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A variety of factors go into how much playing time a WNBA rookie sees their first year, including the depth and level of talent across the team that drafts them, the rookie’s position, skill set, and physicality, and the rate at which they pick up the often complex offensive and defensive systems run by their teams. Although rookies have limited control over some of these variables, the one thing they can all dictate is the effort they put forth both on and off the court. This week, we highlight a few rookies who’ve been leaving it all on the floor whenever they get an opportunity, even if their minutes are sometimes few and far between.
Grace Berger
The 6-foot guard came to the Indiana Fever with a reputation for being a competitor and giving the game everything she has. Berger headed into her first season with the goal of acting like a sponge—learning from not only her coaches but also her veteran teammates Erica Wheeler and Kelsey Mitchell. As the season has progressed, those traits are starting to pay off. Berger’s commitment and work ethic are earning her more trust from her coaches as well as additional playing time, and those extra reps are helping her look more confident on the floor even against some of the most talented opponents. In the Fever’s recent overtime loss to the New York Liberty, Berger played 36 minutes and was a key contributor on both sides of the court, putting up a season-high 15 points while adding seven rebounds, four assists, and three steals. After the game, head coach Christie Sides was asked about Berger’s growth and being able to trust her down the stretch.
“You know, that's just what we talked about before the game,” Sides said. “New York is one of the best teams in the league. Everybody just needs to relax and go play their game. Like whatever that is. Don't try and do something that you don't do. And that's exactly what Grace did. She's going to make mistakes. She's a rookie. She’s playing against some of the best players in the world, right? I mean she's playing against gold medal winners. But she held her own, and you know as much as like—those players went in and got us in that game. Those players that were in there, went in, played some defense, I called a time out, it was a 10-0 run, and then we won the rest of the quarter.”
In the three games that followed, Berger averaged 4.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 2.7 assists, and with her excellent court vision, defensive versatility, and knockdown midrange jumper, she should continue earning more opportunities on the court and providing meaningful minutes when she’s in the game.
Jade Melbourne
Melbourne’s playing time has been up and down through her rookie season as the Seattle Storm continue to refine their starting lineup and bench rotations. But the 5-foot-11 guard is constantly investing time on and off the court to improve her game, and that dedication has recently been turning into more minutes and more consistent production when she’s on the court. In the last four games she’s played, Melbourne averaged 6.3 points (on 56.3 percent shooting from the field), 2.3 assists, and 1.8 steals while playing 17.8 minutes per contest. Earlier in the season, head coach Noelle Quinn talked about her young rookie and what she likes about her game.
“She plays with pace and understands what we want to do on the offensive end,” Quinn said. “She's capable—that's creating for herself and for others. Still working through her defensive physicality and coverages and just being sharp in that area. But some really good things—moving the ball, being poised, you know, taking the challenge.”
As Melbourne continues to gain more experience and fine-tune her abilities at point guard, she should increasingly grasp the intricacies of the game and become an even more effective distributor, defender, and playmaker for the Storm.
Nyara Sabally
As the only rookie on a team filled with numerous vets and three WNBA all-stars, earning minutes has been an uphill battle for Sabally, especially since she spent the last year on the sidelines recovering from a knee injury. But the 6-foot-5 forward came into the Liberty training camp knowing she’d have to constantly go the extra mile—not only to make the roster but also to work her way into the rotation. Being on one of the top teams has its benefits, though, offering Sabally a chance to learn from some of the very best. Coupling that with her already-high basketball IQ, physicality, and talent, she’s been able to maximize the opportunities she’s given. Playing just over 10 minutes a game, she’s averaging 3.3 points and 2.8 rebounds and has the fourth-highest scoring efficiency on the team. And just before the All-Star break, she played a season-high 16 minutes against the Indiana Fever and contributed seven points, seven rebounds, and two blocks. In an interview after New York’s win over Seattle on July 8, head coach Sandy Brondello talked about Sabally’s growth this season as well as how the team may need to utilize her more going forward.
“The more you play, the more comfortable you feel out there,” Brondello said. “And Nyara, this is a—like all rookies in this league—it's a big learning experience for them, isn't it? Because it's so different to college. But she's been a sponge, trying to learn off all these players and how she can help us. And she's an athlete. She's a big physical body there. So I was really happy. You know she made the most of her minutes tonight, and that's what we're going to need as we move forward. We've got obviously one game until the break, but after that game we've got a crazy schedule, and we're going to have to find the bench and get some really productive minutes from them, and we trust her.”
If Sabally can keep doing the little things, avoid foul trouble, and stay ready when her name is called, the extra work she’s putting in should translate into more minutes, increased production, and a bright future in the league for many years to come.
Maddy Siegrist
Siegrist is another rookie who landed on a talent-filled roster, where the starters consume the majority of the team’s minutes, so she hasn’t seen a ton of time on the court for the Dallas Wings just yet. But she’s keeping her head down and doing everything she can during and after practice so she can have a positive impact whenever she comes off the bench. And the results from her dedication and hard work are starting to show up in the stat lines. Although she’s only averaging 7.4 minutes, Siegrist is ranked third among rookies in player efficiency rating at 15.7, contributing 15.7 points and 7.8 rebounds per 40 minutes (2.9 and 1.5 per game, respectively) while shooting 43.9% from the field and 92.3% from the line. In Dallas’ road win at New York on July 19, she contributed six points and two rebounds in only seven minutes.
Siegrist has been documenting her journey through a bi-weekly diary published by The Next, and in her most recent entry, she briefly talked about what her mindset has been like midway through the season.
“Personally, I definitely feel a lot more confident, and just being ready when I come in. You can’t control the amount of minutes you play, but you can control how hard you’re playing when you do. And for me it’s just being ready and just playing like it’s any other game, go do really well in this limited time, do the best I can.”
Although the 6-foot-2 forward may continue to experience limited playing time through the remainder of her rookie year, the experience she’s gaining this year will no doubt help prepare her for a more significant role in the future.
With less than half of the season remaining, it’ll be more important than ever for these and other rookies to continue to put in the work and make the most of the time they have on the court. It could not only affect their offseason opportunities but also the likelihood of remaining on their teams next season when another talented rookie class will be fighting for their spots. But if these players continue to commit to getting better every day and learning from their experiences, their chances of a lengthy WNBA career are very high.
Thanks for reading the Her Hoop Stats Newsletter. If you like our work, be sure to check out our stats site, our podcast, and our social media accounts on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.
No mention of Dorka Juhasz???