Teenager Nyadiew Puoch one of three Aussies selected in Tuesday’s WNBA Draft
Three Australians have had their WNBA dream fulfilled after being picked up in the draft - with first-round pick Nyadiew Puoch brought to tears as she re-called advice from the GOAT, Lauren Jackson.
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Fresh off advice from one of basketball’s greatest players – Australia’s own Lauren Jackson – teen forward Nyadiew Puoch is primed to fulfil her potential after being selected as the 12th pick in the WNBA draft by the Atlanta Dream.
Puoch, whose mother is a South Sudanese immigrant and a single parent of seven children, will join the Dream just weeks after winning a WNBL championship with the Southside Flyers alongside Jackson.
She will connect in Atlanta with fellow Australian and close friend Isobel Borlase, who was selected in the second round as the 20th pick.
Borlase’s rise to the WNBA caps off a stellar 18 months, including a WNBL debut with the Adelaide Lightning and All-WNBL First Team selection in her second season and an Opals debut.
The South Australian guard now has her sights set on donning the green and gold at this year’s Paris Games.
Guard Jaz Shelley was the third Australian drafted – selected by the Phoenix Mercury with the 29th pick.
Shelley has just completed her US college career with Nebraska – and the former WNBL rookie of the year with the Melbourne Boomers in 2018-19 is ready to take the next step.
Puoch, 19, has impressive length and athleticism at 190cm and it prompted WNBA draft analysts to declare she has the “highest ceiling of any international in the draft”.
The emotional teen held back tears as she described the joy of fulfilling her WNBA dream after two professional seasons with Southside.
Puoch has benefited from playing alongside experienced players in the WNBL at the Flyers – none bigger than Hall of Famer and WNBA legend in Jackson.
The iconic Aussie had blunt advice for the rising star ahead of her maiden WNBA season with Atlanta.
“Lauren told me they are going to break me,” Puoch said.
“They are going to push me and they are going to come at me, but you’ve just got to keep going and keep being relentless.”
Asked how big her upside is, given she is still so young, the AIS graduate who dropped 25 points and 8 rebounds for the Dandenong Rangers in the NBL1 competition last week, said: “It’s huge. I’ve still got a lot of development to get to and experiences.
“I can learn more, add more to my game and keep going.”
Puoch’s emotions overflowed when talking about her mother’s role in her life and basketball career as a single mother.
S/O to the Moms and parents to make these opportunities possible for these athletes 🫶ðŸ½ðŸ‘‘ Congrats @nyadiew_puoch 🎉 #wnbadraftpic.twitter.com/TxEOTL2K56
— Brittney Elena💖 (@BrittneyElena_) April 16, 2024
“It’s huge,” she said. “We have a big family and we love basketball. My mum (oh I’m going to cry) has done so much for us.”
Puoch becomes the 41st Australian to play in the WNBA, Borlase the 42nd and Shelley the 43rd, dating back to pioneer Michele Timms with the Phoenix Mercury in 1997.
It’s a remarkable honour roll when you consider the size of Australia compared to Europe, Asia and America.
Puoch and Borlase will join Melbourne Boomers Jordin Canada and Naz Hillmon and Opals assistant Paul Goriss in Atlanta.
Aussie teen duo highly touted for WNBA Draft
- Michael Randall
Generational talent Caitlin Clark might be the headliner but there’s a distinct Australian flavour among the prospects hoping to hear their names called during Tuesday’s WNBA Draft.
Teen WNBL stars Isobel Borlase and Nyadiew Puoch have WNBA clubs enthralled with their potential, with both a chance at being top-10 picks.
For Borlase, 19, it would complete a whirlwind couple of years in basketball that began with an Adelaide Lightning debut, included Sixth Woman and Breakout Player honours at the end of her debut season, followed by All-WNBL First Team selection in year two and an Opals debut.
“I never would have thought that I would be projected in the first round and It hasn’t happened yet but just the fact that it’s projected like that is pretty amazing,” the humble Borlase said.
“I’ve tried not to think too much about it, even though I probably did a bit too much throughout the season. My family keeps me grounded, brings me back to reality.”
That family has elite sporting lineage — mum Jenny Borlase (nee Kennett) is an Australian Diamonds great who owns three netball World Cup gold medals, dad Darryl Borlase is a four-time SANFL premiership player and former Port Adelaide captain and brother James plays for the Adelaide Crows.
She’s got some handy mates to lean on, too — best pal Jade Melbourne is entering her second season in the WNBA with Seattle Storm and there were a host of Opals on her recent trip to Brazil for Olympic qualifiers who have experience in the big league.
“Jade and I have spoken about it and there’s a few girls in the Opals who have either played or are playing in it,” she said.
“I just ask a few little questions every now and then and even just being a fly on the wall and hearing them talk about it to each other, picking up the way it works, the travel, the environment.”
One high level WNBA club official told Code Sports Borlase, at 180cm, loomed as “an intriguing secondary ball handler and spot up shooter”.
“Physicality at the WNBA level is a question mark and defence, but she has gifts,” the scout said.
Borlase, who average 15.6 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.5 assists for the Lightning last season, will watch the draft from her home in South Australia, a world away from Puoch, who has franked her run to the WNBL title with Southside with an invite to the draft green room in Brooklyn.
The Block Doctor’s remarkable length and athleticism at 190cm has WNBA clubs eyeing the 19-year-old as an elite defensive prospect.
“Puoch can switch, she can protect the rim and she can play on the wing,” the scout said.
“She needs to have a consistent corner three and improve her secondary playmaking to hit her ceiling.”
It feels like an eon since young Jaz Shelley burst onto the scene in 2018-19 and won the WNBL rookie of the year award with Melbourne Boomers.
Two years at Oregon, three at Nebraska — and a host of All-Big 10 recognitions later — and the 23-year-old is ready to take the next step.
The country Victorian is a great ballhandler and facilitator, who averaged 13.4 points, 5.7 assists and 4.3 rebounds in her last college campaign and her elite shooting — 34 per cent on a high volume — gives her myriad gifts that should ensure the 175cm flamethrower lands somewhere in the top 20.
WNBA DRAFT
Tuesday, April 16, from 9am AEST.
Watch on Kayo Sports via ESPN.
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Originally published as Teenager Nyadiew Puoch one of three Aussies selected in Tuesday’s WNBA Draft
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