorer, but you're going to knock down some timely buckets, some timely threes, be known as that and keep that grow on that. And that's how you keep a job. I think in the W and in professional sports is like, you establish. We can count on you to defend the point guards, we can count on you to defend the rim, we can count on you for establishing culture even. Like these type of things are not always someone that's just like the top scorer, the top rebound or stat. But it's just that we can count on you to do those things. I think that's a thing that comes to mind as well.

[Laysha Clarendon]

It's like do what you do well. You don't have to be anything else. That's always like do what you.

[Zena Keda]

But.

[Laysha Clarendon]

And as a rookie you're also learning that some people know and they come in and they're already like you're a shooter. Okay. You shoot the ball. I think of like Maggie Lucas pops

[Zena Keda]

in the head Indiana.

[Laysha Clarendon]

It was like, Maggie, you. That's your. You shoot the ball. That's what you do. Like Maggie was always gonna. Maggie was not the best defensive player. Like she knew where she had weaknesses, but it was like that girl shot her threes every day after practice was gonna. She would sit on the bench after practice, would literally sit over and get cold to practice. The fact that she came in cold. Cause she's like, I don't get to start the game. I. I literally get subbed in and I'm expected to score.

[Zena Keda]

Wow.

[Laysha Clarendon]

From zero cold to sprint to the corner, girl, you got one more, you better make it. So she started to mentally train in a way that taught her body to like shoot that way. And I was so impressed with that of like next level training to think about how. And so I think that was part of her learning. She was the high volume scorer at Penn State. She was always in the game. She started. It was her and Alex Bentley, she was gonna be the player. They were the one, two punch. Now she's in the league and she. Yeah, you gonna get the minutes you get.

[Zena Keda]

Correct.

[Laysha Clarendon]

And so learning some of it is the learning. And I think that's a fascinating. What rookie year is, is figuring out who you are, what you are in this league. And as you develop some of your roles also.

[Zena Keda]

And that leads perfectly into the last explanation of professional habits. I mean talk about a professional habit of knowing how you are utilized and then training for that moment that is next level. That to me is like the definition of a professional instead of. Of course I'm sure Maggie Lucas was also putting in the work to try and get past coming off the bench. But it's knowing that this is, this is the time. These, this is my rotation, this is my lineups, like position. How can I ensure that I prioritize my training to make that moment the best it can be, make me at that moment in the game the best it can be. The film study, as you mentioned, the recovery nutrition. Oh, the nutrition. I'm always like, I remember last year being like, how is Angel Reese doing a McDonald's deal right now? She ain't eating McDonald's. Like she is in shape.

[Laysha Clarendon]

Get the bag, get the bag, get

[Zena Keda]

the bag, get the money, get the money. Right, exactly. But these rookies are, I, they're eating incredibly well. For someone that's 22, 23, 24 years old, I was not eating like that at all. So there's, you know, pro athletes, there's gotta be a level of lock in and discipline and then the travel aspect of it too. Not being late for things and knowing how to keep your body ready when you're on planes and you've gotta come off a plane and play and you have only a few hours for recovery. And like all these different things is, it feels like the professional habits is huge too.

[Laysha Clarendon]

Yeah, there's so much that goes into that like, especially with the travel of what you need to do on an off day. Like there's no, we always say there's no real off days. That's like kind of the unfortunate part about it. Even your off days, there's no off

[Zena Keda]

season, baby, come on, let's go.

[Laysha Clarendon]

Because your off day is still like your recovery day and it's like great it's off but you're still on your off day. You should be doing the things. And there's rarely like this times, maybe have two off days where then you really need a mental day and you like, they'll say just like do nothing. Like actually please, like just go home and get in the pool or like go like don't maybe get in your massage boots at home. But like sometimes you even need that mental off day to not also be doing the recovery things. But something a lot of rookies haven't always understood is like, and I didn't necessarily get even though I had like the good professional habits. Coming in was like Tamika Catchings was like, oh, it's our off day, we need to go to get this pull workout in. And I remember her like getting on the team and being like, we're going to go to this pool workout at this rec center or something. And she signed us up. She's like, be there at 9am like, yes, ma'.

[Zena Keda]

Am.

[Laysha Clarendon]

And some other players, even some veterans on the team, were a little bit like, why do we have to do that? Kind of annoyed. And catch was like, y' all don't. Like. She basically was like, y' all don't know what it takes to be great. And she was kind of always constantly pushing us to understand the level of greatness that it takes. And so for a rookie, even if you're like, you know, eating pretty good, you're going to show up to treatment when the trainer tells you there's other layers of it of like, did you. Do, you know, your Normatec boots that night? Did you. Are you getting the massage also? Are you sleeping enough that night? Are you planning out your meals so you know when you're gonna eat? Like, there's just. So there could be an entire episode just on the recovery aspect of it. Cause it's so detailed. And I think the fact that rookies are coming in more prepared than we were of, like, what we ate and what we have access to also speaks to, I think, the longevity of the game and the way it's shifting and changing, and they're putting way more resources into it now.

[Zena Keda]

Agreed. Agreed. Okay, well, let's. We've kind of laid out all of these aspects. So remember basketball iq, physical readiness, mental readiness. I would actually say mental readiness and toughness. And then consistency on and off the court and professional habits. Okay. Let's now use that to kind of talk about some of the rookies that we're seeing right now who are displaying those qualities. So where do you want to start, Leigh? Ooh.

