Te-Hina Paopao - WNBA Mock Draft Roundup 1.0

When the Sky return to double dip in the first round, they'll be glad they did. Snagging South Carolina's Te-Hina Paopao will likely feel like the holidays came early. She's an absolute joy to watch and comes bearing gifts—phenomenal passing, 3-point shooting and defense.

POW. POW. (Sorry, I'll show myself out.)

Paopao has exquisite court vision, which should greatly help a young Sky team. When she's not busy facilitating, she can also create for herself. The senior guard is a stellar 3-point specialist who has averaged 40 percent shooting behind the arc throughout college. Additionally, she's an excellent defender who should thrive under Tyler Marsh.

Again, it's hard to know exactly what the Mystics are looking for, but if they do take Malonga, it makes sense to look for a potential guard of the future -- especially after drafting Shakira Austin and Aaliyah Edwards in recent years. In that case, Paopao should be the pick. She can really shoot the ball -- over 40% on catch-and-shoot 3s in each of her last three seasons -- and has grown as a defender under Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley.

This would be a return home to southern California for Paopao, who is from Oceanside in San Diego County. After three seasons at Oregon, she transferred to South Carolina and helped the Gamecocks win the national championship last season. Now in her fifth year of college (due to the COVID-19 waiver from 2020-21), Paopao is averaging 10.4 points and shooting 37.6% from beyond the arc for the 22-1 Gamecocks.