Dalton Walker
ICT
Update 8:30 p.m. ET:
Alissa Pili is heading to Minnesota to start her professional basketball career. The Inupiaq and Samoan woman was selected by the Minnesota Lynx with the No. 8 pick in Monday’s WNBA draft in New York.
Pili takes her 6-feet-2-inch frame to a team with a history of championship-winning teams. The Lynx have won 4 WNBA titles since 2011.
“I think just with my physicality and versatility, I’m willing to do whatever team needs me to so I’m excited to learn and grow from that,” Pili said to ESPN after being drafted.
Pili continued in an emotional interview, shouting out her close family.
“My family is everything to me, they helped me get here, without them, I wouldn’t be standing up on that stage,”Pili said. “I owe everything to them.”
She added that, “A lot of Indigenous and Polynesian girls don’t get to see that role model, and I’m so blessed that I get to be in that position for them.”.
Pili was a star at the University of Utah, earning an invite to the WNBA draft. After Pili’s name was called Monday, ESPN analyst Rebecca Lobo called Pili the most unique player in the draft.
“One GM said she is the second best offensive player in this draft to Caitlin Clark.”
The night started off as expected with Iowa guard Caitlin Clark being selected No. 1 overall by the Indian Fever.
The WNBA invited 15 players to the draft
First round selections:
Indiana Fever: Caitlin Clark, Iowa
Los Angeles Sparks: Cameron Brink, Stanford
Chicago Sky: Kamilla Cardoso, South Carolina
Los Angeles Sparks: Rickea Jackson, Tennessee
Dallas Wings: Jacy Sheldon, Ohio State
Washington Mystics: Aaliyah Edwards, Connecticut
Chicago Sky: Angel Reese, LSU
Minnesota Lynx: Alissa Pili, Utah
Dallas Wings: Carla Leite, France
Connecticut Sun: Leila Lacan, France
New York Liberty: Marquesha Davis, Mississippi
Atlanta Dream: Nyadiew Puoch, Australia
Previous story:
Come Monday night, college basketball star Alissa Pili will likely know where her professional basketball life begins.
The Inupiaq and Samoan woman had a stellar college career and helped lead the University of Utah back to the NCAA tournament her senior year. Her team fell to Gonzaga in the second round. Pili is 6-feet-2-inches forward from Anchorage, Alaska. She played for the University of Southern California before transferring to Utah for her final two college seasons.
Next up for Pili is the WNBA draft. Pili was among the 15 players invited to the draft at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York. The draft begins at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN. The Indiana Fever has the first selection in what the Associated Press is calling it the most anticipated draft in recent years. The draft includes three rounds and 36 picks with 12 each round. The first four picks were determined by a lottery system and the remaining eight franchises are ordered from the worst to best record. Not all teams have a selection Monday because of previous trades.
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Iowa sensation Caitlin Clark is believed to be the consensus pick at No. 1, but after that, mock drafts have a mixture of selections with many saying Pili will be selected in the first round. The Los Angeles Sparks have the second overall selection and the No. 4 pick as well. Chicago has the third pick. Dallas, Washington, Minnesota, Chicago, Dallas, Connecticut, New York and Atlanta have the following selections in the first round.
“I know there’s way more stronger, athletic people in the WNBA,” Pili told ABC4 in Utah. “So I think my perimeter game will be super important. I’ve been a good player in the collegiate level, but it’s a whole different level now. So, I’m just excited to go in there and kind of like to prove myself all over again.”
ESPN has Pili being selected with the No. 9 pick by the Dallas Wings in its latest mock draft. “Dallas appears to have a solid core, so could Pili add a little more scoring punch?” ESPN wrote in its brief evaluation. The Athletic and CBS Sports predicate Pili is taking with the No. 10 pick. Bleacher Report has the New York Liberty selecting Pili at 11.
Pili scored a season high 37 points in January against her old team, USC. She averaged 21.4 points in 34 games, scoring 727 on the season. She was named Pac-12 Player of the year her junior year. In high school she was a three-time Alaska Gatorade Player of the Year.
Pili’s father, Billy, told ICT in March that Alissa grew up playing ball at a hoop on the street, with many late nights at the gym, and numerous flights to small towns in Alaska to compete and get noticed.
“Our family just played sports all our lives,” he said. “And then another thing is just how me and my wife just raise our kids to work hard and whatever you’re doing, you better do it the best that you can. And she’s carried that a long way and it’s just been crazy.”
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