[Laysha Clarendon]

Ooh. I mean, I feel like we have to talk about Olivia Miles. Cause she's just.

[Zena Keda]

Yeah, okay. I like that a lot. Okay. There's a lot we're seeing here. We're seeing basketball iq, we're seeing physical readiness. I think she's taking bumps pretty well. But what are you seeing? I gotta ask you, from a point guard perspective, what are you seeing already?

[Laysha Clarendon]

Yeah, I think what's interesting, too, is, like, we're not necessarily super behind the scenes for professional habits. I'm not, you know, I gotta go call Fee or someone, be like, hey, is she showing up? Hey, Chuck, how's she doing in there? But I think knowing she's at Minnesota, too, they pour a lot of resources into, like, teaching people how to be pros. So what I'm seeing with Olivia, though, oh, my God. She's still was my number one pick, and I'm a stand ten toes down.

[Zena Keda]

I love it.

[Laysha Clarendon]

Okay. Is she's so comfortable playing in traffic. Like, the. When I watch her play, she's really confident. And it's not just from a point of, like, you know, I have swag. I'm confident. I. I love the showmanship. She has all that. She likes the moment, but she's comfortable. Like, the way she plays in Pick a Role and in Traffic as a rookie, Like, I need to go back. I was watching her, and I was like, was sue that comfortable as a rookie? Like, I don't know. I think I was, like, 3 or 4 years old or when sue was first playing or how old was I actually, Sue's first season? But I need to go back and watch some Sue Bird film or even, like, maybe Chelsea Gray, because I thought Olivia Miles is the Chelsea Gray comp for me. I think she's, like, the next version of. I think the combination of those two guards, that's what I would call Olivia, like, the, like, the best characteristics of two of them. And shout out Lindsey Whelan for the Minnesota fans, who. If I don't say something that way, but I wondered if sue was that comfortable as a rookie. Like, did she already look that in sync? And maybe she did. I wasn't watching her because, again, I was too young. But, like, it takes so many years to learn how to read, pick and roll, how to feel good in it, how to feel comfortable. And she just, like, does she pitter pat dribbles, which is when you can, like, push the ball. Her ability to pass, like, around the defense to thread the needle, I cannot explain it enough. We have to do a breakdown for it. It's just how good she is. And pick and roll is the foundation of the wnba. That's one of the main things in all professional basketball, is how do you play and pick and roll. Because in pick a roll, you create advantages. And Olivia is already so good at creating advantages, whether it's when to take her own shot, when to make the pass. She can read the. Where the pass is, but then she can also execute it. There's two layers to that, right? She doesn't just see it. She has the variety of passes to get the ball where it needs to go. Like, that has had me like, oh, and then she has the showmanship on top of it. I'm obsessed.

[Zena Keda]

You just laid out so many great things. I love all of this. And by the way, Subir just interviewed Olivia Miles on a bird's eye view. Definitely. Go check it out. They talked a little bit about this, about her vibes and Olivia Miles playing on just, you know, her vibes and what she sees. And I. This, to me, is a. Is a level of. A mixture of mental readiness that she has. She's not intimidated by the moment. She's not intimidated by the pace of play. She doesn't mind the physicality in the league. And anywho, I won't spoil all of that, but there's. She was. There was a lot that she shared with sue that was really great. And. And I'm. I'm with you. I think that someone that is also on top of being someone that's averaging, what, six, almost six assists per game. Let me. Let me just double.

[Laysha Clarendon]

Yeah. 5.8.

[Zena Keda]

I think it's almost six, 5.8 assists per game. Wild. Okay.

[Laysha Clarendon]

And 15 points, like she's scoring points

[Zena Keda]

and also averaging one and a half steals per game. I mean, she's on the leaderboard for a lot of these rookie records or rookie stat records, I guess, right now for the season. And I love the fact that on top of all of this, it feels like from what we're seeing, she's meshed perfectly into what Minnesota wants to do. And when you have a system like Minnesota, that's like, we are who we are. We are the program, not you. We're the program. You're gonna fit into what we do. And we have a culture in the way that we play, et cetera. And Olivia Miles, who's been flashy, and there's, you know, people had questions about her leaving Notre Dame to go to TCU to do her own thing. Oh, sis was doing her own thing to get ready for this moment, knowing that doing her own thing would allow her to play with the championship caliber team, championship caliber players around her and to be a leader right now out on the floor. And so the mental readiness is there. The consistency I've been seeing is there on the floor. Her ability to get her teammates involved, get herself involved, the showmanship and putting on a show for us, and the basketball IQ is there. So, boom, three already hit, I'm saying. And she's averaging 31 minutes a game. There's the physical readiness, the pace, the endurance that she's playing with, that's massive as well. So I'm with you. I think if there's, like, a team that is most or player right now that is most league ready and is hitting on most of these, like, five things that we're talking about. Olivia Miles. And the main reason we can't do five for five is because we aren't in the Locker room and on the butt.

[Laysha Clarendon]

And Alan McAlchuck could be like, on the butt.

