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Samantha Shen
ECS NEWS
As the 2025 regular season comes to a close, The Athletic is sharing its votes for end-of-season awards. Both Ben Pickman and Sabreena Merchant are among the WNBA’s voters for Most Valuable Player, Defensive Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Most Improved Player, Sixth Player of the Year and Coach of the Year, as well as the all-WNBA teams, all-defense teams, and all-rookie teams.
We’ll be revealing half of those choices, as well as the thought process that went into those decisions.
WNBA’s Rookie of the Year: Paige Bueckers or Sonia Citron? Our experts share their votes
Rookie of the Year
Paige Bueckers, Dallas Wings
Also considered: Sonia Citron, Washington Mystics
No rookie has had more thrust on her shoulders than Bueckers, whose 15 shots per game are not only the most among any first-year player but the seventh-most in the league. The Wings star is efficient in her chances, shooting 47.4 percent from the field — the highest mark of any guard who attempts more than 10 shots per game — and she’s shown she can be a high-level facilitator too.
Bueckers’ season peaked on Aug. 20 when she became the league’s first player to score at least 40 points this season, and she broke the WNBA single-game rookie scoring record with 44 points against the Sparks. But her body of work has been impressive throughout the season. We agree that Bueckers deserves this award.
Rookie of the YearPaige Bueckers, Dallas WingsAlso considered: Sonia Citron, Washington MysticsNo rookie has had more thrust on her shoulders than Bueckers, whose 15 shots per game are not only the most among any first-year player but the seventh-most in the league. The Wings star is efficient in her chances, shooting 47.4 percent from the field — the highest mark of any guard who attempts more than 10 shots per game —
By Ben Pickman and Sabreena Merchant
Sept. 9, 2025
This is the first season where a second all-rookie team would have been warranted. Dominique Malonga, Janelle Salaün, Kathryn Westbeld and Leïla Lacan were all tough omissions. (As an aside, the French national team is going to be a beast in the years to come.) Bueckers, Citron and Iriafen — all All-Stars — were easy picks. Beyond them, I went with the rookies who were the most positive-impact contributors throughout the season, as a couple players missed long stretches or took a while to get going. Even if I don’t necessarily expect these to be the best five rookies five years from now, they had the best overall performances in 2025.
The Athletic’s All-Rookie teams
As Sabreena said, several deserving players could have filled the final two spots of my All-Rookie team — add Sun guard Saniya Rivers and Sun forward Aneesah Morrow, and Dallas Wings center Luisa Geiselsoder as other potential candidates not listed above. Malonga’s role was limited in the first half of the season, but she has emerged so strongly after the All-Star break that her offensive efficiency and activity on the glass are hard to overlook. Salaün also makes the All-Rookie team as a consistent Valkyries’ contributor. The 6-foot-2 forward has started 31 of 34 games, averaging more than 11 points and nearly five rebounds per game. Golden State often plays through her on offense, and though she can be a more efficient scorer, she’s remained aggressive throughout. Lacan was the toughest name out for me, as her talent is apparent in every game, however, she’s hurt by playing in only half of the season.
Before the Mystics traded Brittney Sykes and ended their season in a free fall, Citron was on a team competing for a playoff berth and rising to that challenge. The Washington guard is third in the league in 3-point shooting percentage and bested Bueckers in true shooting percentage thanks to her long-range prowess. Citron also had a heavy defensive responsibility for the Mystics; more than half of the scoring chances (50.1 percent) that Citron directly defended came against All-Stars. With one game to play in the regular season, Citron is ahead of Bueckers in win shares (4.1 to 4.0). However, the totality of what Bueckers achieved on a team with less supporting talent gives her the nod.
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