Undrafted rookies are powering 1 (winning) WNBA team, and it’s incredible

The Phoenix Mercury didn’t have any picks in the 2025 WNBA Draft. Thanks to Monique Akoa Makan, Lexi Held, and Kitija Laksa, and Kathryn Westbeld, it doesn’t matter.

The Phoenix Mercury acquired two big fish this offseason: forwards Satou Sabally and Alyssa Thomas. In addition to returning All-Star Kahleah Copper, a new promising core had emerged in the Western Conference.

But a roster is comprised of 12 players, not three, and Phoenix didn’t have a slew of proven role players to surround Sabally and Thomas with.

To make things more complicated, they didn’t have a single pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft.

On top of that, Copper has missed the entire season so far after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery in the Spring, and Thomas has missed the last few weeks with a calf strain.

So, you’d imagine that Phoenix has struggled mightily given their supposed lack of depth and major injuries. Instead, they are 6-3 so far this season.

Undrafted rookies have powered the Mercury to win after win

Four undrafted rookies — guards Monique Akoa Makan, Lexi Held, and Kitija Laksa, and forward Kathryn Westbeld — have made all the difference.

Westbeld and Akoa Makani have started every game so far this season. Westbeld, a 29-year-old guard who has spent most of her career overseas, is averaging 7.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks per game. On Sunday, she exploded for 15 points on 5-10 shooting, helping to lead a shorthanded Phoenix squad to a win over the Sparks.

Akoa Makani, a 24-year-old rookie out of Cameroon, is averaging 8.4 points, 2.7 assists, and 1 steal. She’s hit double-digit scoring numbers five times this season, establishing herself as a strong guard on both ends.

Then, there’s Lexi Held, who is the Mercury’s third-leading scorer with 8.9 points, 1.4 assits, and 1.7 steals per game. Held, who played in Australia, Hungary, Italy, Poland, and Sweden after a collegiate career at DePaul, has come off the bench every game this season. Of late, she has started to find a particularly consistent offensive rhythm.

In Tuesday’s loss to the Minnesota Lynx, she tallied 16 points, 3 assists, and 3 steals. She followed that with a 24-point explosion on Thursday, hitting 4 of 9 three-pointers against the Golden State Valkyries.

Kitija Laksa has slotted into the starting lineup in Thomas’s absence and is averaging 8.5 points per game. Her best game came last month against the Chicago Sky, in which she posted 18 points on 6-9 shooting.

On top of those four, the Mercury have signed two other undrafted rookies who have yet to make much of an impact; guard Megan McConnell, who made her WNBA debut earlier this week before injuring her knee, and center Murjanatu Musa, who has averaged 10.4 minutes per game across five contests.

It’s unusual for a roster to be comprised of so many undrafted rookies, but the Mercury have made it work. And, despite being without two of their top players for most of the season, they’ve managed to post the fourth-best record in the league (tied with the Aces).

Did Phoenix just go all out with overseas scouting this offseason?

Did head coach Nate Tibbets simply build a system that allows any solid player to thrive?

Regardless of how they got here, the Mercury have managed to build a competitive roster utilizing players whom most fans have never heard of. And, with Copper and Thomas both slated to return later this season, the ceiling of this team has yet to even be explored.