[Zena Keda]

Yeah. We got to hit up Minnesota to be like, what's good with Olivia? But it just, it looks like she was drafted and was league ready from that perspective. Another person I want to bring up in that same regard of just like one, the showmanship. But there's things that we can look at that show. Okay, almost league ready. Some of these things can grow. Flaudre Johnson, right. I think that Flaudre Johnson definitely is hitting on some of the. I would say at least three of the five. I think that we're seeing the ability again to paint. Right. The physical readiness from that perspective. Flage is also averaging a lot of minutes, similar to her counterpart in Olivia Miles. She's third in the league right now, averaging 28 minutes per game. The basketball IQ aspect, sometimes there are shots that are being taken that you're like. But then there's also some passes that we're seeing and we're like, ooh, okay. There's been some, some, you know, whether it's backdoor cuts, whether it's things that she's seeing as her teammates are. Get to set her teammates up on the floor, we're like, okay, so it's. It's been hot and cold with some of those aspects. The biggest thing that you called out that I, I didn't realize, I think bladder's averaging 12 points a game. So you're kind of like, boom, that's great. She's also averaging almost six free throws made per game and taking about seven. That's insane, y'.

[Laysha Clarendon]

All. As a rookie.

[Zena Keda]

Yeah, as a rookie, get. Getting to the line and drawing that many fouls is crazy and incredibly impressive. And that to me is another aspect of the basketball iq, but also the physical readiness of things. But what did you notice about her shooting percentages?

[Laysha Clarendon]

Yeah, I guess I'll say basketball iq, slash skill. Cause we know that's in there of like their skill and ability. What I noticed with Flage is, is the big thing is she gets into the pain like pretty much at will, which is an amazing feat. As a rookie, it was something I was similarly really good at. But then like, finishing was like, ah, you gotta learn how to finish. So I think it was a few games ago she was shooting really high. Her three point percentage, that's come down a bit. And now she's kind of leveled out. Both her overall field goal percentage is about 25. And so when you look at that, you're like, ooh, it's kind of staggering. And they're like, God dang, one out of four shots, that's not a three. You gotta get better.

[Zena Keda]

Right?

[Laysha Clarendon]

And what it tells me is, oh, she gets to the paint, that's great. But she just has to learn how to finish. And the fact that she's getting to the free throw line tells me she knows how to draw contact. She's not afraid of contact. I see that with stats and with the eye test. I watch her get into the paint. So when she learns how to finish, oh my God. Because then you either gonna have to foul her or she's gonna score at the rim and score in the paint. Her pull up still looks pretty good. And so she's a player who's learning how her game absolutely translates. I hope she's feeling that. Seeing that, that was like her number one thing in interviewing her coming into the league was like, I want to prove my game translates in the wnba. And I think we're seeing that. We're just seeing the room to grow on it for her, which is what I love, because she's not hit her ceiling yet. Not even close. Yeah, she's the player to me, I think that has physically adjusted to the league really well. Like.

[Zena Keda]

Yeah.

[Laysha Clarendon]

So for one, she's not afraid of contact. She actually likes contact. She seeks contact and draws it and wants it. And specifically in that one of that games against Sykes, like, she wanted all the smoke. She's like, yeah, I don't care who you are. We saw her go right at BG's chest and then call her like, do the little too small to her. She. For a player to be a rookie and already love that side of the game, that's oftentimes something folks struggle with so much is the physicality. Like, they don't want any part of it. They're like getting bumped. They're having to do the ah. Like, why? And they're having to learn how to like, play with their chest a little more like, yo, you're playing with grown women now. And Flage looks so like there's an ease to it. Yeah, like she kind of is like,

[Zena Keda]

yeah, I. I want to. On the free throw point just to hit home just how crazy this is. Of the top free throws per game percentages from all rookies since 1997. Flaw J right now is averaging the third best free throw record behind Cynthia Cooper and. And is tied with Asia Wilson. Dang. That what Asia Wilson ended up with her. And think about how close to the basket, how much points you know that Asia Wilson's putting up flage. Johnson is third right now at 5.8. Only, you know, four games played, but still unbelievable numbers. And to close out on the, you know, the aspect of the ease that we're seeing out of Flaw J and why she feels league ready, even if the mental readiness is coming. I'll quote something she said to the Seattle Times. That mentality of believing and knowing you can do it, it kind of masks any insecurity you have. Sometimes you have to fake confidence. She said last week. I tell little kids, sometimes just act like you can do it and you can do it. My mom always told me, ask for forgiveness later. Sometimes just walk in the door like you're supposed to be there. And that's how she walks into the paint, y'. All. That is exactly how she walks to the paint. So I really, I do love the fact that she, you know, so she owns. She even said in practice, you gotta be vulnerable because that's how you learn. I think that's really important in how these rookies are adjusting and, you know, getting acclimated to the league. Okay, let's talk about the number one pick, AZ Fudd. And this is interesting because now we're shifting from Olivia miles to. And F.L. johnson. Two folks that got drafted, well, Flau ended up up getting to Seattle, but two folks that ended up with teams that needed them, right? Two folks that, you know, Olivia Miles was put on a team that needed a point guard. Seattle is rebuilding, and they needed some guards. They lost a lot of scoring talent. But now you're talking about AZ Fudd, who, yes, Paige needed shooting around her, but they brought in Odyssey Sims, and that's who AZ Fudd is now playing behind. And AZ played behind too many people in her career, you know, but how is she taking on this role and incorporating herself into what Dallas is doing and wants to do? I'll let you start with what you've been able to see about AZ so far.

