For all the newfound recognition that the 2024 draft class brought about, the ROY race never quite lived up– one name always led the way. But this season, while the rest of the momentum surges, the rookies are ensuring that part of the past doesn’t repeat. Sure, Paige Bueckers, the undisputed No.1, had Curt Miller feeling like it was Christmas morning on the draft day, but boy, did the league fetch itself some fresh talent. If the preseason games had a few names giving Bueckers some company at the top, the regular season is filling up the starting line.

“The first one’s always the hardest,” Paige Bueckers said after her debut game against the Minnesota Lynx. While her hometown in the state took on her name for the significant day, the Napheesa Collier-led squad wasn’t as kind. In a 99-84 defeat, the star guard picked up 10 points on a disappointing 3-10 from the field, missing both of her three-point attempts. ESPN may have written her off as an early Rookie of the Year favorite during the training camp, but the first few games of the season have people considering more.

ESPN’s Holly Rowe said in an interview on The Rich Eisen Show, “One rookie that I’ve got my eye on—this is going to be an odd answer,” she starts. After making a brief stop at Bueckers, saying, “how she acclimates to playing alongside Arike Ogunbowale is really interesting for Dallas,” she moves on to her actual pick: Sania Feagin.

Undoubtedly. Bueckers and Ogunbowale have been touted the key to the Wings’ success this season, and probably Paige’s herself. That was the combination that sparked conversations even before Bueckers had her name called at The Shade. The UConn star is a team player through and through, and Arike has borne the on-ball creation responsibility all these years, contributing to her inefficiency. So, this backcourt duo is one to help each other’s campaign out. And we saw some glimpse of that when Paige pulled off an out-of-this-world one-handed bullet pass to Arike in the paint, who laid it in in the preseason game against the Toyota Antelopes.

So Paige, who has admitted that getting her teammates into the game is her first priority and not getting a shot herself, will have to go through the long route to build her case. But it’s not the same for Dawn Staley’s player.

“But then Sania Feagin is a player. She just posted this incredible video yesterday, you know. She’s a late-round draft pick; she sat in that draft room for a long time and that’s hard and I watched this video of her making the LA Sparks yesterday. She’s a player that played at South Carolina and really started to blossom this year and I think she’s a player that maybe a lot of people slept on that could be good in this league,” Rowe added.

The video in question is of coach Lynne Roberts and general manager Raegan Pebley giving Feagin the good news. The video shows Feagin calling her mother to share the happiness, followed by a short call to Dawn Staley, her coach from college.  “I knew you were going to make the damn team,” the South Carolina HC told Feagin.

The guard was selected No. 21 overall by the Sparks, right after Bree Hall was taken No. 20 by the Indiana Fever. Feagin averaged 8.1 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.3 assists during her final year at SC and won the national title in 2022 and 2024.

But it was a slow collegiate career for her. As the No. 4 recruit in the 2022 recruiting class, Feagin could have explored other programs, but she chose to team up with All-Americans Aliyah Boston and Kamila Cardoso, playing only 5.9 minutes per game in her first two seasons. The 2024-25 season also had a rocky start, as she was not at her best, struggling with fouls and a diminished attacking output, averaging 6.7 points and 3.7 rebounds on 54.9% shooting from 2 in 16.1 minutes per game in her first 15 games.

Something just clicked after Ashlyn Watkins was out and she had to play more. Her attacking output improved and she looked more assured on the court. From game 16 until the end of the season, she averaged 9.0 points and 5.04 rebounds per game. That momentum led to her being drafted by the Sparks.

Even Plum has seen what the management and Staley saw. “I’ve been very impressed with Sania,” Plum has said. “I think that she is beyond her years in terms of the way she talks. She can pass. She rebounds well. She doesn’t shy away from physicality, which is very rare for a young player in the league. So she’s in there banging.”

That’s second name since the start to the regular season that’s been placed alongside Paige. First, it was Sonia Citron, who put up 16 points in her first preseason game and then 19 on her debut. Kiki Iriafen wasn’t far either, dropping 14 in 28 minutes. On the WNBA Ringer show, a hot take even declared Citron was going to be a frontrunner in the ROY race. Host, Seerat Sohi did not bother dismissing it immediately. And now we may have Feagin in the conversation.

Sania has just continued from where she left off in college into the training camp, earning a spot on a tight WNBA roster. She exhibits characteristics that are unique for a rookie, that is, physicality. Normally, rookies tend to struggle with that but since Sania goes all in on her challenges, it puts her at an advantage.

In her preseason debut, she scored 3 points and got one assist in her eight minutes without any rebounds so the step up will not be easy. She is yet to make her official debut, as the center did not play in their first game against the Valkyries. She has her foot in, against the odds. Even if she doesn’t get many minutes, a learning experience under a legend like Kelsey Plum is something any player would kill for. Plum had a memorable performance against the Valkyries and she has credited her ex-teammate for that.

Kelsey Plum credits A’Ja Wilson  after historic Sparks debut

Plum dampened the hopes of 18,064 fans in purple as she put in a historic performance to dampen the debut of the first new franchise in the WNBA since 2008. The Golden State Valkyries went against a pumped-up Plum, who almost single-handedly handed Sparks a winning start to the season.

She scored 37 points, two rebounds, six assists, and five steals. That set a record for the first WNBA player to log at least 35 points, five assists and five steals in a game, according to ESPN. It was also the most points scored by a player in the opening game of a season. After spending 6 years with the Aces playing second fiddle to A’Ja Wilson, she moved to become the center point with the Sparks. All these years playing with a legend, she did learn a trick or two.

“I have spent a lot of time learning, particularly from A’ja,” Plum said, as written in Kendra Andrews’s game report for ESPN. “Watching her pick her spots and just being intentional about when to be aggressive and when not to be aggressive. I don’t think I did a tremendous job balancing, but I’ll continue to get better.”

These two formed an effective partnership, winning two WNBA titles together. A’ja’s 2024 season was historic as she led almost every chart possible but Plum’s role was also important as she provided the much-needed backup and creativity.  She will take a page out of Wilson’s book as she is now the focal point of the Sparks attack. And maybe Sania Feagin takes one for herself from Plum’s.