[Laysha Clarendon]

Well, that's. I think that's the interesting thing with the way she was drafted and what people thought who should have went first or not, was that, like, they didn't need necessarily, maybe we could argue the number one overall or did they need Olivia? It's like they needed the best fit and fits everything. And so for AZ to go to Dallas and be able to just play

[Zena Keda]

a role,

[Laysha Clarendon]

you need a good P. Like, to have a championship team, you need really good pieces who know how to play their role. And so she is a player having especially come from UConn who knows how to play a role. Even when you're the best player at UConn, you're still humbled. Like, you still are just one piece of the pie. That's. That's probably one of the best things and maybe so many players have talked about. Sometimes the hardest thing about playing at UConn is like, you're humbled to a point of like this borderline psychotic, breaking you down to build you back up. Like, all the psychology that they do at UConn. And so I think that's one of the number one things AZ came into and players from that school understand is that it is about the team. And so for me, with her knowing she can come in if they need her to start, she will start. If they need her to play backup role, come in, make her threes do her Maggie Lucas, like, she will do that and she will play that role well, and she will do it with a clap whether. Whatever is going on internally, even if it's upset. And I don't, you know, people are human. So she could be upset inside. She could be just like, wow, there's less pressure on me. I get to be a good piece. There's also this side of like, and I'm not saying this about easy at all, that, like, everybody wants to be the star or the main player. Like, some people are okay and also happy to play a role on a team. Some people aren't okay doing that and it shows and it hurts their career even when they are the best player. And so from what I've seen for her is like, wow, she can be a really good piece on a team when they need her to come in. While she's shooting 20% right now, it's like, I'm not worried about her three point percentage. We've seen her, she can score and make shots. We've seen her be in and out with her knee and, like, settling in. We're only a few games into the season averaging seven points a game. So for me, with her, it's just, do what you know how to do. And I think it will help her not having to have so much pressure on her. Also, like we saw in the Final four, where it's like she had to do everything she needed to do without Paige, without having to be like, having her stars, like, let people be a good piece. That's okay. Let people play their good role and be that role like she was. She doesn't need to be rookie of the year and that's okay, right? She could get more bag if She's Rookie of the Year.

[Zena Keda]

Cool.

[Laysha Clarendon]

Like it's great, like awards are awesome, but she could be a part of building something really special at Dallas.

[Zena Keda]

That's such a good point. And I think that that is why I wanted to bring up AZ and some of these players that have gone to teams where they don't need to be the Rookie of the Year. There's several players I'm thinking of that come to mind. AZ is one of them. All of the UCLA players in all of their respective roles, right? Lauren Betts and Angela Dugalich. Wow, I cannot speak Angela Duglitsch do not need to be Rookie of the years. They're two post players coming behind Kiki Iriafan and Shakira Austin. You ain't about to be Rookie of the Year playing with them.

[Laysha Clarendon]

You don't have an opportunity to.

[Zena Keda]

You don't have the opportunity to do that and you don't need to. And Sidney Johnson has directly said this, that he. It's great that Lauren Betts and Angela Duglich get to learn from the likes of Kiki Irafen and Shakira Austin. It's great that they can come in and develop behind them and you know, they don't have to worry about being the person that defends the rim for the majority of the game and gets all the rebounds and all. They just need to learn how to fill their role to ensure that there's no drop off when they get on the floor. And that's great. Right? Gianna Neepkins in Connecticut, Charlize Ledger Walker in Connecticut. I'm just saying all UCLA players right now, but they don't need to be Rookie of the years, right? Connecticut's not in a position to try and you know, win anything big right now. They're trying to build. They don't even have Layla Lacan yet. And you're not going to expect Johnny Eekins to have the same three point percentage that she had in college in Connecticut right now. Like that they're still trying to figure out how to set the floor up, right?

[Laysha Clarendon]

That's different when she was drafted to Minnesota or like a well oiled machine at the Aces and then she's like,

[Zena Keda]

that's right, that's right. And so I think there's a lot of different rookies that could be league ready but as you look at how they got positioned into the W and the role that they had to play, their league readiness and the factors we're talking about don't have quite the opportunity to shine. And I think with with Az Fudd I look, you know, yeah, we talk about three point percentage is not quite there, but hell if that rip through one dribble pull up ain't we have seen that thing look so good. I mean the mechanics on it are just as pure as it's been her entire collegiate career. Her, her width, her shoulders, the strength that she has, you're seeing it and I think from a physical perspective she is, if anything she's physical. And I mean she said this early in the preseason though. She said, I honestly I'm confused. I thought the WNBA was supposed to be more physical. And so you know, you touch somebody and it's a foul. She's like, I'm still trying to figure that out.

[Laysha Clarendon]

I like that smoke though.

[Zena Keda]

But that right, but you, but that's so she's, I think she's, she is curating how her physicality shows up responsibly on the floor. But I think she was physically ready for the bumps, ready for the, just the pace of the game, I think. And there's moments we saw that little clip of her not knowing where she's supposed to be, I think at the start of the game or she looked a little confused. Stephen Curry got on her for that. That was adorable. But so I think there's still some things of course all these rookies are learning, but I do like the consistency you're seeing in her being ready and wanting to contribute when she's on the floor. She's making some great backdoor cuts reading folks. Her cuts are impeccable. I think that's with skill set.

[Laysha Clarendon]

We could break down like five more categories of just like physicality getting to the rim like.

[Zena Keda]

Right, agreed. Okay. So that, so I, I, I'm using AZ to kind of touch on some of these other rookies that we've seen. All right, we have to hit on some of these international rookies now. To be fair, our upcoming show with Sabrina and Annie are going to dive super deep into the international players that are taking the league by storm right now. But in the rookie class, particularly Pauline Assier in New York Liberty and Yovana Nogic in Phoenix, these two players, just for context, again I mentioned that they're, you know, in the course of the 30 year history of the WNBA, there are rookie records that stand in terms of what players did in their rookie year. Right now Pauline Ostier is averaging just under 17 points per game which is good for 17th best in all rookie records. So we'll see how she ends up at the end of the season. But that's impressive. That's impressive company to be in. Um. And Yovani Nogic is at 15 points per game so far, is leading all rookies in terms of points that she's accumulated over the course of her games. But Paulina Sie, one of the players that has taken full advantage of Sabrina Ionescu's absence on the floor from her injury and has come in, has the full trust of Cryst Marco in New York. What are you liking about how she has just translated her game to the W God?

[Laysha Clarendon]

I mean, you said the first thing, it's stay ready, don't gotta get ready. Like someone goes down, you think you're the backup point guard to rda, really good championship point guard and great shooter in Sabrina. And then she steps right in. I know I was going hard on her about messing up the play. Actually, I went hard on the New York Liberty in that episode we did about her not being in the right place in the jump ball because she's a rookie and I was New York's fault. But it's her confidence. It's like it makes me pause because it's such a. Especially when you play the point guard position, your demeanor is so important. It's like the number one role, I would say, in terms of like, you're the head of the snake. So if you're up there looking shaky, if you're looking like, ah, like the team feels that and breathes that and like, like, and if you're up there oppositely, like, even if eternally you're faking it till you're making it flage like that vibe and it can just put your team at calm that like, it's what the Sue Birds, the Whalens, the Dawn State, like all the greats are able to do. She already kind of has that for me. So to lose Sabrina and then insert a Ricky who can like have that kind of poise about her and then balance, pick and roll and when to shoot, when to score. She also has that balance to be able to like be a three level scorer. She just has stepped in and been like, almost. It's like she's not a rookie. It's just solidly like I'm kind of like when she. That's why I think that jump ball, like when I was watching her play, I kind of forgot she was a rookie. And then I was like, yo, like I was mad, like, you gotta be in the right spot. And I was like, stewie, that's your fault. Like, someone didn't tell her because she is a rookie and so with her, I almost feel like the bar is so high that I've had to remember, oh, she's still growing in some of these areas. She's still also learning the W in a lot of areas and the way that we do things in this league and all the little nuances within our game on this side.

[Zena Keda]

Right. And it's important to note, like, there's folks that are gonna be like, well, you know, she's been playing pro and you're right, right. This aspect of these international players that, like, for example, Yovana Nogic is not a baby. She's 28 years old. She's been doing this for a long time, coming from Serbia, but she went to Providence in the NCAA system before and then went played overseas, and now she's in the W. Pauline Estie has not been in the NCAA system at all. And so that's why I think a lot of people have been caught up, like, by surprise by how easily she's translated her ability to penetrate. She is fast as hell with the ball. Like, when I see her, I think of Jade Melbourne, of just how fast they can go up and down.

[Laysha Clarendon]

They almost fell faster with the ball than without it.

[Zena Keda]

That's right. And that is when you see that it's very rare. But. But one of the stats that I noticed is I was just looking at some of these different rookie stats, by the way, also, Flaj Johnson is averaging one and a half blocks per game, which is. I don't want to skip over that. That's a big deal. Yeah. As a guard, that's a big deal. But looking at Paulina Sierra. Excuse me. There's a stat called player efficiency rating per. It is not a popular stat to

[Laysha Clarendon]

use

[Zena Keda]

just because it is a standardized stat. It basically is saying, what is your measure of per minute production? In the course of a 40 minute game, the average is 15. So just go like they. They standardize it so that it's just everyone's at 15. And then based on that, how much higher are you above that? How much are you giving per your minutes in terms of production? Hope that made sense. Polina Sierra. In terms of how they standardized this over the course of time, Cynthia Cooper leads. Leads all of the rookies in terms of her production. Her freshman year. I keep saying her freshman year. Gosh. Because was I mo. I was literally just a college player. Clearly. Her rookie year, 32.2. That's impressive. Tamika Catchings was right under her. Candace Parker was under her. Palin is number four right now. Ooh, okay. And just again, just the four games played, she's at 25.3 player efficiency rating. She is 10 point. She's producing 10 points more per minute of what you would expect than anyone else in the league. Right. As a. In. In. Excuse me, in this. As of the rookies in the rookie year. This is above Elena Deldon, what Cheney Agumike was doing her rookie of the year season, what Tina Charles was doing, what Candace Wiggins was doing when she came into the league. Right. Like Asia Wilson. Like this is. These are some big numbers that Paulina's putting up. And I just want to say that, like, we'll see what happens when Sabrina comes back because this is tied to opportunity as well. And so that's what's going to be very important to see with Pauline is that consistency aspect of the league. Red, how do you impact games even when you're not the ball hand, the primary ball handler? How do you impact games when your minutes might be reduced? How do you still produce in the minutes that you're given?

[Laysha Clarendon]

And where's your confidence go right when you're not in the game? Your rhythm, the team needs you. But in that same way, when you get to be like you get to play through mistakes too, because they're not gonna get pulled out cause they put it in. There's all that factors into your confidence. So when you're roll streaming, can you show up in that same numbers should change because you. The opportunity will shrink. But I really am curious about how confidence shifts when roles change because that's one of the hardest things to sustain across shifting roles.

[Zena Keda]

Yeah. Yeah, agreed. Okay. I've, I've, I've kept this last one as to me, the person that has flown under the radar as probably the most league representative of like Olivia Miles is pretty. Is obviously league ready. But I think everyone's seeing that a person that we're kind of like, wow, I don't think we really appreciated just how league ready this person would be. And that's Gabriela Hawkez.

[Laysha Clarendon]

Ooh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Zena Keda]

Gabrielaquez, by the way, is averaging the second most amount of minutes of this rookie class. Um, is shooting 53% from the floor, 50% from three, not putting up a ton of threes. And that's mainly because it's part of what we're seeing about her. She knows her role. She is getting in there. She is, you know, she's rebounding. She's averaging 5.8 rebounds a game, which is. That's a lot, a lot for a rookie she is an incredibly impressive rebounding guard, which we saw at ucla. Right. This is nothing new.

[Laysha Clarendon]

Doesn't translate right.

[Zena Keda]

Exactly. And it translates. She is averaging 12 and a half points and I remember seeing her against the Valkyries at the free throw line and there was a nonchalance about her that was kind of like, I've been doing this for a long time. I've been here for a minute. And I think that Gabriela Haquez, between the way that she positions herself on the floor, the way she. If someone's driving, you know, if Skylar's driving or Natasha's driving, she lifts and she rotates and she moves, the way she crashes the glass, the way that she's, you know, ready with her shots and she's making the right shots. Right. She's not taking shots that are out of rhythm and all these different things. She looks incredibly comfortable with the speed of the game. And I think that she's also hitting pretty highly on all of these league ready qualities.

[Laysha Clarendon]

I would agree. And I think the fact that she goes unnoticed speaks to the consistency because that's the easiest thing to take for granted is someone who just shows up, they're steady, they do what they're supposed to do. She was the X factor at ucla, but you could almost, I wouldn't say forget about her because she played all those minutes. Holly Row told all the story about how she wore the tracker and it was like she like doubled up people's. So you felt her impact, particularly in that Final four run and their lead to the national championship. But there's something about a player's ability to. One, never be a problem in terms of like taking the wrong shots or having to second guess if they'll. It was. The worst thing is when you're playing with a teammate and you know, if you swing the ball to them, oh, oh, what's gonna happen? Like, you know, you're like, oh, God, am I not getting back? Oh, God, you know, like, oh, fair. And she seems like she's the opposite of that player where, you know, you can trust that she'll just make the right read. Like she won't take the bad shot. Right. She's shooting great from three. She doesn't need to take a lot. She's not out here jacking because she could shoot. She's like, I'm gonna play within the system. She's the player. To me, that's most like a veteran already. Like, how are you already playing? Like you're Alicia Clark and it's your first year. Like You're a mini version of her. Agreed, agreed. That is like, that's the kind of making of like a rookie of the year that's kind of easily taken for granted versus the Olivia showmanship. Like, she's not going to be the main main player, but she's definitely making an impact. So I'm almost like looking at the two of them across the board for some front runners in terms of of rookie of the year and then rebounds almost six boards a game. And oh, her ability to cut. Like, we haven't even mentioned that. Like her cutting, her positioning.

[Zena Keda]

Yeah, yeah.

[Laysha Clarendon]

Oh, smart promoter for me.

[Zena Keda]

Gabby Gab. Gabby. Gabriella Haquez and Olivia Miles are front runners for rookie of the Year. Olivia Miles takes that for me right now. But I do not want to discount Gabriella Hawkez, folks that I'll just quickly say some of the things that I still think they would particularly need to work on that might be in the minds of folks like Lauren Betts. I think needs to still work on the physicality of the game. And when I say the physical readiness, I mean her endurance, her pace. You could see her slowing down sometimes towards the end of games, but she's on the glass and she's doing, I think a decent job of moving her feet. She is doing exactly what she's supposed to do from a back to the basket post perspective. She scores excellently in the post when she does get it and she's on the boards cleaning stuff up. But I think the physical aspect for her is gonna be important. A person that I think is going to take things away, like, is going to change our minds eventually. Cody McMahon.

[Laysha Clarendon]

Yeah.

[Zena Keda]

Coming off of injury, she looked incredibly good against Indiana for sure. She's hitting timely shots. She's physical as hell. She's taking on hard defensive assignments.

[Laysha Clarendon]

Hello. Like Minnie Kayla Thornton, I love.

[Zena Keda]

Yes, yes, exactly.

[Laysha Clarendon]

Karima Christmas. Gotta shout out like the folks who have been doing it for years.

[Zena Keda]

Yeah, agreed, agreed. Well, those are some of the, you know, some people that I just wanted to call out in terms of things that I'm seeing that could be growing players.

[Laysha Clarendon]

Shout out Cass Prosper too. We mentioned Cass Prosper.

[Zena Keda]

Yeah.

[Laysha Clarendon]

Giving me that young Brianna Turner and also her ability to like, she switched really well. Like Notre Dame would switch pick and rolls and they'd switch Cass Prosper onto really good guards and laterally be able to defend. So that's a skill set that's translating for her. And similar to Brie Turner, you don't got to do the most just do

[Zena Keda]

your job right Just do your job.

[Laysha Clarendon]

Rebound, run, set screens. When you get switched on, keep a player in front, don't foul, don't make silly mistakes. I think she's kind of that like also another good just piece that could end up finding a career and like having some longevity for something as simple as a skill set of being able to switch onto someone like as a post. That's not. It seems so small, but it's giant. And the schemes, like, we haven't touched a ton on defense in this. We've talked a bit more offensively, but her ability to do that changes the game because you can trust her to like, move her feet right versus Lauren's gonna have much more rim protection, but laterally you don't. People are gonna put her in pick and roll. They're gonna be like, bring Lauren up. Let's attack her. Attack the biggest.

[Zena Keda]

And that's the thing. Lauren's had to be in drop a lot more because she doesn't have quite that lateral quickness. That's the thing about Cassan Prosper though. As much as I do like her defense and her. Her quickness and her versatility, she does foul at poor moments and then sometimes turns the ball over. And so I think those are aspects of her game that can grow. Washington, that entire Washington team, I'm y', all, that team is a problem.

[Laysha Clarendon]

That's your team. You've watched that team before.

[Zena Keda]

I love that team. They are a problem anyways. But they're just of the teams that are stacked with rookies, they're definitely doing well.

[Laysha Clarendon]

We've almost gone the whole podcast without you saying Georgia Amore.

[Zena Keda]

I know. I mean Georgia Amore as well. But there's so many rookies that are right now, I think showing aspects of being ready. Raven Johnson is an like. I think she's shown aspects of being ready, but I think her situation is more so around opportunity. Um, Keke Rice is showing opportunity in Toronto being a main ball handler. We still haven't seen a la fam yet. I'm very curious as to how that's going to translate, but there's. We could go on forever, but we do have to close this show. I hope you guys have kind of felt that you now understand, you know, how a WNBA player that's done this for so long is looking at being league ready from your perspective lay. But also looking at rookies that are coming into the league and being like, oh, they're, they're, they're ready. They're not scared of the assignment. Right. They're not scared of the task in front of them. So we'll see how all of this ages. On the other side of this break, we're going to do some quick takes on, you know, some future predictions and see how what we think some of these rookies will be for their franchises. AI is transforming customer service. It's real and it works. And with fin, we've built the number one AI agent for customer service.

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[Laysha Clarendon]

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[Gradient FC Advertiser]

this episode is brought to you by Gradient FC, the go to Soccer app for player discovery and analysis. This if you're somebody who doesn't follow soccer year round but suddenly gets pulled into the World cup conversation every four years like the rest of us, this app is made for you. Gradient FC makes it really easy to figure out who matters, why they matter, and what exactly makes certain players elite. You can explore global player rankings across Europe's top five leagues, filter by nationality, position, age and more, and quickly get up to speed before the World cup takes over. Sports discourse this summer Summer what's really cool is that Gradient FC's player grades are not just surface level numbers. They evaluate the context behind over 2000 actions per match with analysis from real expert graders, including former players, coaches and analysts. So you're getting a much deeper understanding of how players actually impact games with the data that is trusted by scouting departments across Europe. And if you love sports debates, the comparison tools are kind of a debate. You can go head to head between players across more than 100 different grades and metrics to actually back up your takes. So whether you're brand new to soccer or already locked in for the World Cup, Gradient FC is the app for you this summer. Discover and Compare [e-mail] or download the Gradient FC app from any app store.

[Zena Keda]

Okay, let's close it out really quickly. Lei and. And I'm going to throw out a rookie's name, and you've got to decide which category they fit into.

[Laysha Clarendon]

Okay.

[Zena Keda]

The categories are ready right now. Needs one more year or future franchise player.

[Laysha Clarendon]

Okay. There's not a lot of explanation. It's just hot take. It's like.

[Zena Keda]

It's just. It's basically just. Yeah, it's. It's basically hot take. Okay. Okay. I. I feel like we touched on so many of these, so I feel like maybe I know already how you feel. Okay. B.L.

[Laysha Clarendon]

johnson, future franchise player.

[Zena Keda]

Oh, yeah, I like it. When you said it. It hit. Huh?

[Laysha Clarendon]

Yeah, I was like. It's like. I forget this is being recorded. So sometime. Oh, yeah, well, yeah, I like it there.

[Zena Keda]

I'm very much about that life. Okay. I. With. I'm with you on that. That Medina OTT oo. Ah.

[Laysha Clarendon]

I'm torn between ready right now and need one more year because she's doing some things. She's absolutely doing some things at her. Yeah.

[Zena Keda]

Medina's rebounding incredibly well. Her player efficiency rating is also up there. She produces a lot in the minutes that she's given.

[Laysha Clarendon]

I think we. I question. Need one more year that she could have stayed. But, like, she's showing me right now that she's.

[Zena Keda]

Mm.

[Laysha Clarendon]

She's ready. She's using the minutes she's getting right now very well.

[Zena Keda]

Agreed. Okay. All right. I'm. I would say. I would say ready right now. I think she's ready right now. Okay. Um, let's see. Let's see. I'm trying to throw you off with some here.

[Laysha Clarendon]

I was like, you're going ucla. I don't know who you going.

[Zena Keda]

Yeah. I'm like, who do I want to hit that we haven't hit just yet? But I also am like, stay away from Washington because we've talked about them a minute.

[Laysha Clarendon]

I want to say, like, Gianna Neepkins, she jumps out to me. We've talked about her a bit.

[Zena Keda]

Yes. Jonah.

[Laysha Clarendon]

I feel like she needs one more year.

[Zena Keda]

I agree. Yeah, I agree.

[Laysha Clarendon]

And I think particularly defensively, that's something we haven't touched a ton on this podcast. But translating, like, when Lexi Brown went off on those series of threes, I looked back at the clips and I was like, oh, Niekins guardian. Like, And a lot of times players who have to then in turn guard their same position, seeing how much she struggled to laterally stay with, like, Lexi's ability to be paused.

[Zena Keda]

Boom.

[Laysha Clarendon]

Like, quick movement, her ability to, like, come off of stagger at a different pace. And Neepkins was just, like, too slow. And Lex is fast, but she's not by any means, like, the fastest player in our league. So I was like, ooh, you gotta be able to guard Lexi. Like, come on.

[Zena Keda]

Yep, yep, I agree with you. Neepkins, from what I've seen, has been too slow on switches. And sometimes there's been miscommunication, and that comes with being a rookie. Um, but there's been some miscommunication, and folks are blowing by her. So I agree with that. Um, she hasn't been able to find the pace of her shot fast enough yet to get it up before somebody is closing out and impacting how it comes off. So, yeah, I think one more year is good. Okay, let's leave it at that. I feel like we've touched on so many rookies. I'm trying to leave some of these rookies to Annie and Sabrina. Like, Laura, you skite. I really like her. In Toronto, there's a lot of these international rookies that, you know are coming over, so we'll leave it to them. And that is a perfect way to close this show. To let you know that, tune in on Friday, because Annie and Sabrina are gonna be breaking down some of these international players, and we know we've seen some brand new ones as well as folks coming back into the mix and making a mark for, you know, making a mark on the game and making a name for themselves. So make sure you're tuned in for that. Make sure you send in your questions for the upcoming mailbag episode. And if you haven't, the Athletics no offseason newsletter is so good. It's so good. And it's a perfect little package. Like, seriously, guys, it, like, perfectly summarizes everything that's going on. If you don't have and listen to us, which you should always find it. But if you don't have time to listen to us or read everything. Sabrina and Annie have you covered, and they put it all together for you nicely. And make sure you're following the show. Duh. Like, what are you doing if you're not, Come on. Like, stop. Make sure you're subscribing on YouTube too, because our faces are fun. Which I just also realized that if you're watching or listening on Apple music, you can turn or Apple Podcasts. You can turn the video component to us. I have to check if you could do it on Spotify, but. But that's pretty cool. I just love that.

[Laysha Clarendon]

I know that.

[Zena Keda]

Yeah, you could. I watched you guys talking about injuries via the podcast. Apple like video. Yeah, so that was pretty cool. Anywho, on behalf of the Athletic and Laysha Clarendon, I'm Zena Keda thanking you for listening and we'll see you next time. No Off Season is hosted by Zena Kada with Chantelle Jennings, Sabrina Merchant, Laysha Clarendon and Annie Costable. It's produced by Tanika Burrell. Our executive producer is Andrea B. Scott. Monica Compton is our video editor. Our theme music is by Marcus Bagala. Shannon Ryan is managing editor of Women's Basketball at the Athletic. Be sure to like and subscribe. We drop new episodes every Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.

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[Zena Keda]

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[Laysha Clarendon]

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We're delivering and setting up customers customers phones.

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[Gradient FC Advertiser]

Delivery available for select devices [e-mail] this episode is brought to you by Gradient FC, the go to Soccer app for player discovery and analysis. If you're somebody who doesn't follow soccer year round but suddenly gets pulled into the World cup conversation every four years like the rest of us, this app is made for you. Gradient FC makes it really easy to figure out who matters, why they matter, and what exactly makes certain players learn elite. You can explore global player rankings across Europe's top five leagues, filter by nationality, position, age and more, and quickly get up to speed before the World cup takes over sports discourse this summer. And what's really cool is that Gradient FC's player grades are not just surface level numbers. They evaluate the context behind over 2, 000 actions per match with analysis from real expert graders, including former players, coaches and analysts. So you're getting a much deeper understanding of how players actually impact games with the data that is trusted by scouting departments across Europe. And if you love sports debates, the comparison tools are kind of addictive. You can go head to head between players across more than 100 different grades and metrics to actually back up your takes. So whether you're brand new to soccer or already locked in for the World Cup, Gradient FC is the app for you. This summer, discover and Compare [e-mail] or download the Gradient FC app from any app store.